Set in the Republic era, this novel follows the male lead, Yao Guoyan, an excellent student with both talent and good character. Born into poverty, he studies while earning his living by pulling a rickshaw. He meets Pan Zilian, the daughter of a family renowned for its pearls, and they come to know, understand, and love each other. Pan Zilian once rejected two marriage proposals from Fang Shang, the son of a wealthy local family, for Yao Guoyan. The lovers eventually marry before Yao Guoyan leaves for Guangzhou to continue his studies.
The male lead rises steadily through the ranks, while the female lead bears and raises his children.
The male lead’s secretary has always been in love with him. She uses her looks to seduce him into making her his second wife, and the female lead leaves in anger.
The male lead secretly joins the Military Statistics Bureau, becoming its foremost undercover agent. Over ten years, he rises step by step and renders outstanding service.
Then the Kuomintang is defeated, and the male lead flees to a distant land.
The founding of New China, land reform, the Cultural Revolution...
The female lead bears the pain he left behind in his place...
