1984: We Split Up the Family

In 1984, Shen Qiulan's husband is killed in action at the border. Her family wants to trade her for a hefty bride price to build a house for her younger brother, while her in-laws resent her for giving birth to two girls and throw her out in the middle of the night.

With her husband's martyr certificate and two hundred yuan, Shen Qiulan moves into a county-seat apartment block with her twin daughters.

Relying on her exceptional tailoring skills, she starts by hemming trousers for people by the roadside, then gradually builds a business of her own...