"Bitter Cauliflower, Sugarcane Sprouts" is Jiang Shumei's second work, a companion piece to "Troublesome Times, Poor Times".
This book is divided into four parts: "Hometown Women", "Hometown Men", "Baishitun" and "In the Northeast". It continues the writing style of the first part. The language is popular and concise, with a strong local flavor. It records the stories of Chinese people that the author has personally heard.
After the first book "Chaotic Times, Poor Times" came out, Jiang Shumei held a reader meeting in Beijing. "There was a girl who wanted to ask me something. She called her grandma and started crying. I couldn't hear what she said clearly. She was so sad, and I felt sorry for her, so I said, 'Child, don't cry when reading my book. Don't shed tears. Everything is over. If there hadn't been so much suffering, I wouldn't have been able to write this book.'"
"My whole life is like a hammer, thick at both ends and thin in the middle. I have experienced too many things." ——Jiang Shumei
