Zhao Lingqi

Two left-behind boys: Hai Ri and Chao Lu grow up on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. After facing family tragedies, his father’s death, mother’s illness, and grandmother’s breakdown; Hai Ri becomes distant. Arriving at his grandfather’s home, he meets Chao Lu, a kind-hearted Mongolian peer. Through shared hardship, their initial conflict evolves into deep friendship. Hai Ri matures from timid to brave, learning to protect and care. Together, they forge a bond of mutual support, reflecting themes of resilience, friendship, and the power of familial love.

This Chinese period drama series follows the fortunes of a prominent merchant family engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine during the waning years of the Ching dynasty. The affairs of this family of doctors/pharmacists (which in those days were one and the same) are intimately linked with social upheavals of the time such as the encroachment of Christian missionaries and foreign imperialism as well as conflicts that inevitably emerge in a large upper class family. Comparable in scope and production value to such recent titles as "Downton Abbey", the lives and character of both masters and servants intertwine in plot lines that spans more than a generation.