Shitou slowly began his story from the time when his father was still alive, recounting the personal experiences of how they met, fell in love, and finally united, as well as the multiple occasions when his father spoke of the strong and righteous help they received from the second uncle of Yushu Village, who was the secretary of the village's party committee at the time.
What left the deepest impression on his father was that the second uncle did not discriminate against them for being outsiders, but instead looked after his father, this "foreigner," even more.
...
"Father probably knew his body was failing him, so he didn't care that I was still young or if I could even understand his words, he just told me all about the past. At first, I didn't really grasp what he meant, but I remembered every word he said.
