The play is adapted from Li Juan's collection of essays of the same name, excerpting the chapter about the marriage between Han and Kazakh people. The film also incorporates nomadic migration and horse racing into the film, recreating the scenery of northern Xinjiang in an original way.Li Wenxiu (played by Zhou Yili), a Han girl who grew up in Altay, is determined to pursue her literary dream in the big city, but she repeatedly encounters obstacles and is forced to return to her hometown to live with her mother (played by Ma Yili) who runs a canteen.After getting acquainted with the Kazakh boy Batai (played by Yu Shi), Wenxiu gradually discovered the beauty of the place.

To the Wonder Episode 1 Plot Introduction: Li Wenxiu returns to Altay to join his mother

Li Wenxiu, a Han girl, stayed in Xinjiang because her parents participated in the Construction Corps. Now 19 years old, Li Wenxiu has not graduated from high school but has a literary dream and yearns for places other than Altay.

In 2001, the well-known writer Liu Haibo went to Urumqi to teach.Li Wenxiu was lucky enough to be selected to ask questions, but due to her introverted personality and low self-esteem, she did not dare to stand up in the crowd and respond. Instead, she hid in the corner with her head lowered.Liu Haibo didn't mind and patiently answered the questions on Li Xiuwen's note, telling her that if she was young, she should go to school first. If she didn't want to go to school, try to start writing from her own life and learn about love, life and injury.

Before the class ended, Li Wenxiu hurried back to the restaurant where he worked.Because she did not read much, she was ridiculed by her colleagues. Only Gao Xiaoliang from Guangdong was willing to speak for her.Li Wenxiu felt that she was out of place here, so she revealed to Gao Xiaoliang during a chat that she yearned more for Beijing, the cultural capital, and hoped to write truly good articles like other writers.

Although Li Xiuwen has been working for a while and the money she earns is only enough to cover daily expenses, she is very willing to stay in the city.In her opinion, Urumqi is large and prosperous. Even when walking on the street, countless possibilities for life are present. It seems that as long as you are alive, you have hope to get ahead.

On the other side, Uncle Sulitan failed to pass the security check because he was carrying a knife, so he had no choice but to leave the station.

In the restaurant, colleagues held up Li Xiuwen's diary and mocked and humiliated her with malicious intent. Li Xiuwen accidentally messed up an important reception. She had to pack her things, use the remaining severance pay defrauded by Gao Xiaoliang, and return to Altay all the way to join her mother.

On such a long journey home, there were always problems. The night bus broke down again and again. Li Wenxiu also kept reversing, and finally stopped at the end of the Gobi Desert.Because of the language barrier, Li Xiuwen went through a lot of hardships and finally appeared in front of her mother Zhang Fengxia with a miserable mental state. The place where she lived was extremely barren, but she could still enjoy the hardships with an optimistic attitude.

Since the death of his father, Zhang Fengxia has taken care of her grandmother who suffers from dementia on her own. Fortunately, her grandmother is still in good health and, except for being confused occasionally, she can be regarded as the three generations living under the same roof.

That night, Zhang Fengxia sat on the grassland drinking, looking into the distance, and his thoughts drifted away.

Li Wenxiu knew that her father's death had a great impact on Zhang Fengxia, so Zhang Fengxia moved several times to countless places over the years, making her live a life of no fixed residence since she was a child.Hearing that Zhang Fengxia was going to a more remote summer pasture, Li Wenxiu persuaded her to give up her idea, but she refused.Zhang Fengxia told Li Wenxiu that if you want a sense of security, look for it within yourself. If you can't get used to living in a place like this, go back to the city and don't always rely on your parents.

Sulitan traveled long distances on horseback, and came to the place where his son kept horses, and directly stated his attitude that he wanted him to go home with him.The supervisor firmly opposed this because Batai had already signed a five-year contract and was an excellent horse breeder trained by himself. How could he let him leave the racecourse at this critical moment?Thinking that his brother had just passed away and the family really needed to be taken care of by himself, he planned to take the Yili Tianma back to the summer pasture first and then return to the horse farm next spring.After thinking for a moment, the supervisor agreed to Batai's request, believing that he would keep his promise.

The night before leaving, Batai prepared everything for Ma in preparation for leaving the next day.

To the Wonder Episode 2 Plot Introduction: Batai plays tricks on Li Wenxiu

Zhang Fengxia opened a canteen in the grassland. There were many customers every day, but many villagers took credit.Among them, Mulati is Sulitan's eldest son. He likes to drink. He has too much credit at the canteen. Zhang Fengxia does not want to do his business, so he asks his wife Token to buy things at the canteen. Mulati freezes to death outside.

