Devastated after her mom's serious accident and grief-stricken because she hasn't become the daughter she wanted to be for her mother, Jia Xiaoling finds herself transported back in time to the year 1981, where she meets her young mother before she was her mom.

Guoren travels the villages, selling goods of all kinds while he hunts for the man who stole the money for his son's care. Madou, one of the many abandoned children in the villages, hides in Guoren's truck so he can look for his father. A powerful but cathartic trip through rural China with a neorealist touch and non-professional actors who add authenticity to the story, prompting spontaneous laughter despite the challenging issues involved.