Diving for a Lifetime

Using a large river as the background, it tells the story of ferryman He Qingsheng's life of ferrying people and eventually himself. He Qingsheng lost his mother when he was young and was raised by his neighbors. He lost his adoptive father when he was a boy and lost his father when he was young. He took the pennies and guarded the ferry, punting the boat to ferry people on both sides of the river across the river day after day. He and his kind-hearted wife Shui'e depended on each other, and the birth of their children gave hope to the hard life. But fate suddenly turned violent. During the heavy rain and flood peak, Shui'e was in danger while driving a boat to send her daughter Xiaodu to school. Unfortunately, mother and daughter passed away. After his loved ones left, He Qingsheng stood silently at the ferry, swallowing all his grief in the sound of the river water, and continued to ferry people and himself slowly. His adopted brother died of illness and his old friends drifted away. He guarded the old shacks and old boats by the river, refused to go to the city to enjoy the blessings, and spent the rest of his life guarding his old friends all over the slope and the rushing river. He had an ordinary life and a life of hardship, but he persevered throughout his life. The novel uses simple writing to describe the tenacity and regrets of ordinary people, and reveals the true meaning of life: we are all ferrymen in the long river of destiny, and living without rest is the best response to life.