The Snow Is Still Falling When the Door Opens

[Realistic short stories of the Republic of China｜Citizen life prose novels｜Short stories of the fireworks and sweetness of the era] During the cold winter in Peiping during the Republic of China, an ordinary civil servant Hu Jinzhi and his beautiful wife Han Peifen were trapped in a dilapidated south room that was leaking from all sides. The meager monthly salary cannot support the family's expenses. The wife is jealous of her friend's luxurious leather jackets and custom-made cheongsam, and asks for them time and time again. The two frequently quarrel with each other. The husband has no money and can only procrastinate. He keeps the empty house alone, makes fires to cook, and walks alone in the snow late at night. He is full of grievances but loves his wife. Plots such as a friend's wedding banquet, a misunderstanding at a ballroom, and a heavy snowfall at home are laid out in layers. There are no extreme conflicts, but they are all about the helplessness of ordinary people under the heavy price pressure of the old era. Zhang Henshui writes about the admiration and embarrassment between husband and wife with delicate brushstrokes. On one side is the wife's little desire for dignity, and on the other side is the husband's embarrassment of being cash-strapped. It is full of fireworks, sad and true, and understands the bitterness of life of the lower-class families in the old era.