Late in the 1970s, at the Southern Red Star Mining Machinery Factory. Lin Jianguo, an eighth-grade lathe operator who has lost his wife, is raising three children, and his family is so poor they can barely put food on the table. He marries Wen Yaru, a once-promising but now down-on-her-luck art troupe beauty who comes with twins. Seven people share a cramped workers’ apartment, and there are seven mouths to feed. His eldest daughter, Lin Nian’an, blocks the doorway. “We don’t take in freeloaders, and don’t expect to take my mother’s place!”
Wen Yaru rolls up her sleeves and washes the grease from her work clothes. With a gentle smile, she replies, “People make their own lives. Just wait and see.”
That night, two hard beds are separated by a floral curtain. Lin Jianguo’s broad hand reaches across the divide and touches her as he murmurs, “You take care of things at home during the day. At night, I’ll be here for you.”
In their blended family, every ration coupon and half-pound meat coupon is stretched as far as it can go. Amid the gossip at the communal tap, the two stand by one another. Together, the couple who married halfway through life turn their broken family into a thriving home.
Lots of holes. . . .