In Liulichang, Peking in the 22nd year of the Republic of China, Shen Yutang, the embroiderer of "Jinxiu Pavilion", sketched her life with delicate stitches, but she concealed an unknown past - after her fiancé Lu Chengzhou died to protect the underground party, he entrusted her with a Browning pistol and his mission.
When the gendarmerie raided the embroidery workshop to arrest Mr. Dai, an underground party member, Shen Yutang lost her weakness. While using embroidery scissors to stop the gendarmerie and delaying time on the pretext of "protecting the embroidery," Shen secretly asked his clerk Afu to hand over the oilcloth bag (including a pistol) containing clues to the secret message to Mr. Dai to help him escape from the back wall. Facing the threat from the military police, she persisted in her longing for Lu Chengzhou and her belief in protecting her country, and finally resolved the crisis with the support of her neighbors.
The story centers on the strong contrast between "embroidery needles" and "pistols." In the fireworks of Peking Hutongs, it depicts the transformation of an ordinary embroiderer from guarding her thoughts to practicing her righteousness in troubled times. It not only hides the deep love for her deceased lover, but also demonstrates the fearlessness and responsibility of ordinary people in the face of national crisis.
