When her husband died unexpectedly, Lin Sui was thirty-two years old and her daughter Xiaonian had just turned three. The wages on the factory assembly line were barely enough to survive, and she never complained. She just got up at four o'clock in the morning every day, entrusted her daughter to her elderly mother, and rushed to work. Until the factory was relocated and layoffs were laid off, Lin Sui completely lost his only source of income.
In order to be able to continue learning painting during her childhood - which is her daughter's only passion and her husband's proudest thing during his lifetime - Lin Sui started working as a helper at a breakfast shop, kneading dough in the early morning and closing the stall late at night. Her fingers were blistered by hot oil, but she never cried out in front of her daughter about the pain. It took her eight years to go from setting up a street stall to opening a small shop, from being looked down upon as a "breakfast seller" to establishing her own handmade brand.
In the past eight years, Xiaonian has grown from an ignorant child to a rebellious girl. Mother and daughter have had quarrels, cold wars, and hurt each other, but they have grown closer through the beatings of life. When Xiaonian finally got the admission notice from the China Academy of Art, Lin Sui stood on the train platform, watching her daughter's retreating back, and finally dared to let her tears fall.
This is a story about protection and growth. The mother used her calloused hands to hold up a sky where the stars could be seen for her child.
