The novel describes the ordinary life of the little people at the bottom of society, with a strong tragic color. On the day after the protagonist Chuntao and Li Mao got married, her husband was taken away by the beard. When there was a riot in the countryside, she fled to Beijing and made a living by picking up rotten paper. Soon, I met Liu, whom I had known before. Due to the pressure of life, the two lived together, and they began to collect paper and sell waste products. Although they are not husband and wife, they take care of each other in life and have a good life. Later, Chuntao met her husband Li Mao in the street. He lost his legs in the battle and became a beggar. This actually poses a sharp challenge to Chuntao's life. How should she decide her own destiny? How to consider the fate of those two people?