In the early years of the Republic of China, the current situation was turbulent. Excessive taxes and wars made it difficult for the people at the bottom to make a living. Sixteen-year-old Tang Xi was originally the daughter of an ordinary farmer in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River. Although her family was poor, she still had enough food and clothing. A sudden flood destroyed their home, and his father died of a serious illness. In order to raise money for medicine and burial expenses, his mother was deceived by human traffickers and "mortgaged" Tangxi to the Shen family, a wealthy gentry in a distant place. Tang Xi thought he was just going to work to pay off his debts, but he didn't know that he fell into the abyss of slavery.
In the Shen family, Tang Xi lost his personal freedom and was labeled a "slave". He suffered wanton beatings and scoldings from his master and exclusion and trouble from his servants. She did the hardest and most tiring work, ate scraps, and worked day and night without any dignity. In the past ten years, she has witnessed the ups and downs of the Shen family, and witnessed the tragic plight of fellow slaves - some committed suicide in despair due to the humiliation, some sacrificed their conscience to cling to the master's family, and some supported each other and struggled to survive. From the initial ignorance and helplessness, grief and anger, Tang Xi resisted, to the later she endured and hibernated, secretly accumulating strength, she never gave up her desire for freedom. She secretly learned to read and keep accounts, observed the Shen family's operations and people's hearts, and survived crisis after crisis with wisdom and resilience. In the end, when the Shen family fell apart due to family strife and changes in the times, Tang Xi seized the opportunity and escaped from the prison with his similarly trapped partners, embarking on the road to find his lost mother and rebuild his life. From Tang Xi's perspective, the story truly restores the survival plight of the lower-class slaves during the Republic of China, showing the struggle and glory of human nature in suffering, as well as the persistent pursuit of freedom and dignity.
