Spring Silkworms

The film itself shows the family of Tong Bao in their efforts day and night, to keep silkworms. Tong Bao is a great believer in superstitions (such as judging a future harvest by the number of sprouting onion stalks) and a number of taboos. For instance, he prohibits his son from talking to a neighbour’s daughter, called He Hua (Lotus Flower), because she is believed by the village to bring bad luck. In the season in question, Tong Bao borrows money at high interest in order to buy mulberry leaves for the silkworms. He envisages a bumper harvest. At the time of the cocoon harvest, war breaks out and silk production is at a standstill. He can’t offload the cocoons and eventually must ship them a long way just to sell them at a loss. – IMDb