This novel can be divided into three parts.
The first part (paragraph 1~3): Starting from the customs and habits of Luzhen, it describes the rural life of "I" returning to Pingqiao Village with my mother: playing games with my children, digging earthworms, fishing for shrimps and herding cattle.
This part describes the social environment and reveals the reasons why a group of peasant teenagers are hospitable, smart, naive, lively, simple and kind: Pingqiao Village is "extremely remote" and "there are less than 30 households", so "almost all the guests in one family are public"; "Even if we quarrel occasionally and hit the squire, people in a village, old and young, will never think of the word' offending'"; People in Pingqiao Village are "99% illiterate", far from feudal education and feudal ethics. Less polluted by the dark reality of feudal society.
The second part (paragraphs 4-30) describes the whole process of "me" and my children going to see a play in Zhaozhuang.
Paragraph 4~ 13 talks about "before going to the theatre", focusing on the emotional changes of "me": when I don't have a boat, I feel anxious ("I feel like crying", and "I don't catch shrimp, I eat less", pretending to be charming and threatening adults; When boarding the ship-brisk ("rush out of the door at once", "my heavy heart suddenly relaxed, and my body seems to stretch beyond words"); On the boat-intoxicated ("talking and laughing, shouting" was calm, but choked up).
14~2 1 paragraph is about "watching a play" and "my" feelings about watching a play. This play is not good When I saw the stage from a distance, although I was "Mo Hu", my wish to see the play came true, so "the fairyland I saw in the suspect's painting appeared here." However, the performances in the stands: The Old Man Don't Do somersaults are regrettable, Xiao Dan's Enjoying is boring, and the young man's Old Age makes me a little tired. Although the clown let everyone "cheer up", "But Lao Dan finally came out", not only "singing up and down", but also
Paragraphs 22 to 30 are about "after the play", about going home late at night and stealing beans on the way. Although the play was not good-looking, "I" realized my wish, and the children's help paid off, and everyone was very happy. So on the boat back home, "we talk about actors, or scold or laugh, and rock the boat", so that "the boat is like a big white fish, carrying a group of children in the waves". On the way home, Guisheng suggested stealing beans, because "the boatman said he was too tired because he was too tired from work and had nothing to eat for a long time". Guisheng proposed "stealing beans" because he didn't buy me soy milk in front of the stage, but he didn't drink it, so he felt uneasy and sorry. It can be seen that the proposal of "stealing beans" shows the enthusiasm of farmers and teenagers for sincere hospitality. The beans were mainly stolen by Afa's family, and Afa's "touched once". After comparison, it is confirmed that "ours are much bigger" before stealing, which shows their purity, generosity and selflessness. In order to prevent Afa Niang from swearing, they stole some from their father-in-law on June 1 to distract people. In order not to let the secret be discovered, they washed all the utensils after eating the beans. "The beans and shells were thrown into the river", leaving no trace; In order to deal with Master Eight, I came up with a countermeasure. These all reflect their thoughtfulness and simplicity.
The third part (paragraph 3 1~40): Write the aftermath after the theater, and express the infinite memory of Pingqiao village people.
"The next day" and "I didn't hear anything about the incident of salt firewood in Baye" showed that Baye didn't care about the passive use of salt firewood at all. Liu Yigong, who was robbed of beans, just blamed him for "stepping on a lot" and smiled and treated him "deserved it". He was very happy that "I" praised the beans as "very good" and gave them to my mother and me, showing the simplicity and kindness of the working people. But I ate beans, but not as delicious as last night's beans. And sighed: "Really, until now, I really haven't eaten good beans like that night, and I will never see a drama like that night again." In fact, the beans that night were only cooked and mixed with salt, and the play that night was not good either. Why does "I" taste "good"? "Good" does not lie in the drama and beans themselves, but because in the process of watching drama and eating beans, "I", who was deeply bound by feudal education, understood and felt the rich feelings and excellent qualities of working farmers and farm teenagers.
This novel, with affectionate style, describes an experience of "I" when I was a child in Pingqiao village, portrays the images of a group of peasant children, shows the beautiful qualities of simplicity, kindness, friendliness and selflessness of the working people, shows the poetic picture of the lives of the vast number of rural children, and expresses the author's deep feelings for the working people and yearning for a free life free from feudal bondage.