兩個典型農民工的故事。張知麗帶兒子出城打工，兩女兒成了「留守兒童」，長女初長成，已希望效法雙親，輟學離鄉工作。楊繡青以去世丈夫的撫恤金為子女買了城市戶口，怎料仍要交高昂的學費，結果她讓大女兒停學工作，繼續供小兒子上學。 These are true tales of the peasants: Zhang takes her son with her to work in the city, leaving two daughters behind. Incidentally, the older daughter can't wait to follow in her mother's footsteps. Yang buys her children urban residence permits with the compensation for the death of her husband. Schooling in the city turns out to be so expensive that her older daughter has to drop out and earn her own living while Yang continues to work hard to pay for her younger son's tuition.