Big Brother

In late Qing Tianjin, the city at the mouth of the Nine Rivers is gripped by turmoil. Shen Mowen, a refined and perceptive tea merchant; Ma San, a chivalrous horse trader who values loyalty; and Bai Miaochun, a compassionate physician devoted to helping others, meet by chance in the streets of a chaotic age. They become sworn brothers after standing together to aid victims of an epidemic, pledging their loyalty before the Temple of Guan Yu.

From joining forces to transport medicinal herbs and animal hides, earning their first fortune, to cleverly exposing a scheme to frame them over opium; from fighting an epidemic together to protect the people, to first catching sight of the shadow of opium's ruinous influence, the three brothers face attacks from the grain transport guild, scheming merchants, and the encroachment of foreign goods. Bound by trust, compassion, and loyalty, they rely on the fragrance of tea, the strength of horses, and the healing arts, steering a steady course together through the turbulent worlds of commerce and the martial underworld.

With passionate brotherhood as its brush, this novel paints a sweeping picture of ordinary people upholding justice and forging true bonds in the late Qing. The intrigues and dangers of Tianjin's docks will ultimately forge a brotherhood powerful enough to shake an era.