This is a gritty, realistic period drama set in the rural north. There are no cheat-powered comebacks or wish-fulfillment tropes, only the most genuine everyday lives, hardships, and sense of duty to family and country among ordinary people at the bottom of society. In these turbulent times, war blazes along the border. Countless soldiers bleed and fight, dying far from home and leaving behind their thatched cottages, wives, and children as they defend their homeland to the last. Watching countless brothers-in-arms fall around him and surveying the desolate battlefield, the protagonist, Lin Zhou, makes a solemn vow, each word ringing clear: in this life, he will never abandon his comrades. He will give everything he has to bring the brothers who have lived and died alongside him safely home, so they can return to their roots and be laid to rest.
At the front, soldiers hold back the enemy with their own flesh and blood. At the rear, ordinary people support the entire home front through their humble efforts. The farm women of Qingshi Town organize a grain-delivery team of their own. Undeterred by rugged mountain paths or the dangers ahead, they carry heavy loads of provisions day and night so the soldiers at the front can eat their fill and defend their country. They have no extraordinary abilities, only an innate simplicity and loyalty.
Xiulian, a village girl, is one of the most ordinary members of the delivery team. She seeks no fame or reward. She knows only that the provisions are the lifeblood of the soldiers at the front and the foundation of their country's defense. During a dangerous delivery along a mountain path, disaster strikes. Determined to protect the entire cartload of life-saving provisions and keep it out of enemy hands, so the front will not be deprived of its lifeline, Xiulian gives up on saving herself. With her frail body, she stands fast to protect the supplies, eventually slipping and falling from a cliff. She trades her ordinary life to ensure the provisions arrive safely.
A thatched cottage may be humble, yet it can hold the greatest righteousness. Ordinary people may be small, yet they can shoulder a vast homeland. Here are the laughter and everyday moments shared by village neighbors, along with the hardships endured by those at the bottom of society.
It's so heartbreaking, so beautiful