Cui Junjie

Two disaffected, unemployed Chinese youth drift through life on the streets of their industrial town, their paths crossing with that of a local young singer and dancer working for a liquor company as a spokesmodel.

The core of this work is the "atypical awakening" of ordinary people at the bottom of society during the turbulent Republican era. Set within the enclosed, everyday world of a crowded courtyard, characters like Xu Tian, Tian Dan, and Ba Gu transform from enduring humiliation just to survive to actively turning against oppression for their family and country.\NCentered on themes of "streetwise ingenuity resisting power" and "simple kindness concealing a greater righteousness," it tells the story of a desperate counterattack by society’s underdogs.

During the reign of Ming Emperor Yingzong, Wang Lin, the nephew of the great eunuch Wang Zhen, was escorted by the Jingyi guards on a trip to Qinhuai, when he got into a fight with a group of gentry led by the son of Hu Xunquan, the governor of Yangzhou. The officer, Zhao Mingjiu, used his martial arts skills to take them both down and send them to the magistrate's office for trial. When the governor learns of Wang Lin's identity, he ignores the rules and regulations of the country and immediately starts a "crisis public relations" campaign, trying to enlist the help of his friends.