Love Takes Root in Beijing

Encouraged by the tide of reform and opening up, young farmers Kong Yuai, Cheng Yueshan, and others left the impoverished mountain villages where their families had lived for generations in 1998 and set out for the capital, Beijing, to seek their fortunes, escape poverty, and change their destinies. Companies such as Huaxing Investment welcomed them. They conducted themselves with the simple, grateful hearts of people who knew how to repay kindness. Mr. Liu, the head of Huaxing, and his wife welcomed them and helped them, educating and influencing them through China's finest ideas and culture. As rural virtues and urban civilization met, they blended and rose to new heights, becoming an inexhaustible source of wisdom and strength. Kong Yuai, Cheng Yueshan, and the others overcame one obstacle after another and found their place in the city. Huaxing's business grew and flourished, and the company foiled the schemes of corrupt industry insiders. The emotional temptations engineered by Guo Xiaolan, general manager of Huaxing Investment, put Kong Yuai and Cheng Yueshan to the ultimate test. After Guo Xiaolan was left in a vegetative state by a car accident, Kong Yuai healed her through an extraordinary, moving act of perseverance, giving up her precious life in the process. Her sacrifice stands as an unparalleled testament to the spirit of the new era. The Liu and Cheng families eventually became one, composing a deeply moving chapter.

The many vivid characters and their stories paint a grand historical picture of China's reform and opening up, as hundreds of millions of farmers moved to the cities and urban and rural communities developed together. The novel celebrates the revolutionary spirit of the Chinese people, whose diligence, kindness, perseverance, and determination enable them to build a better life, and reveals the bright prospects of national rejuvenation.