When it opened for business in the morning, Li Wenxiu took care of the canteen for Zhang Fengxia for a while. Although it was a bit busy, he was able to sell some things.Su Litan and Batai passed by the canteen on horseback, attracting the attention of the people around them. The enthusiastic aunt learned that Zhang Fengxia and Su Litan were on the same road, and couldn't help gossiping about Su Litan's cruelty and the fact that he had a shotgun at home.

When Li Wenxiu was looking through the account books, he accidentally discovered that the villagers owed the canteen a lot of money, so he discussed with Zhang Fengxia that he would be responsible for going to the village to collect the accounts as funds for returning to the county to write.However, during the process of collecting the bill, there were twists and turns. Li Wenxiu mistakenly identified Janal as Jiang Buer and called Ayao's name Ayou (bear), which made the other party very angry.

During this period, Li Wenxiu was attacked by a fierce dog and ran all the way to the woods. As a result, he met Batai on the way home and was teased by him. He fell into the river and returned home in a mess.

Many villagers gathered in the canteen, but Li Wenxiu stayed beside her grandma in a bad mood. Zhang Fengxia persuaded her to give up asking for the bill, but Li Wenxiu had the energy to refuse to admit defeat.

Regardless of lunch, Li Wenxiu set out again to prepare for the bill and inquired about the situation in the neighborhood from his neighbor's house.Since this place is a Spring and Autumn Settlement, most people are not at home now except for the Sulitan family who have to hold an anniversary ceremony and the Ayibike family's horse to give birth, so Li Xiuwen decided to go to the Sulitan family with the most credit first.

At this moment, Sulitan's family was slaughtering sheep and having a banquet, which was very lively. As the village director, Uncle Beike told Sulitan to put away the shotgun and stop thinking about hunting in the mountains.Because Ba Tai still wanted to return to the racecourse, and hoped that Uncle Buick would talk to his father on his behalf. Uncle Buick was a little hesitant and said that he would wait until after the summer.

Li Wenxiu was recognized by Uncle Buick and mentioned her deceased father Li Shan.The village aunt brought Li Xiuwen into the house, and the child read the account book aloud on the spot. When he read condoms, everyone present was surprised.Uncle Beike knew Chinese and helped translate Li Xiuwen's purpose. Everyone heard that Mulati owed the canteen more than two thousand yuan, and they all accused Token of hiding it for more than a year and had to wait for the creditor to come to his door.

Zhang Fengxia rushed over in a hurry and saw the scene was in chaos. She took her daughter to identify Ganal and Jiangbul, and asked her to apologize to Ganal and Ayo.Before, Zhang Fengxia felt that the villagers' description of Su Litan was exaggerated, but when she saw Su Litan's ferocious look, as if he really knew how to kill, she felt timid and took the initiative to discuss the transfer with Uncle Buick, hoping that he would take her with him.field, so as not to go with Su Litan.

However, Su Litan asked his son to block the way of Zhang Fengxia and his daughter, which frightened the two of them. But the next second he came over with a camel, saying that the family did not have enough money to repay the debt, so he simply used the camel to pay off the debt first.Zhang Fengxia knew what Su Litan meant, and his anxious heart finally settled down. He accepted the camel with some embarrassment. He was glad that having a camel would make transitioning more convenient.

Through this incident, Li Wenxiu had some changes in the place where he lived. The society in this deep mountain seemed to be far away from the modern civilized order, but in fact it had its own spiritual constraints, the kind of instinctive interaction between people and nature.Demand and the restrictions imposed are limited, but sufficient.

On the day of Sulitan's family's funeral, a dozen men passed by on tall horses. Seeing this, the villagers expressed their deep condolences.

That night, grandma rarely regained consciousness and gave Li Xiuwen the money she had saved, but Li Xiuwen did not accept it. Instead, she made up her mind to follow her mother to Summer Ranch. Suddenly she felt that this place was better than she imagined, and at least she could stay there for a long time.Comfortable.

To the Wonder Episode 3 Plot Introduction: Batai supports his sister-in-law’s remarriage

In the bathhouse, Li Wenxiu found that everything around him was harmonious. He was deeply moved by the harmony of the nations and yearned for it.

