The Seventies: After Returning to the City

Han Mu's mother was the prettiest flower in Lihua Village, Xinghua Town, and a notorious shrew known far and wide. Her father was a handsome, elegant, well-spoken educated youth sent down to the countryside, someone who seemed utterly out of reach.

Han Mu's mother took a fancy to him at first sight and dragged him into her arms. That's how Han Mu came to be.

The villagers all felt sorry for Han Mu's father, who was unlucky enough to marry a shrew so terrifying she could make little children cry and send hooligans running.

Then Han Mu's father got into university, and the villagers felt sorry for Han Mu and her mother, sure they'd be abandoned by their university student and left as a mother and daughter with no support.

He'd be enjoying fine food and drink at university in the city, while the two of them would have to toil in the fields, bent over the dirt...

Later, all three of them packed their bags and moved back to the city together.

When Han Mu's mother had to deal with a sister-in-law who made snide, passive-aggressive remarks, she had her fists.

When Han Mu's father had to deal with an uncle determined to force him to forgive the past, he could be sarcastic and cutting all by himself, and he had his wife to back him up.

When Han Mu faced a cousin who knew calligraphy, played the violin, danced, and had a huge collection of books to enjoy... Han Mu looked at the cursive calligraphy her father had taught her, and felt a pang of envy...

[Upcoming novel: A Beauty in the Sixties. Currently building a backlog, please add it to your favorites!]

Premise: A family of three moving forward together, working hard and finding their own path in a great era