In that turbulent 70s, Dai Jianguo, a young man from Shanghai, was sent to a small village in Heilongjiang to uncover a poignant love story. A young heart, the first taste of love, but unexpectedly ill-fated. Why did the love between a city boy and a country girl crack in the torrent of patriarchy and the times? Dai Jianguo and Cheng Yufeng, full of bitterness and sweetness, were not the epitome of countless young people in that era? Can their love resist outside interference and persevere to the end? See below to reveal.
On a spring day in 1970, Dai Jianguo stepped on the train to Xunke County, Heilongjiang Province and began his career as an educated youth. This bookish Shanghai boy was originally just chanting poetry in the classroom, but he was suddenly thrown into the muddy field. When he first arrived in the countryside, his clumsy farm work often became the laughing stock of the villagers after dinner. But in such embarrassment and helplessness, he met Cheng Yufeng, the village girl who would secretly help him tidy up the land.
Cheng Yufeng, an authentic peasant girl, her carefulness and kindness made Dai Jianguo feel unprecedented warmth. She not only silently helped Dai Jianguo in the field, but also taught him how to use farm tools and how to adjust the rhythm of labor. The two grew in love with each other, and the old people and children in the village began to snicker that they were a pair made in heaven.
The good times didn't last long, and Cheng Yufeng's father resolutely opposed this childhood sweetheart's relationship after learning about it. At that time, the love between urban educated youth and rural girls was regarded as an unrealistic fantasy, and Cheng Yufeng's father even thought that Dai Jianguo would eventually leave and it was impossible to give his daughter a stable future. He forcibly put his daughter in a warehouse, and even hastily set a marriage contract for her with a young man from a neighboring village.
Cheng Yufeng's resistance and crying finally made her father have to cancel this hasty marriage contract. But when Dai Jianguo returned to Shanghai in 1974 to visit relatives, the contact between the two gradually thinned. Cheng Yufeng's heart was full of waiting and uneasiness, and she didn't know if her waiting was fruitful. And her father, after a drink, set another family affair for her.
Cheng Yufeng insisted on waiting for Dai Jianguo, and she swore to her father that she was only willing to marry Dai Jianguo. The father was extremely powerless in the face of reality, and he even proposed to Cheng Yufeng that if Dai Jianguo could pay a bride price of 300 yuan, he would no longer interfere in his daughter's marriage. In those days, 300 yuan was by no means a decimal number, and it was an astronomical amount for Dai Jianguo's family.
When the news reached the ears of Dai Jianguo in Shanghai, he was very anxious, although his family's financial conditions were poor, but for the sake of his beloved Cheng Yufeng, he decided to raise the money at all costs. Through hard work and the help of relatives and friends, he finally returned to Sunk County in the fall of 1975 with a heavy bride price. The people in the village were shocked by the persistence and courage of this urban teenager, and Cheng Yufeng's father was finally moved by his sincerity and agreed to the marriage.
Just as the two were about to tie the knot, the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution was still spreading to remote villages. Dai Jianguo had to temporarily return to Shanghai to deal with the problem because of the sudden censorship of his family background, while Cheng Yufeng gradually had mental problems in the constant waiting. The people of the village began to notice that the girls, who had been waiting for the return of the city boys, began to talk to themselves often, sometimes even walking alone in the fields at night, as if looking for something.
After experiencing a lot of twists and turns in Shanghai, Dai Jianguo finally clarified his family background in 1976, and he did not hesitate to embark on the journey home again. But when he appeared in front of Cheng Yufeng again, he found that she was no longer the lively country girl she was at the beginning. Although Cheng Yufeng's mental condition is worrying, Dai Jianguo still insists on marrying her, hoping to soothe her soul with his love.
Although the wedding of the two was simple, it was blessed by the whole village. Dai Jianguo tried his best to make Cheng Yufeng happy, and they returned to the fields together to regain the time they had worked together. Cheng Yufeng's condition has improved, and she gradually regained her smile under Dai Jianguo's care. Although she occasionally falls into confusion, Dai Jianguo always patiently accompanies her and never abandons.
Dai Jianguo and Cheng Yufeng are the epitome of countless love stories in that turbulent era. Their love has gone through patriarchal intervention, changes of the times, and personal persistence, and finally found their happiness. This love story that has gone through ups and downs allows us to see that no matter how the times change, sincere love can always cross the barriers of time and space and shine the brightest light.
Although Dai Jianguo and Cheng Yufeng are fictional characters, they have deeply touched everyone's heart, what is true love? Is there a "Cheng Yufeng" in everyone's heart who is unwilling to let go? In the choice between reality and ideals, can we be like Dai Jianguo and not regret love?