The Whole Village’s Hope in the 1970S: My Cellar Opens Onto the Night Market

Zhou Xiao'ao is the only daughter in the entire Qianjin Production Brigade. Everyone in the village laughs at her parents for being fools. With only one man in the family to work the fields, they can't even eat their fill! Her mother's family pressures her to adopt a child into the family, but her mother slams the table and cuts ties with them. What's more, her father goes to the commune clinic the very next day to get sterilized, just to shut everyone up. He shows the whole brigade through his actions: his daughter is the only one he needs! Everyone waits to see the joke unfold, convinced the family will die out sooner or later. Zhou Xiao'ao doesn't care what anyone says. She climbs trees to raid birds' nests, catches fish in the river, and lives more freely than anyone. Then one day, she accidentally crawls into her family's cellar, and the sight before her leaves her dumbfounded. A brightly lit modern night market, the sizzling sound of grilled starch sausages, the pungent smell of river-snail rice noodles, young people lining up at a milk tea shop... Later on, while other families are still fighting tooth and nail over half a pound of meat coupons, the Zhou family is eating meat at every meal. When the relatives who once mocked her family show up with shameless smiles to borrow money, Zhou Xiao'ao's mother closes the door in their faces with a cheerful smile. And the cellar connecting the two worlds is piled high with all kinds of rare food and drink from the modern night market. The whole village watches with envy. How does the old Zhou family keep getting richer?