"Year Rings on the Loess" is set in the rural areas of southern Shandong from 1987 to 2015, telling the story of Li Jianguo's family taking root in the loess and struggling to grow in the tide of the times. Jianguo was born into a poor peasant family, and his childhood was accompanied by farm work and poverty. He entered school at the age of eight to fulfill his family's expectations of leaving the yellow land. Due to overbirth and poverty, the three siblings embarked on different paths: Jianguo studied hard but failed the college entrance examination and went to work in the city at the age of 18; the younger sister stayed at home to farm and get married; the younger brother dropped out of school to work to support the family. He started as a coolie at the bottom, stood firm with perseverance, took his parents to the city, started a business, and supported the whole family. The novel uses the ups and downs of a farm family to connect the imprints of the times such as family planning, tax reform, rural revitalization, and urban and rural changes. It depicts hard work, tenacity, family love, and perseverance. Like the growth rings of loess, it records the transformation of ordinary Chinese families from poverty to stability.