The next day, Zhang Fengxia took her family to the county town to purchase goods, and once again confirmed with Li Wenxiu whether she wanted to go to Summer Ranch with her. Li Wenxiu gave an affirmative answer without hesitation.

While her mother was contacting the bullock cart, Li Wenxiu noticed the Internet cafe next to her and asked the vendor who was selling things to help look after her grandma. She ran to the Internet cafe to send an email to Liu Haibo and tried to submit a few articles.Sure enough, the article aroused Liu Haibo's interest. He thought she was a very potential writer and planned to contact her for a meeting.

At the same time, Zhang Fengxia found the bullock cart and walked back. He met his old landlord Smahuli and wanted to calculate the rent with him, but the other party felt that the house was empty and he simply let Zhang Fengxia live for free.

When Smahuli heard that Token was remarrying, he couldn't help but ask Zhang Fengxia. Zhang Fengxia didn't like to get involved in other people's affairs, so he just talked about it in a few words.

On the other hand, grandma couldn't see Li Wenxiu when she woke up, and her memory was confused. She shouted to go back to her hometown in Shenyang and walked around with a cane.

When Li Wenxiu came out of the Internet cafe, she found that her grandma was missing and she was very anxious. Fortunately, her grandma didn't walk too fast and she was found quickly.But grandma no longer recognized Li Wenxiu and refused to take her away. Zhang Fengxia came up with a plan and pretended to be a conductor to get her into the car obediently.

On the way back, grandma treated Zhang Fengxia as a conductor and took out fifty yuan from a small cloth bag as the fare.Li Wenxiu apologized to Zhang Fengxia for her grandma getting lost. Fortunately, Zhang Fengxia didn't blame her for it. After all, it was common for grandma to get lost.While they were talking, Battelle came over on horseback to gossip about Token's remarriage. Zhang Fengxia simply responded with two sentences and said nothing more.

Originally, the eldest son Mulati was supposed to inherit the family business, but after his death, he left behind a wife and two children. Uncle Beike came forward to convene everyone to discuss how to arrange the arrangement of mother and son.According to local customs, Batai should marry Token and take care of his sister-in-law and children instead of his brother, but Batai strongly opposed it, believing that taking care of and getting married are two different things.

Token's original intention was to leave the family, but Batai supported his sister-in-law's choice. However, his sister-in-law misunderstood that he wanted to stay, and complained and cried to him.Ba Tai came to the canteen to ask Zhang Fengxia about his brother's affairs. It happened that Zhang Fengxia's family hadn't come back yet, so he had to wait outside silently until the bullock cart loaded with goods slowly came.

Batai noticed that Li Wenxiu took out a horse head from his bag, which was exactly the horse he had ridden when he was a child.Li Wenxiu explained that the horse's head fell from the tree, so he helped Batai tie the horse's head to the tree again. Looking at the scenery and listening to him telling the horse's story, he imagined the simple life of the locals.Because Li Xiuwen almost lost her grandma in the county town, the incident quickly spread back to the village. Even Batai heard about it, leaving Li Wenxiu speechless.

Later, Ba Tai went to Zhang Fengxia to understand the situation and bluntly said that his sister-in-law wanted to remarry and take away the child. If the brother promised to his sister-in-law, the family would not insist on keeping the child.Zhang Fengxia said that she had never heard of this matter and believed that Token was lying. Moreover, with Mulati's character, he would never agree to Token's request.Afterwards, Zhang Fengxia told Li Wenxiu that everyone has their own way of dealing with the world. She can disagree with them, but she cannot change them in a condescending way.

In the following days, Li Wenxiu didn't receive a call from Liu Haibo for a long time. Little did he know that Liu Haibo had found the wrong person and mistakenly thought that the other woman at the scene was her.Because this woman was already married and had children, she politely declined Liu Haibo's invitation, which made Liu Haibo and others feel a little regretful that they had to give up even though they had excellent writing talent.

To the Wonder episode 4 plot preview: Batai smearing sheep dung on Li Xiuwen

Not long after, Zhang Fengxia and his family followed Su Litan and others to the scene. Everyone would stop to rest after traveling for a while.Because Batai's horse team did not catch up, everyone was a little worried, but Batai thought it didn't matter, as long as he kept an eye on the sheep. After all, sheep were stupid, and horses were smart and would not lose the team at all.

