At the end of the 18th century (1799-1825), the first gold rush in the United States, the Carolina Gold Rush, originated from the accidental discovery of gold nuggets by North Carolina teenager Conrad Reed on his family farm in 1799. Subsequently, a large number of colonists and immigrants poured in. At the same time, the slave trade began to decline. The colonists turned their attention to the coast of China, luring and kidnapping poor farmers through "pig houses", and trafficking them to the Americas to serve as coolies, or "piglets." The protagonist A Yuan, a poor farmer from Taishan, Guangdong, was tricked and sold to the United States. He started out as an indentured coolie and struggled to survive in the gold rush. He was accidentally involved in the struggle for land and resources between white American colonists and Indian tribes (Shawnee and Delaware). He witnessed racial oppression, the good and evil of human nature, and finally found hope for survival and dignity in a desperate situation.
