Just after the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, who would have thought that a period drama would directly enter the hot search? "The Love of Time" starring Huang Jingyu and Guan Xiaotong was an instant hit as soon as it aired – CCTV 8 episodes were updated on time at 17:30, and iQiyi was launched at the same time. The 4 episodes had just been updated, and the popularity directly exceeded 6,000. It even firmly ranked first in the ratings during this time period! The most amazing thing is that the audience has no disagreement after reading the review, and their evaluations are surprisingly consistent. They are all praising the same thing?
The play went against the grain at the beginning and gave a twist: Zhang Xiaoman, played by Huang Jingyu, was boxing in Japan. Someone forced him to fake a match, but he would rather die than obey. After the fight, he was knocked into the sea with a sap. Everything in the camera is taken back to the Tiexicheng Donghua Factory in the Northeast in the 1990s – it was a large factory with ten thousand people, with dormitories, canteens, hospitals, and schools. It was a small self-sufficient society.
Xiaoman's mother left early to spend time with her father and grandma. His father, Zhang Jiaming, could play the harmonica but loved to drink. He lost his job as a grade-8 fitter. One night, his father played a few harmonica songs, left a note and left. From then on, Xiaoman and his grandmother depended on each other.
In the summer of 1990, 10-year-old Xiao Man was naughty and was chased by his father. He met Xia Lei (played by Wang Tianchen) who was also chased by his mother. The two "brainless" and "unhappy" became close buddies. Xia Lei was a bit introverted when he first moved in, so Xiaoman took him around the factory and let him meet Ding Guoqiang, a model worker in the factory – he looks so fierce on the outside that he wants to eat people, but he is actually very soft-hearted.
Xiaoman couldn't figure out why his father left, so he took Xia Lei and the chief engineer's daughter Yan Xiaodan (played by Guan Xiaotong) and secretly embarked on the road to find his father. On the way, the three children chatted about growing up. Xia Lei said that he wanted to build a "bridge and railway". Xiao Dan yearned for the distant place. Only Xiao Man insisted on guarding the Donghua Plant – after all, his parents were gone, and he felt that the outside world was not as good as his hometown.
The disappearance of the children alarmed the entire factory, and Master Ding and Xiaodan's father, who had just finished their injections, rushed to look for them. As a result, the three of them spent the night in the cave. By the campfire, Xiaoman and Xia Lei agreed to be brothers for life. In the end, Xiaoman almost fell into the river, but Master Ding rescued him, and the runaway ended.
Six years later, things have changed a lot: people in the factory started helping Xiaoman and grandma, and the vegetable stall slowly turned into a newsstand. Xiaoman, Xia Lei, and Xiaodan were promoted to second grade. Feng Xiaobo, a repeater, asked Xiaoman for money. Xia Lei wanted to give it to him, but Feng Xiaobo went even further and asked for books and 100 yuan. Xiaoman immediately chased him with an iron rod, and Feng Xiaobo jumped out of the window and threatened him. Xiaodan threw a bucket of water over him without saying a word, and rushed Feng Xiaobo into the cave. It turned out that the quiet Xiaodan was very wild at heart. When he was a child, he climbed into cars and played with slingshots with boys.
Xia Lei was ranked first in his grade, but because Meng Ge, the daughter of factory director Meng, was transferred, he was not elected as squad leader and could only become a labor committee member. At the art performance, he and Xiao Dan wanted to recite poems, but they borrowed Meng Ge's poetry collection, but Xia's mother misunderstood her as a puppy love and forced her to change seats at school. Xia Lei went home to go on a hunger strike, and Xiao Man crawled in from the pipe outside the window to persuade him. He understood his grievances but laughed at him for "being in blessings and not knowing the blessings."
Xiaoman felt that he was being squeezed out by Xia Lei and Xiaodan, and his grandma woke him up. He searched for poems to help, but found that the two had prepared "To the Oak Tree". Xia Lei noticed that he was disappointed. Before the performance, he ate green onions with dipping sauce to make his voice hoarse. He recommended Xiao Man to play – but Xiao Man and Xiao Dan turned out to be a golden boy and a beautiful girl. Xia Lei felt warm to his heart.
Xiaoman played "We Workers Have Power" on guitar and was selected for the factory celebration, and got front row tickets for grandma to watch. Xiao Dan had an idea and used the "Xiao Man Show" to sell tickets, and they were empty in seconds! On the day of the factory's anniversary, Master Ding lamented that the factory was becoming increasingly deserted. Master Ding said it was good that it had not closed down. Xiaoman couldn't find her grandma, so after taking the stage, she and Xiaodan temporarily changed to a rock version of "Really Love You". The young man was upset, but the director thought it was immoral, so the security guards carried them out.
When Xiaoman came back, he saw Xiaodan crying and saying that his grandma had passed away on the chair. Xiaoman broke down and cried on the spot. The crying scene was really touching. It was not a deliberate cry, but it was the kind of confusion and collapse that suddenly made the sky fall. It gave a full sense of empathy.
After the funeral, Master Ding took the initiative to be Xiaoman's guardian. The factory gave him 100 yuan a month. He also said that Xiaoman's father also died and Xiaoman became an orphan. Master Ding, Xia Ma and others came to comfort him. Da Ge used his own experience to persuade him to face it bravely, and Xiao Man came up with the idea of becoming a soldier.
After watching 4 episodes, the audience's evaluation is surprisingly unanimous, no one dislikes it! Some people said, "The props are so amazing. The popsicles, newsstands, and harmonicas from the 1990s will make you fall in love at first sight." Some people praised Guan Xiaotong for "playing the ignorant girl very well, and the part of protecting the calf was amazing."; more people praised Huang Jingyu, "I cried when my grandma passed away. It was not sensational, but it was really painful." Some people said, "The people in the factory are extremely humane. They help everyone who has something to do, unlike the strangers in the neighborhood now."
In fact, the reason why this drama is so popular is because of its "reality" – there is no bloody love triangle, it is all about the trivial matters of the parents: grandma mixing vegetables, Xia Lei's mother cooking, Master Ding scolding the children but handing out sweets. These details have touched the memories of many people. And there is no forced sensationalism. The scene when grandma died was "suddenly gone", like a farewell in life, not pretentious but tearful.
However, the play left a lot of suspense: Why didn't Xiao Man join the army and go to Japan? How are you doing when the wave of layoffs comes? What will happen to Xiao Dan and Xia Lei in the end? No wonder after watching all 4 episodes, the audience is asking for more!
Reference materials: CCTV News ""When Time Has Love": The Temperature of the Times is Hidden in the Fireworks"; People's Daily Client "The Password for "Breaking the Circle" of Period Dramas: Truth is Power"
