In 1997, in the courtyard of a machinery factory in Hualin City, Northeast China, the wave of layoffs from state-owned enterprises was intertwined with the Hong Kong handover ceremony. 28-Year-old bicycles, semiconductor radios, and tin biscuit boxes formed the background of life. The Northeast dialect and the "Meet You in 1998" tape carried collective memories. Lin Xiaoyu, the daughter of a seamstress trying to survive, Zhao Zhengyang, the son of the police station chief, Chen Mo, the only son of a laid-off engineer, Zhou Shanyu, the son of the canteen proprietress, and Li Dong, the son of a taxi driver. From the countdown to the college entrance examination to the fork in life, the five people interpret the bonds of family and hazy love in the torrent of the times.
The idea: to use the dim light of the alley to illuminate the warmth and hope of a nation at the turning point of the times.