Half a Lifetime

Wu Ying, a girl from Yangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River, grew up with her grandmother. She learned her singing skills and went to Shanxi with a troupe to perform. Due to the current situation, she was stranded in a foreign country. She met and married Wang Qiangjun, a down-to-earth coal miner. The two initially lived in a simple cave dwelling and lived slowly by hard work, giving birth to three children one after another. With the expansion of the mining area, the family moved into a neat building for employees' families. Wu Ying also bid farewell to her stage career and entered the mining area as a back-office job. She lived a stable and practical life and took root in the northern mining area. Li Ai'e, a neighbor who lived in the same unit, became Wu Ying's closest friend in the following decades. After getting married, Li Ai'e adopted a son and a daughter. She originally had a perfect family, but she suffered from the loss of her son, the remarriage of her daughter-in-law, and the death of her husband due to illness. She, her adopted daughter, and her young grandson were left alone to depend on each other. Fortunately, both Li Ai'e and her adopted daughter work in the mines, and their two salaries support the family of three in their daily lives. Wu Ying is an authentic southerner who is good at cooking all kinds of home-cooked dishes. When making meals on weekdays, she would always think of Li Ai'e upstairs. She would often visit her to see her off, and the two of them had been together for a long time. As time goes by, Li Ai'e is getting older and one eye is completely blind. However, she is still gentle and soft-hearted. She has been generous to others all her life and is a good person in the eyes of others. The grandson's daughter-in-law was lazy and careless after her marriage and was unwilling to do housework all day long. All the trivial chores of cooking and cleaning fell on the visually impaired Li Ai'e. Seeing this, Wu Ying couldn't bear the hard work of her old friend, so she took the initiative to accompany Li Ai'e to have a heart-to-heart talk. After a frank conversation, the granddaughter-in-law suddenly came to her senses and gradually learned to share the housework, and the atmosphere in the family became increasingly harmonious. From the first acquaintance of young people in the neighborhood to the time when they are old and white-haired, spanning more than half a century in the mining area, two women with different circumstances accompany each other with fireworks and warmth, and continue to write a simple and sincere neighborly friendship in ordinary and trivial days. Concept: The novel is set in a family home in a mining area over several decades. It tells the story of Wu Ying, a woman from the south of the Yangtze River, and her neighbor Li Ai'e, who have been friends for half a lifetime. From their first acquaintance to growing up together, they sympathize with and help each other through the joys and sorrows of their respective families and the ups and downs of life. The work intends to explain: life encounters and marriage life are full of variables, and families will inevitably have regrets and ups and downs, but sincere and long-lasting friendship will become the most stable comfort and confidence in the long years. It praises the gentle and goodwill between women and explores the meaning of human warmth and companionship in ordinary fireworks.