Several supporting characters in the drama also stand out for their quiet nobility.
One such example is Zhou Yun, the wife of a construction factory head. She helps Wen Yuxiu, a woman fleeing a violent and abusive husband, obtain a new identity so she can realize her dream of becoming a teacher. Wen is later captured by her peasant husband and imprisoned in a cellar for 17 years. She is eventually rescued, thanks largely to Ren and Ren's mother — Wen's best friend from their school days.
Although the original novel is set in Southwest China, Yang reveals that during her train journeys — a slow-paced way of traveling that she deliberately chose to scout for the most ideal locations — Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, came to mind.
"The natural environment of ice and snow, along with the traces and remnants of a once-major industrial town, immediately excited me. I felt that all the characters should live right there," she says. From the old, worn railway tracks to the historical buildings with their peeling, mottled walls, Yang says that she sensed the tone of the drama had been found.
During the filming process, the creative team constantly came up with ideas, one after another. For example, Ren's family, due to their financial situation, doesn't own a television set. On Chinese New Year's Eve, as the sound of the Spring Festival Gala — the country's most-watched TV program on the eve — drifts over from the neighbors' homes, Ren's mother comes up with her own uniquely warm way to celebrate; organizing the children to soak their feet in hot water together and sharing a 30-yuan red envelope, turning it into their family's own festival celebration. The scene became one of the most heartwarming and tear-jerking moments in the drama.
"We have many female creators in the cast and crew. Perhaps it is the sensitivity and unique understanding of life that women possess that bring about the creation of such details," says Yang.
Actress Ni Ni, who plays the lead role of Ren, reveals that she and Yan Ni — who plays her on-screen mother — stayed in the same hotel. She often visited Yan to discuss the script, which helped them develop a natural chemistry as mother and daughter.
Currently, the drama, featuring a stellar cast that also includes award-winning actress Liu Yase as Bai, has been well-received online, evidenced by its related content garnering over 5 billion views and an opening score of up to 7.4 out of 10 on the major review aggregator Douban.
"In most Chinese dramas centered on women, men still occupy the center — either the heroine is saved by a man, or the story revolves around romance between the sexes," comments Shan Jie, a critic on Douban.
Shan adds that this drama, however, breaks from those stereotypes. "It turns its lens purely on a group of women who have been wronged by fate — and shows them holding onto one another, making it a rare departure in the field," she says.
