The intertwined fates of Shen Yanzhou, a son of a well-known water conservancy family, and Liu Qinghe, a peasant girl from the south of the Yangtze River, are used as the latitude and longitude to illustrate the rise and fall of the dynasty during the two Song Dynasties. The first volume describes the clan affairs of the Shen family's mansion in Bianjing and the prosperous water transportation of the Bianhe River; the middle volume describes the Jingkang Incident and the rebellion on the Nandu Ancient Road; the second volume describes the reclamation of polders in the south of the Yangtze River, the promotion of rice in Champa and the reconstruction of the market. Let the bells ringing in the "palace" and the dining-dining dishes, the iron horse glaciers in the "ancient road", and the spring rain plowing in the "farming" together form a flesh-and-blood record of the mountains and rivers of the Song Dynasty.
