Many people in Taiwan Province in China have the habit of chewing betel nut, which can refresh the mind, especially loved by drivers, but can not eat more.
The betel nut business has also spawned a very local profession - betel nut Xishi.
In Taoyuan County, Taiwan, there is a well-known "Betel Nut Xishi Street", where many women in cool clothes solicit business and sell betel nuts.
They come from different backgrounds, the only thing they have in common is a lack of money, and the betel nut xishi sit in pairs in a glass house, a freezer, a table, and they can open the door to do business.
Due to its proximity to major traffic routes, customers are mainly long-distance drivers who pass by, and business on this street is fiercely competitive, and girls often compete for customers.
Li Zhen is one of these betel nut girls, she is a single mother, her ex-husband was imprisoned for hurting people, and she and her eight-year-old son Xiao Jie are dependent on each other.
The guests who usually come to patronize often joke with Lizhen with frivolity, Lizhen is accustomed to this, and the long-term career of the betel nut sister has already made her calm and can easily cope with various guests.
The peak of the betel nut business is generally at night, so Lizhen works at night and rests during the day.
In the evening, she would entrust Xiao Jie to the care of the landlord's wife, and then go home early the next morning to send her son to school.
For Li Zhen, life has no color, no expectation, only her son is her only sustenance.
Day after day, she endured frivolous teasing and the scornful eyes of others, just to earn some money to live.
Li Zhen's father, Uncle Bing, is addicted to gambling, and when he has no money, he goes to his daughter to ask for it, and the money li zhen usually earns from selling betel nuts is part of his life, and part of it is sent to the casino by his father.
But even so, Li Zhen still does not want to give up life, firmly believing that life will get better one day.
On this day, when she was at work, the boss brought a new colleague, Hui Min.
Hui Min looks shy and introverted, out of place with the industry, but each betel nut girl has its own bitter story behind her.
Li Zhen did not ask too many questions, and led Hui Min to the warehouse behind to change clothes.
The clothes of the betel nut xishi are very provincial fabrics, which is their professional magic weapon.
Hui Min felt very embarrassed after seeing it, and Li Zhen comforted her and said, it's okay, don't worry, we are just selling betel nuts, not selling our bodies.
Li Zhen helped Hui Min choose a set of clothes, and after some dressing, Hui Min officially began her betel nut sister career.
The street is bustling at night, with many girls running out to shout and sell betel nuts, and everyone sometimes dresses boldly in order to grab business.
Kang Wei is the police officer in charge of this neighborhood, and his main job is to check the dress of the betel nut Xishi and issue a ticket warning if he finds it excessive.
As a professional veteran, Li Zhen has long figured out the rules of Kangwei's actions, and can always change her clothes in advance every time and deal with it easily.
Kang Wei knows Li Zhen's story, understands that she is not easy, and sympathizes with their mother and son, so he turns a blind eye to each examination.
One day, Kang Wei's wallet accidentally fell on the side of the road, and happened to be picked up by Li Zhen, and Kang Wei invited Li Zhen to eat a late night snack to express his gratitude.
During the meal, a small came to tease Lizhen, and Kang Wei was injured by the little and admitted to the hospital in order to protect Lizhen.
This incident made Li Zhen full of gratitude to Kang Wei, and the contact between the two was increasing, and the relationship was getting closer and closer.
Li Zhen has always been very inferior and feels that she is not worthy of Kang Wei, but Kang Wei has no dislike for her.
Li Zhen looked very grinning, but her heart was soft and delicate, and every time she saw Li Zhen, Kang Wei would instinctively want to protect this poor woman.
This day, when Lizhen went to work, her mother-in-law suddenly came to the door, and she always wanted to snatch back her grandson.
Li Zhen worked hard to bring up the child, the child is the mother's heart, how could she be willing to let go.
The mother-in-law began to stalk and beat lai in the store, but fortunately Huimin called in time to inform the boss.
The fierce-looking boss arrived, and with three words and two words, he scared away the bullying and fearful mother-in-law, and sure enough, the evil person still had to be ruled by the evil person.
Li Zhen and Hui Min continued to work, it was now evening, and gradually it was peak time for guests, and the girl next door, Yao Yao, found a car passing by and rushed to sell.
But the guests did not seem to be interested in her, but directly drove the car to Hui Min, the guests like fresh faces, so Hui Min's business has been good these days.
At her recommendation, the customer bought twenty yuan of betel nuts, and Yaoyao on the other side was very angry with the single and ran directly to Hui Min and scolded her.
Hui Min had seen such a scene and was immediately confused.
Li Zhen rushed over in time to confront Yao Yao, it was common for them to fight each other, and Yao Yao had robbed many of their guests before.
YaoYao did not dare to offend the spicy Li Zhen, so she had to leave sadly.
