In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, in Chenjia Village, a small northern town, Chuntao was the second daughter of a farmer's family. She was calm and hard-working, but because her brother was getting married, her parents were promised to Li Shizhu from a neighboring village. Shizhu is an honest farmer. His parents died young, and he is raising his young sister alone. His family has only an adobe house.
The wedding of the two was extremely simple, with no red makeup or betrothal gifts. Chuntao brought an old quilt to marry her, and she took up the responsibility of being the head of the household as soon as she entered the house. During the day, Shizhu worked in the fields, while Chuntao took care of the housework and took care of her sister-in-law. At night, the two of them huddled on the earthen kang, not talking much, but showing some tacit understanding.
Life is tight, there is a shortage of seeds for spring plowing, hailstorms for summer harvest, and we have to beware of excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes in autumn and winter. Neighbors' gossips, relatives' scheming, and the sister-in-law's growing marriage problems are all weighing on their shoulders. Chuntao did not complain or make trouble, and relied on her skillful hands to do needlework to support the family. Shizhu tried his best, working from dawn to dusk, just so that the two of them could live a stable life.
There is no vigorous love, only the trivial matters of daily necessities; there is no promise of each other, only mutual support in times of crisis. In the turbulent times, they guarded one-third of an acre of land and protected the people around them. They made their ordinary days feel warm, and slowly warmed each other's hearts in the smoke, becoming each other's most solid support.
