Marrying a Rough-Hewn Man in the 1980s

Xu Hongmei, an adopted daughter, is forced into an arranged marriage. She meets Zhao Dachuan, a demobilized soldier, on a stormy night. The marriage certificate wrapped in coarse cloth and the bullet scars on the man's chest hint that this marriage is anything but ordinary.

When her in-laws make life difficult for her, Hongmei uses a kerosene lamp to defuse a crisis on her wedding night. In an era of scarce resources, she makes her first fortune by weaving dried mugwort, demonstrating the entrepreneurial ingenuity of women in the 1980s.

From a family workshop to taking over the village's factory, from hand-weaving to bringing in sewing machines, the couple seize opportunities amid the wave of reform and opening up, winning over foreign buyers at the Canton Fair with their peony designs.

When the mystery of Hongmei's birth is finally revealed, Zhao Dachuan trades his military medals for her freedom. A passbook wrapped in an old uniform and night-school textbooks bear witness to the tender romance of a tough man in a changing era.