Setting: Rural northern China, 1973–1985
Central theme: She marries him, but she is marrying into more than just a man. She joins a family buffeted by hardship: her mother-in-law was a child bride with bound feet and gave birth to eleven children, only two of whom survived; her father-in-law died young, leaving a widowed mother and her children at the mercy of others. With her boldness and cunning, she helps him hold on to his position as the production team’s accountant, keeps the family afloat, and wins herself a good life for years to come.
