Taking the reform of state-owned enterprises and the "laid-off wave" in Northeast China in the 1990s as the historical background, it focuses on the pains of Shenyang, an industrial town, in the transformation of the times. Through the perspective of the female protagonist Sun Xiaoya (Teacher Sun), the film shows the survival dilemma and difficult journey of rebirth faced by ordinary worker families during the transition from a planned economy to a market economy.
The story not only depicts the unique regional culture of the Northeast (such as the Bajiazi Fruit Market and the Wuai Street Clothing Market), but also shows how women use their tenacity and wisdom to find a way to survive in the market economy during the transition from a traditional industrial society to a commercial society. Through Sun Xiaoya's cross-industry struggle from the clothing industry to the electromechanical industry, the film is a metaphor for the amazing adaptability and vitality of women in the changes of the times.