After all, the grassland at the beginning of spring was still a bit cold. Even if Li Wenxiu was wearing a cotton-padded jacket, it was difficult to resist the cold current that left a stinging sensation on his face like a knife edge.Batai picked up something from the ground and smeared it on Li Wenxiu's face. Li Wenxiu felt warm. When he asked about it, he found out that it was sheep dung balls used to treat frostbite.Everyone present laughed when they saw this, but Li Xiuwen felt that sheep dung and eggs had no smell.

To the Wonder Episode 5 Plot Preview: Gao Xiaoliang accidentally entered the place of death and was rescued

Zhang Fengxia led the camel to a stop in front of a tree. After looking at it for a long time, he suddenly climbed up, pried out a wolf tooth with a dagger, and held it in his arms as if he had found a treasure.And she looked at the ground beside the tree, where a wolf that had been dead for some time was lying.After a moment of silence, Zhang Fengxia personally dug a hole next to the tree and buried the wolf.

In this vast Gobi desert, all roads only go far along its edges, running weakly among the folds of the mountains, remotely connecting the oasis of Altai and the snowy grasslands and mountains in the south.No one can pass through the heart of this wilderness because there is no water or grass here. Horses are hungry and people are thirsty. It is comparable to a place of death. But Gao Xiaoliang accidentally entered this place. When he collapsed in the desert, his consciousness was almost gone.When he was unconscious, a woman's face stained by travel dust came into view.

To the Wonder Episode 6 Plot Preview: Batai and Kulan Qinse are in harmony

At the wedding, a melodious song came, like the sweet words whispered between lovers; like the sound of nature; but also like a spell, making everyone present involuntarily immersed in it.Li Wenxiu followed the sound and saw that among the crowd, Batai bowed his head to visit his relatives and sang slowly. Kulan was also accompanying him, and the two played the piano and played the piano in harmony.

Kuran's eyes when he looked at Batai were full of soft love and touch, which made Li Wenxiu feel a strange feeling in her heart, followed by confusion and panic.At this moment, she suddenly realized that the person Kulan liked was Batai. Thinking of the sweet tone in which she always mentioned her sweetheart, she suddenly felt a strong sense of loss and sadness in her heart.

To the Wonder episode 7 plot preview: Gao Xiaoliang stays as a helper

Zhang Fengxia learned through Li Wenxiu that the woods were full of fungus, and suddenly thought that this would be a way to make money, so she left Gao Xiaoliang as a helper and purchased this kind of food that local people did not eat from nearby herdsmen.Gao Xiaoliang went into the old forest alone to pick fungus. In the depths of this dark, damp, and sticky forest, all living things are willing to hide in the shadows, making it extremely difficult to find.

But Gao Xiaoliang is a man after all, and he is strong. With his unremitting efforts, he picked a whole bag of fungus in just half a day.Seeing the sky getting dark, Gao Xiaoliang picked up his bag and walked back, while Zhang Fengxia prepared a hot meal at home. For him, a wanderer with no fixed abode, he was inexplicably moved.

To the Wonder Episode 8 finale plot introduction: Li Wenxiu meets Batai again

Sulitan began to reflect on himself due to family conflicts, and finally agreed to let Token take his children to school in the county town.Batai learned of the situation through Token, who was persuading Batai to reconcile with Sulitan.

On the day of Eid al-Adha, Ba Tai handed over the food he had worked so hard to raise to Ta Xue to Li Wenxiu. I believe that Li Wenxiu and Ta Xue get along very well.

Because Corban is a major festival, local herdsmen gathered to watch the horse racing. There was also a lively market nearby, and even Zhang Fengxia pulled a camel to sell things.

Sulitan dressed solemnly and came to Batai on horseback with a shotgun on his back. Under the mediation of Uncle Beike, the father and son finally had a frank conversation.Although it was difficult for Sulitan to accept the changes and development of the world, he was still willing to let Ba Tai lead a life he liked, and gave the shotgun to Ba Tai and asked him to report it to Uncle Buick.Seeing the change in his father, Ba Tai was very moved, and the father and son resolved the conflict.

On the other side, Chao Ge found Gao Xiaoliang, whom he had not seen for a long time, in the market and angrily scolded him for turning over the turf and destroying the ecology. However, Gao Xiaoliang denied it.Gao Xiaoliang said that he recycled cordyceps at a high price at the market and did not dig the turf with his own hands, so there was no destruction. However, he did not know that this kind of behavior was tantamount to aiding the tyranny. Chao Ge could only condemn it morally, and there was no evidence that he had broken the law.

