The story takes place in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Cui Xiaoliu, a tavern clerk in the market, originally hoped to survive quietly in troubled times, but because of a rescue, he was involved in the wave of turmoil. He and a group of humble characters such as Tang Auntie, Xia Sangou, Lin Jiuzhi, Wei Yuanfu, etc., Experienced war, famine, family destruction, and the ups and downs of human relationships. They grew up amid constant loss and gain, and worked together to find the warmth and redemption in the ordinary. The humorous and self-deprecating language style runs throughout, using a multi-line parallel structure to depict the struggle and greatness of the little people. In the end, their tenacity, like dust, shines through the dramatic changes in history.
