The story begins on the night of December 1, 1881:
Ah Fu's mom gave birth to four babies at once. Ah Fu's father was sweating coldly and nervously counting, 1, 2, 3, 4...
Ah Fu has always felt that his life is very magical. He was born on a big ship and traveled across the ocean to Shanghai. In Chinese terms, this is a blessing that no other rat can achieve in his life. So Ah Fu gave himself a Chinese name and would never admit that it had anything to do with four!
In just four years in Shanghai, Ah Fu has made very good friends and met some very bad people. As a dog that has seen great storms in Shanghai, Ah Fu thinks that when he grows old, he will have many, many stories to show off to his great-great-great-grandson.