Li Wenxiu saw Gao Xiaoliang passing by on a motorcycle. Regardless of Zhang Fengxia's obstruction, he immediately chased after Gao Xiaoliang on Taxue.

At this time, Ba Tai was going to participate in the competition and had to give the shotgun to Zhang Fengxia and asked her to pass it on to Uncle Buick.But Zhang Fengxia was worried about her daughter's safety, so she didn't go to Uncle Buick immediately and looked around with a shotgun.

On a high slope not far away, Gao Xiaoliang gave the Cordyceps he recovered to an old friend. Unexpectedly, the other party went back on his promise. He originally promised to pay 10,000 yuan per kilogram, but directly reduced the price to 1,000 yuan.

While Gao Xiaoliang was arguing with others, Li Wenxiu rushed over, yelled at Gao Xiaoliang, and tried to snatch his grandma's pendant around his neck. Gao Xiaoliang became so angry that he turned around and threw Li Wenxiu to the ground.

Zhang Fengxia happened to see this scene and ran over with a shotgun in hand. The barrel of the gun was pressed against Gao Xiaoliang's head. Li Wenxiu took the opportunity to get up.Gao Xiaoliang explained that he wanted to exchange the old lady's jade pendant for money so that he could take Zhang Fengxia away from here in the future, but he did not do so, so he came up with the idea of ​​selling Cordyceps.

It wasn't until today that Zhang Fengxia saw Gao Xiaoliang's true face. They were not from the same world at all. He raised his gun in despair and wounded each other, warning the other party not to pursue Cordyceps sinensis again, otherwise he would be shot next time.However, the more Gao Xiaoliang thought about it, the more angry he became. He chased Zhang Fengxia and his daughter on a motorcycle and pulled Zhang Fengxia off the horse. Fortunately, the police arrived in time to catch Gao Xiaoliang.

On the other hand, Li Wenxiu didn't know how to ride a horse, so he was dragged and injured by Texue along the way.In order to save Li Wenxiu, Ba Taichi pierced Ta Xue's neck with an arrow. To reduce Ta Xue's pain, he cut off its head with a knife, and then cried in grief.Everyone present looked sad when they saw this. Li Wenxiu had already burst into tears.

That day, Li Wenxiu sat alone at the table and cried silently. After crying for a long time, she gradually calmed down, put on her glasses, picked up a pen and wrote line after line in the notebook, drawing an unsatisfactory ending to her short-lived love.period.As she said in her article: The world is bright, the earth is far-reaching, and late autumn has arrived.

After the Eid al-Adha festival ended, Token took his children back to the county town to go to school, and fell in love with Chao Ge; Sulitan sold half of his sheep and horses, and he wanted to move to a remote mountain pasture alone.

Zhang Fengxia followed Ayibek back to Rainbow Brak. During the process, he passed by the tree, and memories came to his heart and were buried in his heart again.As for Ba Tai, he went to Burqin Racecourse alone, and Li Wenxiu never saw him again.

After bidding farewell to her mother, Li Wenxiu came to the racecourse in person to find Ba Tai, and learned that Ba Tai went to Qingdao to study, and there was no definite date for her return.Zhang Fengxia comforted her lovelorn daughter and told her a phone number from the city. She used the number to find Liyuan Publishing House, only to learn that Liu Haibo had been looking for her for three months and was preparing to publish a collection of her articles.

That night, Li Wenxiu followed everyone to have dinner at a roadside stall.Liu Haibo asked Li Wenxiu about her experience in the grassland. Li Wenxiu recalled every detail of these days and said that she learned to love, learn to live, and learned to get hurt. She also caused others to get hurt, and she felt guilty inside.

From then on, Li Wenxiu stayed at the publishing house, found her dream of literature, and received her first royalties.Li Wenxiu did not return to Rainbow Brak. He traveled around for a long time, working while compiling and publishing his previous experiences in writing. After a few years, he saved some money, saw the world he wanted to see, and finally remembered that he was far away.Mother in the prairie.

In the blink of an eye, three years later, Li Wenxiu bought fireworks and returned to Rainbow Brak as the Spring Festival was approaching, and invited Chao Ge, A Yao, Su Litan and others to celebrate the New Year together.Su Litan knew that it was just an accident and not Li Wenxiu's fault, so he asked Zhang Fengxia to tell Li Wenxiu not to send him money every year.

As the fireworks took off brilliantly, everyone heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance and followed the sound. Batai took off his hat, revealing that familiar face, which made Li Wenxiu burst into tears.

(Finale)