A Red Invitation in Hard Times

In a poor mountain village in 1968, Shanying, a shy and awkward girl, was cursed by the whole village for remaining unmarried at eighteen. Her parents endured endless gossip. For the sake of a bride price and their reputation, they cruelly forced her to marry Zhang, an old man from the neighboring village who was nearly fifty, hunchbacked, and buck-toothed! She fought back with all her might, but all she got in return was endless beatings and confinement. When a wedding contract three fingers wide was delivered to her home, Shanying believed this absurd marriage was destined to ruin her life. Who could have guessed that not long after the wedding, Zhang would die in an accident, and that in her despair, Shanying would meet Chen Jianjun, a man who truly cared for her? He took her to a thatched hut deep in the mountains, sheltering her from the elements and treating her with tenderness. Shanying fell for him and became pregnant with his child, believing she had finally found salvation. But happiness lasted only an instant. Chen's mother pretended to be gravely ill, tricking him into returning home and forcing him to marry Li Guilan. After the wedding, Chen Jianjun slept with Li Guilan, yet lied to Shanying and swore he had never betrayed her in the slightest. When the truth came out, Shanying's heart turned to ash. Called a loose woman, deceived by the man she loved, and scorned by the world… After suffering so many wounds, can she still meet someone who will truly protect her?