Choui Khoua

It takes place in a village in Zhejiang Province in 1931, the year the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Students have started a boycott of Japanese-made products, but shopkeeper Lin merely relabels his Japanese goods in order to stay in business. Lin must resort to every type of underhanded business practice to keep his shop afloat. When his own daughter is threatened by the amorous advances of the chief of police, he decides it is better to give up. He closes down his shop and flees with the girl.

The story centers on a well-known Chinese folk tale about a girl named Xi'er, the daughter of a poor farmer in Shaanxi province, whose family is persecuted by a brutal landlord.