The year on the Jianghan Plain begins with reed flowers along the Canglang River.
They turn from withered yellow to green, then to snowy white. When the reeds turn white, the rice turns golden. When the rice turns golden, the eels grow fat. And when the eels grow fat, the wanderers making their way in the world should return home.
Tian Jun lost his father at the age of eight. His mother, Zhang Yuzhen, held their shattered family together with her frail shoulders. From a boy sifting sand at construction sites, he fought his way into university, but ultimately chose to return to the hometown that had raised him. At the same time, a family history stretching back half a century gradually comes to light.
The bonfires of the Sanhua Festival, the old locust tree by the Canglang River, two letters that were never sent... Along the way, Tian Jun meets all kinds of people: villagers who remain devoted to their home, prodigals who find their way back, and elders who spend their lives waiting.
This is a story about home, family, love, and the journey back.
