The Cool, Aloof Educated Youth and His Rugged Team Captain

In the bitter winter of 1970, Lin Yan, a Beijing-educated youth branded one of the “Five Black Categories,” was swept by a snowstorm into Kaoshan Village, deep in the mountains of Northeast China.

His father was a disgraced academic authority accused of being a reactionary. Everyone avoided Lin Yan like a plague, and he had only half a box of books and a stethoscope. In the frozen wilderness, all he wanted was to hold on to his principles and live in peace.

No one could have expected that this reserved, aloof scholar down on his luck would form a bond lasting seven years with Lu Chen, the gruff team leader who ruled Kaoshan Village with an iron fist.

Lu Chen was a lone wolf raised in the mountains, with impeccable class credentials, a fierce nature, and a fiercely protective streak. He had always lived alone, but he set aside a warm kang bed for Lin Yan, shielded him from every open and hidden attack, and risked his own future to keep him safe.

Lin Yan was a scholar of steadfast integrity, perceptive, patient, and resourceful. He had never been willing to bow his head, but he let his guard down only for Lu Chen, weathered every storm by his side, and became the one person he could never let go of.

From famine and blizzards to false accusations and public denunciations, from the wave of people returning to the cities to the restoration of the college entrance exams, they pursued one another through the tides of their times and became each other’s salvation. Together, they journeyed from Kaoshan Village, amid the mountains and rivers of the northeast, to Beijing, where the lights never went out, and stayed by each other’s side for life.