An ensemble cast, a slow-paced life, and the everyday ups and downs of family life. A sister and her younger brother support each other as they work to earn a living. People come and go along the way: some arrive, and some leave.
(At first, the story follows the siblings as they try all sorts of ways to earn money and support their family. The romance will be introduced gradually later on.)
After their parents die suddenly, nine-year-old Su Yan and his fourteen-year-old sister, Su Qingyuan, struggle to survive while running the family’s ancestral Qinghe Teahouse.
Their savings have been drained by funeral expenses, and business at the teahouse is dismal. The siblings can only rely on their little shop to scrape by on Qingxi Long Street in Jiangnan.
Across the street stands the Chen family’s steamed-food shop, where the kind Chen siblings look out for them from the other side of the road.
There are no feuding wealthy families or earth-shattering adventures.
The boy learns to keep the books and make a living, shouldering the burden of supporting his family. Amid the everyday bustle of food, firewood, oil, and salt, he slowly grows up, tending their little shop and hoping for peace year after year.
It depicts ordinary people in the city, showing the Su siblings' self-reliance and their act of saving lives, as well as the mutual help among neighbors. It's worth reading!