This is a story about river transportation, business roads and people's hearts. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Jianghan Plain was buzzing with wind, and the new steam rising from the dock mixed with the chants of the old Yanhao. Zhou Yansheng, who was born as a businessman in Huizhou, came to Hankou with the "Ju Taiheng" family business on his shoulders. He thought that business only required abacus and reputation, but he didn't know that the current situation had pushed him to the forefront. Revolutionary Lu Shaoheng, his silent but perceptive wife Shen Yun, Qian Erfu who wanders between black and white, Duan Qishan, a military and food merchant, and Gu Muqing, a female journalist who writes like a knife - they all meet each other and then separate amidst the changes in the current situation. They tried to preserve their careers and dignity among salt stamps and tariffs, railways and strikes, newspapers and guns. Ten chapters describe the events of the past forty years: the confusion when the imperial examination was abolished, the shock of 1911, warlord exploitation, the confrontation between labor and capital, relief during floods and famines, migration and farewell at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War. Everyone must choose between silence and speaking out, compromise and resistance. Jianghan never sleeps, and neither does the world's people. This book uses a realistic writing style, showing heavy humanity in dialogue and details, trying to allow readers to see the ripples of the times in the fate of generations.
