The story begins in the early 1980s, in a coastal city in the north. Liu Ruyan and Wan Shulin are both workers at a state-owned printing and dyeing factory. They have been married for five years, but they don't have any children. They've had many arguments about this. Wan Shulin curses Liu Ruyan as a "chicken that doesn't lay eggs" and even threatens to divorce her and find another woman who can bear children. Liu Ruyan feels extremely wronged and heartbroken, so she goes to her younger sister to cry on her shoulder. Her sister, Liu Rumai, works at a hospital and has great sympathy for her older sister. She suggests that they go see a doctor to determine the cause of their infertility.