During the Qianlong era, beneath the flourishing grain transport along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, dangerous currents ran deep. Chen Xiaohe, a young boatman from Linqing, found a mysterious jade pendant etched with water patterns after a bloody murder, and was unexpectedly swept into a major grain-shipment embezzlement case. His ordinary life was overturned. Guided by Yu Laoda, an old boatman, he learned how to survive amid the power struggles at the docks. Carrying the secrets of his origins and another man's dying wish, he set out aboard a grain barge, braving lock gates and river bandits. He made good friends, faced repeated attempts on his life, and uncovered the secret of the pendant: it was the key to the former dynasty's
