This novel tells the story of the Rao family, an ordinary family in the ancient town of Songkou. The first half of the novel takes the protagonist Rao Houde's growth path as the main line and the historical changes and development of the ancient town as the sub-line. It describes what the people living in Songkou Town saw, heard and experienced during the long period from the Opium War to the early Republic of China. Due to the pressure of life, countless people from Songkou Town went to Nanyang to make a living. This coincided with Sun Yat-sen's overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. However, after many twists and turns, Rao Houde returned to his hometown to start a new life in frustration. This reflects the difficulties encountered in the struggle to establish a republic and some of the contributions made by the Songkou people to it. The second half of the novel focuses on the growth trajectory of Rao Chunxi, a descendant of the Rao family, in the 21st century. In the second half of the 20th century, the ancient town of Songkou was no longer as prosperous as it once was due to changes in traffic location and the impact of floods. However, the town's dilapidated arcades, fireboat docks, and downtown fairgrounds all made Chunxi feel intimate and fascinated by them. Due to her introverted personality, she didn't make many friends. Like most people's youth, her youth seems to be simple in recollection. In the process of growing up together in Songkou Ancient Town, their mental journeys have also undergone many changes. Time flies, and the children who have grown up are still affectionate to everything in Songkou Ancient Town. That period of heavy history and that period of tender youth are deeply imprinted in the memory and will never fade away. And the story that happened in Songkou Ancient Town still continues...
