Some dramas have you hooked from the first episode and this is one of them. This is a drama where everything comes together. The storyline and setting are ambitious and brings one from the 1970s through some 30-40 years and along the way, we see the growth of the characters together with the growth of China. There is a place for each of the character in the story and each character is well developed. The directing and the filming portray what I imagined were the realistic settings in the 70s. Xiao Zhan plays the admirable Xiao Chunsheng who is generous and forgiving to those he considers his friends and family. Li Qin is Tong Xiaomei who is unselfish and gives love unconditionally. You can understand why these two are so suited for each other in the midst of people who get carried away by greed, selfishness and jealousy. Xiao Chunsheng and Tong Xiaomei do not give up hope even when they are betrayed and when misfortune strikes. I only wish that more of their love story was shown instead of the excessive screen time given to the second FL in the earlier episodes. This is truly a story that moves you but it would be difficult to rewatch as some of the stories are heartwrenching.