Love in the Pickles: From the Black Market to the Grave

Set against the tides of a changing era, this novel tells of the deep love and regret that bind Shen Yan and Lin Wanqiu across the years. When educated youth Shen Yan is sent to work in Hongqi Village, he meets Lin Wanqiu, a woman with the gentle grace of Jiangnan who can turn ordinary ingredients into delicious meals. Together they gather wild mushrooms and shelter from rainstorms. In those years of scarcity, they weave a pure affection from companionship and good food, and Shen Yan has already planned a future in which he will return to the city with Lin Wanqiu and spend their lives together.

But fate has other plans. Shen Yan's return to the city is delayed because of his family's background. Hongqi Village is struck by drought, and after losing her father, Lin Wanqiu dies young from a high fever. Even after returning to the city, Shen Yan cannot forget her. He keeps a small grocery shop for forty years, surrounded by things that remind him of Lin Wanqiu. In his later years, he returns to Hongqi Village and stays beside the ruined Lin family home, thinking of the woman he lost day after day.

Before he dies, Shen Yan asks for his ashes to be buried beside Lin Wanqiu's grave in Jiangnan, keeping his promise that they would “never be apart again.” Through their missed chance at happiness, the story lays bare the helplessness of individual lives swept along by the tides of an era. The warmth of their everyday past stands in stark contrast to their final parting, leaving behind endless sorrow and regret, and making their love across half a lifetime all the more moving.