The Middle Class

Wang Xiaoxian, a Hangzhou youth with a dream of martial heroes and wandering knights, gets a wild idea during a drunken lakeside conversation: stitch the spirit of the jianghu into clothes! Starting from nothing, he founds the Kaiyun company, and its flagship brand SUDU bursts onto the scene. Ink-wash "Dragon Subduing" T-shirts, temperature-reactive "Dugu Nine Swords" hoodies... He infuses modern designs with the soul of martial arts, making every hit product a perfect fusion of nostalgia and commerce.

But this jianghu is far more dangerous than he imagined. Supply-chain traps, the ruthless assault of industry giant Yunshang, cutthroat capital wagers, and even betrayal from within make every step perilous. Yang Xiaoyu is both his wife and a financial whiz working for another family. Caught between family and career, she repeatedly defuses crises with her ironclad financial expertise and anonymous notes. From behind-the-scenes strategist, she ultimately steps onto the CEO battlefield, becoming the bedrock that protects the "real jianghu."

Their two daughters are both their soft spots and their armor. Their eldest, Tongtong, goes from rebellious contempt to taking over as the next generation of entrepreneurs. Their youngest, Miaomiao, creates genius doodles that become a hit art IP and save the company. Mortgaging their marital home, choosing a school-district home, their health falling apart... Behind the peak of middle-class success lies a besieged fortress, blades flashing on every side.

From an abandoned factory in West Lake to the Paris haute couture runway, from the "Knight's Journey" app to a martial arts empire in the metaverse, Wang Xiaoxian holds aloft the banner "Simple clothes, the jianghu in your heart," while Yang Xiaoyu keeps the business on track with iron rules, and their daughters write the next chapter. This is an epic of entrepreneurship in the new wave of Chinese culture, written with creativity, passion, calculation, and love for the country. It charts how a middle-class family can wield the word "chivalry" as a sword to carve a spiritual way home through the world of money, ultimately defining the dignity and backbone of a generation.