This is a chronicle of the times that is based on Chen Shougen's life and is rooted in the loess soil of the northern countryside. It reflects half a century of rural changes through the joys and sorrows of three generations of the Chen family. The protagonist Chen Shougen was born in troubled times and grew up in suffering. The word "shou" has been engraved in his heart throughout his life - guarding the three mud houses, guarding his wife Xiulian, guarding his children, guarding the old locust tree at the head of the village, and guarding the family affection and responsibility engraved in the bones and blood. From the chaos of the Republic of China to the new hope of land reform, from the struggle between the Great Leap Forward and famine, to the tribulations of the special era, he lost his youngest son, his eldest son, and his second son one after another. In the end, he was left with only his beloved wife and daughter. He experienced the heartbreaking pain of a white-haired man sending a black-haired man away, but he always took root as stubbornly as an old locust tree, carrying the weight of the family and enduring the hardships.
The years finally softened, his daughter got married, and his grandchildren circled his knees. Life gradually became smoother. Chen Shougen watched the shadows of the locust trees in the courtyard and his thoughts in his heart until the end of his life. He was finally buried on a hill with his family, and a new locust tree was planted in front of his grave. Since then, the descendants of the Chen family have stayed together from generation to generation. The locust trees are fragrant and the roots are long. The smoke from the old mud houses has never been cut off, and the shade of the old locust trees still protects this land. The work uses simple brushstrokes to outline the fireworks and sufferings of the local people, and describes the struggle and perseverance of the people at the bottom in the tide of the times. It hides the most touching fetters of family ties and the most tenacious life force. It also allows the watchfulness and inheritance on the loess soil to be passed down year after year in the fragrance of Sophora japonica, becoming the most profound background of ordinary life.
