Loner

The first draft of the novel "Traces of Life" narrates a series of incidents, conflicts and battles that occurred during the Republic of China in Lixi, a closed, isolated, poor and backward small mountain village with a history of dozens or hundreds of years in a southwest province. Zhong Wu is a student at a national middle school in the provincial capital. His family was poor since he was a child, and he has determined to study hard to change his destiny. By chance, he participated in a student's patriotic action and was repeatedly persecuted and beaten. In order to protect himself from being bullied, he resolutely joined the army, but accidentally joined the warlord's team. On the way to escort the opium, he set fire to the opium in order to save the mother and daughter of the mule and horse shop from being raped by their superiors. From then on, he was wanted and hid everywhere. He became a homeless man and strayed into Lixi River. From then on, Zhong Wu wanted to remain anonymous, endure the humiliation and bear the burden, and continue to survive in the isolated and remote mountain village of Lixi. However, many unexpected events happened: conflicts between the church and the villagers, and a large influx of victims, which broke the peace of the village. Zhong Wu was also involved, and gradually grew up from a cowardly student, a humiliated and cynical young man, to a leader of Lixi Village driven by responsibility. From living for himself and his wife to gradually realizing the value and responsibility of his own life, he became a hero in the eyes of the villagers. In the end, Zhong Wu resolutely chose to die for the responsibility he shouldered in order for more villagers to survive, and exchanged his young life for the opportunity for others to continue living. The love between Zhong Wu and Chen Yulan is a beautiful love story. They have experienced life and death and have never left each other in times of suffering. After Zhong Wu's death, the young Chen Yulan, an enlightener of rural education, threw herself into a river out of grief, anger and despair, losing her young life. The novel reflects the depression, hesitation, entanglement, and arduous journey of contemporary young people who struggle to find a way out. It reflects the traces and marks of the times left by their lonely struggle and fate, and their ultimate failure and the heavy price of their lives. The novel describes a group of upright and bloody characters such as Zhong Wu, Chen Yulan, Wu Tianliang, Wu Xiaoxiu, Hou Chaowen, etc., Praising their noble qualities. At the same time, it criticizes and exposes the collusion between officials and businessmen, intrigues, intrigues, scheming, excessive lewdness, and many evil behaviors of Gao Changqing, Gao Jingzhi, Shen Liren, Hu Zhixiong, and County Magistrate Bai. The author looks at these bits and pieces, colorful, joys and sorrows of past life from a modern perspective. Direct human nature, direct life, reveals the entanglement and conflict between life and human nature from a certain level. The original draft of the book was titled "Traces of Life", but after revision, it was renamed "The Lonely" and republished.