The Hard Life of a Woman

On the eve of state-owned enterprise reform in the 1990s, Wu Manqing was pregnant when she and her husband, Hu Weiguo, had a huge fight over the housing allocated by their work unit. Their argument led to their daughter being born prematurely and hospitalized. Manqing's mother-in-law was unhappy that she had given birth to a girl, and subjected her to sarcasm and all kinds of trouble. Angered, Manqing went back to her parents' home. Life there was no easier: her mother only ever asked her for money, her older brother was constantly at odds with his wife, and her beloved younger sister had no sense of how the world worked. With the whole family bickering nonstop, Manqing, now caring for a child, still had plenty to worry about. By chance, Manqing saw a TV interview with the successful entrepreneur Gu Hongkai and was deeply moved. Defying her entire family's opposition, she decisively gave up her secure job and left the state-owned enterprise to start a business of her own. When the wave of state-owned enterprise reform arrived, Hu Weiguo became one of the first workers laid off. He spent his days drinking. After he assaulted her, Manqing firmly demanded a divorce and took her daughter far away. While struggling to make ends meet in Hangzhou, Manqing ran into Gu Hongkai. By then, he had become China's leading automaker, determined to build a car that truly belonged to the Chinese people. Moved by his vision, Manqing volunteered to join Gu Hongkai's team. Through one storm after another, the two witnessed the rise of China's domestic auto industry together.