In 1976, the north wind howled across Beifeng Village, yellow dust filled the air, and life was as bleak as a steamed bun too tough to chew. Wang Tiezhu was a local delinquent everyone avoided. His parents had died young, and he had to rely on others for shelter. Beneath his rough exterior lay a body covered in scars. He scraped by stealing wild greens and stubbornly holding on to his pride. Everyone thought the kid would never amount to anything.
Then Su Wanqing, a young woman sent down from the city, trudged into the village through the mud. She was as fair as a magnolia that had no place in this poor mountain hollow. She couldn't adjust to the local climate, was ostracized, earned barely any work points, and could hardly get a hot meal. His uncle and aunt schemed to foist this “delicate city girl” on Wang Tiezhu as his wife. He snapped, “Whoever wants her can have her!” Yet when children bullied her, he charged over, red-faced, and chased them away. When her grain was swept away, he braved the downpour, soaked to the skin, and fought to get it back.
A marriage in which both sides had their own motives tied together two people from different worlds. In their earthen-walled home, he huddled in the corner of the kang while she mended clothes late into the night. She blushed as she treated the injuries he'd gotten in a fight. He complained that she was a spoiled city girl, yet secretly lent a hand whenever she worked. She resented his rough, reckless ways, yet when a gang of hooligans cornered him, she picked up a shoulder pole for the first time and stood in front of him.
When the winds of reform and opening-up reached Beifeng Village, Wang Tiezhu clutched the money jar she'd given him and apprenticed himself to a carpenter. From making stools to opening a furniture shop, he buried his reputation as a “delinquent” in the yellow earth and fought his way to becoming a “ten-thousand-yuan household.” Su Wanqing put down her books and picked up the account books, using her city knowledge to help him expand his business. With him managing the outside and her running the household, they brought warmth to their impoverished life.
Some people laughed at him for a toad reaching for a swan.
