Where Does Happiness Lie?

Opening a Bookshop in Chaotic Times: An Ordinary Man Becomes a Legend! In the late Qing and early Republican era, Hu Zhou, a young man from Nancheng, watches his father die unjustly after being extorted by corrupt officials. He sees firsthand how the old system devours ordinary people. When the authorities offer him a job as a patrolman, he realizes it is merely a tool of oppression that helps the wicked. He refuses on the spot, vowing to follow an upright path: “I won’t court the powerful. I’ll serve the people.” Amid the turmoil, he lives through the abolition of the imperial examinations, the Xinhai Revolution, and the warlord era. He faces extortion by corrupt officials, persecution by gangs, and cutthroat competition from fellow booksellers, but never abandons his original ideals of selling books at affordable prices and teaching people to read for free. Along the way, he and Hao Xingfu, an independent and clear-eyed woman from a bannerman family, find love and stand by each other. They reject an arranged marriage and become one another’s strongest support. He watches his opportunistic friend Zhou Mingxuan and his cowardly, obedient neighbor Zhao Laoshuan lose their families and homes after choosing the wrong path. From an ordinary man to a bookshop owner, Hu Zhou spends his life protecting the three great sources of happiness: living with dignity, finding a soulmate, and pursuing meaningful work. In the end, he makes his bookshop a center for spreading knowledge and progressive ideas. In a corrupt world, his life proves: “The righteous path is hard, but walk it and you’ll reach your destination; happiness may be slight, but cherish it and it will be within your grasp.” “Write a life in words, and seek happiness in the soul.”