Can't Get Out, Can't Get Back

A true story of ordinary lives. There is no novelty, romantic pursuit, mystery, horror, or miraculous encounter with a benefactor or all-powerful savior. There is only the hardship and helplessness of life under the old agricultural system, and the confusion and hardship of the present.

In an era when the dual household registration system restricted rural residents from moving to cities, Zhang Shanchun and a group of young people yearned for urban residency and city life. Dreaming of breaking free from their rural roots and escaping the countryside, they were lost and helpless.

Inspired by the call to "let youth take flight and passion soar," they began their journeys of self-reliance. Some were willing to waste their youth and lives and give up love just to secure urban residency. They were willing to seek credit at others' expense, and even gamble their marriages and families away, ruining their chances of happiness for the rest of their lives.

After enduring a series of hardships and setbacks, these like-minded young people gradually let go of their fixation on escaping the countryside. Whether consciously or not, they used their wisdom and youth to contribute to their villages, developing an agricultural industry rooted in rural culture and finding value in their lives.

Meanwhile, as restrictions on rural household registration were lifted, large numbers of rural residents flocked to the cities. The countryside began to grow increasingly deserted, the road back home became more difficult, the passing down of their roots and heritage was trampled, and returning to one's origins became fraught with obstacles.

The city where they could not fit in and the countryside they could not return to became a new dilemma. Faced with this situation, what will Zhang Shanchun and the others do?