In the early 1960s, the tide of educated youth sent to the countryside surged across the pages of Chinese history. It was an era when youth and ideals intertwined, and sweat mingled with tears. Tens of thousands of young people from the cities answered the nation's call, packed their bags, and set out for the vast countryside. Some were impassioned idealists, eager to spend their youth in the open fields; others were confused and uneasy, apprehensive about the unknown future. The Northeast, with its boundless black soil, abundant resources, and extremes of bitter cold and scorching heat, became a destination that countless educated youths both yearned for and dreaded.
The villages of the Northeast in those days were a rugged yet vivid tableau. Winter brought snow as far as the eye could see, spring awakened all life, summer turned everything lush and green, and autumn spread a golden carpet across the land. Each season had its own charm. Yet for the newly arrived youths, what they remembered most was the thick black earth and the bone-chilling wind. The local farmers were hardworking and sincere. They worked the land in the most traditional ways and lived with heartfelt simplicity. Their smiles held a love of life, and their eyes gleamed with reverence for the soil. In the Northeast of the 1960s, the dead of winter had arrived. A thick blanket of snow covered the earth, and the biting wind stung people's cheeks. In those days, young intellectuals answered the nation's call and set out for the countryside. Lin Fanghua was one of them. See how the resourceful Fanghua, who carries a space with her, outwits a scheming rival and finds success in both her career and love.
