From Shepherd Boy to Writer

Wu Beiyan, a shepherd boy and the child of a military family, doesn't know whether his parents ever got married. Four shepherding companions are lured to a remote village by a “TV director.” As the four escape, some survey workers take them to an air force base. Later, a criminal police team escorts them. After Wu Beiyan rescues a girl in red, Du Xiaojuan, from a flood, he stays with a retired official's family in Linquan City and receives special care. When he returns to the Shazaoyuan Farm, the school marks him absent and he has to drop out. Liu Daichun sends Wu Beiyan alone to Pingdu City to look for his father. Wu Beiyan sleeps on the streets and is rescued. He becomes a technology and information officer at a work unit, where Ren Yi, Guan Xiaomeng, and others show him selfless care. Years later, Wu Beiyan rescues and escorts a child with an intellectual disability home, only to discover that the house is another home belonging to his father, the chairman of the Kechuang Group. At last, Wu Beiyan learns that his father has been protecting him from the shadows all along. He also comes to understand that his parents shared true love, and that their separation was a tragedy of the times. Years later, Wu Beiyan gives up the chance to inherit the family business in favor of his paternal half-sister, Wu Nanyan. With his father's help, he starts a literary magazine and grows into a writer. Throughout the novel, the author remains committed to both realism and romanticism. The characters are all distinct and full of personality. The plot twists and turns, with developments that are both reasonable and unexpected. The language is down-to-earth and vivid. The work portrays all manner of human relationships and social realities, depicts a broad social landscape, and reflects the clashes of ideas and complex conflicts of a society in transition, stirring up a powerful tide of history. It is thought-provoking and inspiring.