The wild angelica in the upper reaches of the Jialing River has a bitter taste, but its roots are the deepest.
In 1978, Zhou Yutong was born in the mountain col where wild angelica trees are densest.
In the next thirty years, her life was shaken up by three strong winds in turn——
The first gust of wind 1994-1997
An admission notice from Southwest University of Political Science and Law brought with it the reality of a tuition fee of 2,400 yuan;
The Second Gust of Wind 1997-2015
From a typist in a secondary school to a self-study lawyer, she took the bar exam four times, went into debt four times, and finally stood on a high-rise building in the city.
The third gust of wind 2019-2024
Times have changed. In the short video, "a noble son from a poor family" has become a traffic gimmick.
Zhou Yutong brought the real defendants—high tuition fees and invisible class walls—to court, and also put her own wounds in the spotlight.
Her mother's last words before her death were:
"No matter how strong the wind is, don't forget to keep your roots."
Purpose: To interrogate the true cost of "reading to change your destiny" today, and to interrogate those neglected people in the cracks of the system - mothers, younger brothers, Xiaohai, takeaway riders, and pneumoconiosis patients.