[2] Because a prominent storyline portrays the difficulties of buying an affordable home in the city, the show has become a symbol of the perceived ongoing real estate bubble in China,[3] generating controversy in the Chinese press and attracting attention from foreign media sources.
Guo Haiping (Hai Qing) is the elder of two sisters, who moves to the fictional city of Jiangzhou to attend a prestigious college there.
She and her husband Su Chun (Hao Ping) remain in the city after graduation, living in a very shabby shikumen in order to save money to buy a house.
Haiping then convinces her mother (Cao Cuifen) to let Guo Haizao (Li Nian), her younger sister, to come to Jiangzhou for college as well.
Haizao eventually finds a job and meets Xiao Bei (Wen Zhang), a warm-hearted white collar office worker whom she starts dating.
Meanwhile, Song and his superior (Ma Guanying), the mayor of Jiangzhou, have been involved in brokering real estate deals with local businessmen and taking large bribes.