The next morning, Li Zhen and Hui Min were preparing to go home from work and found that Hui Min's car had been damaged.
Li Zhen guessed that it was Yao Yao's ghost, and she rushed into the glass room breathlessly, and taught Yao Yao a harsh lesson, and from then on Yao Yao no longer dared to bully Hui Min.
After a while, Li Zhen was busy here, so she entrusted Kang Wei to help her pick up her son temporarily, and when li zhen was busy, she went to Kang Wei's house to pick up Xiao Jie.
However, Xiao Jie liked to stay at Kang Wei's house and wanted to stay here for the night, looking at li zhen who was embarrassed and embarrassed, Kang Wei took the initiative to invite their mother and son to stay.
After putting Xiao Jie to sleep, Li Zhen and Kang Wei, two people who had been in love for a long time, naturally embraced and kissed together, and since then the two have officially established a relationship.
The two often go out shopping and dating together and have a sweet and happy time.
One day the two were out on a date, and they met a tour group introducing betel nut Xishi, and the other's vulgar and frivolous description caused a burst of ridicule and ridicule from tourists.
Li Zhen heard that she was stunned on the spot, she had always thought that she was upright and made money by hard work, but in the eyes of others, she was so lowly.
Li Zhen's little dignity was completely destroyed, and she did not want to involve Kang Wei being pointed out by others, so she hastily ended the date and returned home.
Li Zhen did not go to work because of her date with Kang Wei tonight, and only Hui Min herself was left in the glass room, and the drunken boss suddenly ran over.
He looked around at no one, there were not many customers tonight, drunk and chaotic, and even forcibly violated Hui Min.
When Li Zhen returned to the store to get something, she found Hui Min who was not neatly dressed, and she was very angry and wanted to call the police, but Hui Min cried and stopped her.
In Hui Min's words, they were originally betel nut girls, and the police would not take care of them.
Li Zhen listened to the dumb speechless, Hui Min was right, they are immodest in the eyes of others, who will believe them?
After wave of unevenness, Li Zhen's father owed a lot of gambling debts, he stole the necklace left by Li Zhen's deceased mother, and repaid the gambling debt.
Li Zhen couldn't bear to find her father and scolded him for not being human, and the necklace was the only memorial left by her mother to Li Zhen.
She had to get it back, and in Kangwei's company, they came to the pawnshop and wanted to redeem the necklace.
But the pawnshop owner lion opened his mouth widely and directly asked for fifty thousand.
Kang Wei offered to find a way to help Li Zhen raise money, but Li Zhen refused, and she did not want to involve Kang Wei anymore.
Unscrupulous customers abound on Penang Street, and LiZhen, anxious to collect money in order to redeem the necklace, reluctantly put down the last bottom line and got into the guest's car.
After a while, one day Li Zhen's father suddenly came to him, but this time he did not ask for money, but came to visit Li Zhen's mother and son.
He had just been diagnosed with cancer, and there were only a few months left, this time to say goodbye to Li Zhen, and he planned to go back to his hometown.
At the station, he sincerely apologized to Li Zhen, he regretted that he had dragged Li Zhen down for so long, and looking at his guilty but old father, Li Zhen was very distressed.
The train came quickly, and before leaving, my father picked up his spirits and troubled others to take a family portrait with Li Zhen's mobile phone.
After her father left, Li Zhen also became increasingly haggard, she used to desperately make money, all in order to pay off her father's debts, and now that her father is gone, she does not feel the slightest ease, but there is a kind of emptiness of spiritual withdrawal.
Kang Wei found Li Zhen and wanted to continue to take care of their mother and son, But Li Zhen refused again, she had already thought about it, and in a few days she would take her son back to her hometown.
She wanted to go back and take care of her father, and no matter what, she couldn't leave him alone. A few days later, Li Zhen said goodbye to Hui Min and embarked on a journey home.
In the car, Xiao Jie took out a small box and handed it to Li Zhen, saying that uncle Kang Wei asked him to hand it over.
Li Zhen opened the box, tears came out of her eyes, and inside the box was the necklace that Li Zhen's mother had left her.
This is a story in the Taiwanese drama film "Betel Nut Xi Shi" released in 2015, which describes the poignant story of a betel nut Xi Shi, with the theme of a marginal occupation in the lower strata of society, leading to different identity occupations and forming social classes.
In reality, we are often labeled because of our profession and given a stereotype, and Lizhen is unfortunately at the bottom of that impression, so that she is crushed little by little, and even gives up true love.
Zeng Peiyu (as Lizhen) is really beautiful, and Lizhen has some of Rene Liu's temperament, always see a hint of warmth in the desolation, no matter how unbearable life is, you can see her serious attitude towards life, maybe Xiaojie is her sustenance, really touched...