Fangqian Chen

A war-veteran husband and his wife are slowly consumed with distrust in Xu Changlin’s fascinating hybrid of noir thriller and melodrama.

During the early War of Resistance Against Japan in Baiyangdian, Hebei, the Yanling Squad, led by Communist Party member Hei Lao Cai, conducted effective guerrilla warfare. Yang Xiaomei, fleeing abuse from her husband Zhang Jinlong, joined the squad and developed feelings for farmer Niu Dashi. Zhang Jinlong, unable to change, defected to the Japanese. As Japanese sweep operations intensified, Xiaomei, Dashi, and Zhang Jinlong faced different paths in the conflict.

Li Caifeng, a village girl proud of her beauty, measures potential husbands by the size of their bride price, earning her the nickname “the high-price girl.” At first, she falls in love with Dunzi, a young man from her village, and accepts his bride price. But she soon dumps him, looking down on him as a plain, rough-mannered farmer. Heartbroken, Dunzi turns to alcohol. Caifeng’s sister, Caijuan, encourages him to pull himself together, and he eventually returns to farm work with renewed purpose. In time, Dunzi and Caijuan, united by shared values, marry and build a happy life together. Later, Caifeng begins a relationship with Cheng Lin, a contract worker at the county agricultural machinery factory. But when his contract ends and he must return to farming, she rejects him as well. With the warm support of Liyun, the daughter of Aunt Ba, Cheng Lin studies hard, gains admission to an agricultural college, and finds sincere love with Liyun.