The first part follows Chen Mangen, a boy left behind in the countryside, as he sets out from the rice fields of Shaxi Village: failing the high school entrance exam, learning a trade at a vocational school, filling in on an assembly line, and finally walking into a factory with a wrench in his hand. The second part follows him as an adult, meeting the deaf-mute Su Nian beside a machine tool. A bowl of hot food brings them together, and they weather the turmoil of a wealthy family claiming him as kin and the undercurrents of an inheritance battle. Together, they hold on to their craft and their true selves, making a life that shines like starlight. The book has ten volumes and 147 chapters.
