Matan is a poor, backward mountain village in the Chishui River Valley. Ren Jing, a volunteer teacher at Matan Primary School, is deeply influenced by Lu Xun’s call to “save the children.” Ren Jing is Bai Nanshan’s first teacher. When Ren Jing leaves, Bai Nanshan’s life spirals into disaster. Bai Nanshan and Zhi Youran have been childhood sweethearts, but Zhi Ruo, Zhi Youran’s older sister, accidentally falls in love with Bai Nanshan. Only after their relationship falls apart do Bai Nanshan and Zhi Youran get together. After graduating from high school, Zhi Youran goes to Shanghai to study medicine, while Bai Nanshan attends Panshui Teachers College. They begin an eleven-year long-distance relationship. Bai Nanshan takes a path that runs counter to his original aspirations, becoming a teacher before resigning to start a media company. After enduring the pandemic, the company’s bankruptcy, the deaths of loved ones, relationship troubles, and other hardships, he finally finds himself.
In the end, Bai Nanshan decides to return to Matan to develop and promote his hometown. Zhi Youran gives up her well-paid job in Shanghai and chooses to go with him.
