In 1948, Nanjing is a city adrift in stormy times. Lin Wanqing, a cipher clerk at the Ministry of National Defense with a double identity, infiltrates an underground organization under the codename “Uncooked Rice.” Guided by teahouse owner Qin Wen, she studies the “Five Realms of Contemplation,” risking her life to pass along intelligence and safeguard China’s cultural heritage. The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics launches the “Cultural Heritage Plan,” intent on burning ancient books and rewriting history. Lin Wanqing and her allies, including Chen Huai’an, an undercover agent in the Ministry of National Defense, and Ninth Master of the river gang, counter their schemes with stratagems such as “crossing the sea under false colors” and “returning from the dead.” From secret collections in the air-raid shelters of Purple Mountain to a perilous crossing of the Yangtze, they defend the seeds of Chinese civilization with their very lives, and complete their transformation from “uncooked rice” into a finished dish amid the turmoil. Built on espionage and driven by cultural preservation, the story portrays nameless people who hold fast to their principles in the darkness. It conveys the profound idea that “when cultural heritage crosses the river, it is truly the people’s hearts that cross,” and pays tribute to those who give their lives to light the way for civilization.
