This is a story from the 1970s.

After the death of Wang Zao in the village, he left behind a young wife and a daughter. His wife is a hotel waiter. When she was 18 years old, she was tricked into becoming a hotel runaway under the guise of working in a factory. Wang Zao is a righteous man. After learning about the girl's tragic experience, he used his hard-earned money to redeem the girl and marry her.

That winter, Wang Zao returned to the village with a beautiful woman and announced that he was married to her. Some people in the village knew the inside story, and they began to spread rumors about the woman in the village, saying that Wang Zao wanted to marry such a person. Family, friends, and villagers from all over the country came to persuade Wang Zao not to marry this woman. Later, Wang Zao's old father beat him with a bullwhip and drank dichlorvos himself, forcing Wang Zao to give up. Wang Zao didn't agree either.

On Wang Zao’s wedding day, almost no one attended. Wang Zao's father sat at the door and cursed all day long. Only two close brothers from a neighboring village brought two roosters to congratulate them. That day, Wang Zao killed the chicken and cooked it in a big pot. The four people got together to have a meal, one of the brothers lit firecrackers at the entrance of the village, and they got married.

Three years after their marriage, Wang Zao’s wife’s stomach still didn’t respond. Later, she went to the hospital for a check-up and found that her wife was infertile. In order to satisfy this long-standing wish to become a parent, Wang Zao adopted an orphaned baby girl. Since then, they have had a child of their own, but everyone in the village knows that the child is not their own.

In the spring of fifth grade, Wang Zao received a call from a relative saying that he could work at a construction site in Guangdong. Wang Zao took his two brothers to buy train tickets to the south. Wang Zao picked up a canvas bag, said goodbye to his wife and daughter, and boarded the train to Guangzhou with his brothers.

The relatives did not deceive Wang Zao. There was indeed a construction site that wanted people. In order to support their family, Wang Zao and his brothers climbed high scaffolding every day, processed exterior walls, and installed glass on high-rise buildings. The work was hard work and the money he earned was hard and hard-earned money. Every time he received his salary, Wang Zao had only a little left to eat, and the rest was sent home.

During the Spring Festival that year, Wang Zao did not go back. His wife and daughter were waiting for him to go back to celebrate the New Year, but what was waiting for him was the news of his death. During the exterior wall painting operation, a 25 steel bar tied to the scaffolding fell from the 12th floor and hit Wang Zao on the head. Wang Zao's skull was cracked and he fell into a coma. Initially, he was able to escape the disaster because the falling steel pipe should have hit his brother Li Zhu. At that time, these three people were working on the same platform and were not far from each other.

Li Zhu was only 20 years old and his father had just passed away. He went to work with Wang Zao. Li Zhu always respected Wang Zao and often called Wang Zao "three brothers". At the most dangerous moment, Wang Zao pushed Li Zhu away and saved Li Zhu, but was seriously injured. Wang Zao was sent to the hospital for rescue, but died from his injuries.

Wang Zao was unconscious before his death. He begged his two brothers to help him take care of his home. Amidst the heartbreaking cries of the two brothers, Wang Zao slowly closed his eyes.

That winter, Li Zhu and another brother returned to the village with the urn made by Wang. Wang Zao's wife and daughter cried so hard that the villagers were moved by the tragic scene. When Wang Zao's father saw his son die, he hated his daughter-in-law even more and cursed loudly: "It was you who killed my son!"

Wang Zao was involved in a construction accident. After his death, his boss compensated him 20,000 yuan. After Wang Zao died, he was buried on a flat ground covered with dirt in the village. All funeral expenses were paid with that compensation. On the day when the tomb was finished, Li Zhu cried on the mountain until late at night. He came down the mountain only after his sister-in-law and brother persuaded him many times.

A few months later, Wang Zao's death quickly subsided in the village. Wang Zao's old father drove his daughter-in-law and granddaughter out of the house. After getting his sister-in-law's consent, Li Zhu and his brother used the money left by Wang Zao to build two new houses on the land in Lijia Village. After the new house was built, the sister-in-law and the girl moved in, no longer needing to look at others indifferently.

