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Focusing on one of the most crucial social and livelihood issues in China—homebuying

A roundtable for contemporary Chinese people to discuss real estate, ethics, the workplace, and education.

This book continues Lu Yingong's signature storytelling style with tightly woven, exquisite character designs and a lively, interesting yet realistic depiction of ordinary life. The novel condenses the thirty-year history of home buying in China across three generations into the story of ten people from five households buying houses over the course of one year. Through this lens, the book paints a vivid picture of Chinese families and their diverse experiences in the housing market. 

The author conducted three years of research, visiting nearly fifty real estate agencies, and distilled typical family cases: intellectual homeowners, house-flipping housewives, out-of-town buyers, young people buying homes after studying, working, or starting a business, and elderly divorced individuals splitting property for retirement. The book explores emerging Chinese social phenomena relating to homebuying such as the “return to poverty” among younger generation, the latchkey kids returning home, “new social compatibility” in marriage, “in-laws forcing marriage housing,” women's independence with “a room of one's own,” and “relationship partnerships,” and late-life divorces for property. It offers a deep reflection on the contemporary struggles within the housing market and redefines the meaning of home for Chinese people.