During this time, Li Zhu and his brother Zheng Shi have been helping Wang Zao's sister-in-law take care of the home, providing food, drinking water, and helping with some farm work. As time goes by, several people become like a family together. But a home without men is not a family. Two young men came into close contact with a widow, and people in the village started making irresponsible remarks again.

One day, Li Zhu came to Zheng Shi's home, held Zheng Shi's hand, and begged Zheng Shi to take care of their sister-in-law. Although Wang Zao saved his life, he also promised Wang Zao to take care of his sister-in-law throughout his life. But he is the only one in their Li family. Sister Liu Sanjie (Wang Zao's wife) was infertile. The family disagreed and he had no choice but to ask Zheng Shi for help.

Zheng Shi was older and got married in his teens. He has a son who is in primary school. His wife died of illness three years ago. Zheng Shi saw his son growing up day by day and no longer planned to get married again. In addition, his son has a strong character and is very opposed to this.

That night, Zheng Shi and Li Zhu got drunk and talked all night long. Zheng Shi could not accept Li Zhu's untrustworthiness at first, but eventually he gradually gave up his obsession.

After all, Li Zhu is still very young, and it is indeed a heavy burden for him.

The next day, Li Zhu left the village with his luggage. No one knows where he went. This time, he has not been back for more than ten years. Only his family knows where he went. After Li Zhu left, every three to five people who signed Li En would send money to Sister Liu's house. Zheng Shi and Sister Liu knew that Li En was Li Zhu.

After Li Zhu left, Zheng Shi kept his promise and took care of Sister Liu and her daughter. Sister Liu is an unclean woman, a woman from Kefu, and her daughter is an adopted orphan. All these have long been as deeply rooted in the hearts of the villagers as seeds, and it is difficult to eliminate this prejudice.

Zheng Shi's son was very disgusted with his father's actions. He had multiple tantrums at home and could not hold his head up at school. The classmates all said that his father broke shoes in the village. Zheng Shi tried to educate his son many times, but his son just couldn't understand this kind of thing. Ever since he was a child, he had hated his father deeply.

After Zheng Shi took care of Sister Liu for a few years, the two got married and moved into the small house. Ten years later, the adopted daughter got married. The adopted daughter is very aware of her life experiences. Although she was an adopted child, she never forgot the upbringing of Sister Liu and Zheng Shi, and she often came back to take care of the family.

After graduating from university, Zheng Shi’s son bought a house and settled in the city where the university is located. He hated that Zheng Shi had married a dirty and controversial woman. He believed that Zheng Shi was a stain in his life. He never talks about his father. After his son settled in the city, he claimed he was an orphan. Even marrying a wife and having children was just a phone call to Zheng Shi later.

Zheng Shi has never been to the city where his son lives, nor to his home. He wants to know what his daughter-in-law looks like, whether his grandson is a fat boy, and how beautiful his son's big house is. But the son didn't like him. As soon as they met, the father and son quarreled. Zheng Shi did not dare to trouble his son for this.

Three years ago, Zheng Shi, who was in his fifties, was hit by a truck while he was carrying vegetables to sell. When the villagers rushed him to the hospital, he was seriously injured and lost consciousness. While Zheng Shi was hospitalized, Sister Liu and her adopted daughter stayed by her side every day. After Zheng Shi's son learned that his father was seriously injured, he drove back to the countryside to take a look. After putting down many supplements, he returned to the city.

People criticized Zheng Shi's son for having no conscience, but Zheng Shi said: "He is my son after all. Even if he hates me forever, I will not blame him."

Zheng Shi was injured and on crutches, unable to work on the ground. Three years later, the adopted daughter also moved to another city, and took Zheng Shi and Sister Liu with her before leaving. Zheng Shi asked his adopted son-in-law to carry him to Wang Zao's tomb. Zheng Shi said to Wang Zao: "Brother, Li Zhu hasn't come back for a long time. He's not doing well. Brother, I helped you take care of your sister-in-law. She took good care of her. Axiu (adopted daughter) is also living a good life now. Brother Wang Let’s meet next time, maybe in Huangquan.”

Axiu’s husband looked at the earthen grave and then at Zheng Shi, whose face was full of tears, and asked in confusion: “Father, who is buried here. In the tomb bag?"

Zheng Shi turned around and slowly said to Axiu's husband: "That's your father too.

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