This book tells the story of Beijing Bell and Drum Tower from 5 am to 5 pm on February 1982+ 12. In an ancient quadrangle, Aunt Xue got up early in the morning to pack her things, waiting for Master He, her roommate, to give a banquet, because her second son Xue got married today. But as usual, Uncle Xue went to the seaside behind Shichahai for a walk and boxing. Meng's eldest daughter-in-law has not arrived yet. Aunt Xue is anxious. Xunlei, a young man in the same hospital, helped her put red happy characters on both sides of the courtyard door. Thunder's father is a retired worker, and now he repairs shoes for a living. Lei Xun received strict family education since childhood, studied hard and got good grades in foreign languages. After graduating from high school, he was unexpectedly hired by the foreign affairs department and sent abroad for training. I returned to China this summer and worked as a translator in an important department. At this time, the young man Lu Xichun came to Xue's maiden by bike. He works in a small restaurant near Chongwenmen. In order to let his son retire early, Master Lao He, who cooks in the same room, came to this small restaurant to cook. Seeing that he was kind-hearted and eager to learn, Lu accepted him as an apprentice. Today, Lu Xichun came to attend the wedding banquet hosted by Xue Jiacao for the master. Tan Tai Zhi Zhu, a Peking Opera actor, lives in the south third room of the courtyard outside the courtyard. During the Cultural Revolution, she was persecuted, taken to a button factory as a packer, and married an ordinary lathe worker, Li Kai. Aunt Xue looked at the husband and wife and the United States, and her children were both happy. Tujili asked her to accompany her eldest daughter-in-law to the wedding. But in the troupe, Sun Puyang, who sang a niche for a Taiwan Province intellectual pearl, and two accompanying musicians suddenly came to the rescue: Lao Zhao, who pulled Jinghu, and the old boy who played banjo were robbed by another more famous actress. Li Kai hates Puyang Sun, who is full of femininity and performs with his wife. He ran away in a rage to find her. Zhan, opposite the Xue family, went to the wedding instead of Meng. Zhan graduated from college in the 1950s. She is kind-hearted and warm-hearted, but she is loud, careless and willful, and often offends people. 1957 was classified as Rightist, reformed for more than 20 years, and separated from a metallurgical technician in Sichuan. Aunt Xue has some regrets about letting this unhappy person go to the wedding. Living in the backyard of the quadrangle is director Zhang Qilin. He was supposed to go abroad for a visit this morning, but the plane took off in the afternoon, so he asked his daughter Zhang Xiuzao to help him tidy up the bookcase. Zhang Xiuzao studied in Tsinghua University Water Conservancy Department and secretly loved Lei Xun, while Lei Xun had fallen in love with Feng Wanshu, a graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University in the same unit. She was secretly sad. Master Xun, his father, is not satisfied with Feng Wanshu, who is full of foreign flavor. He is from Hebei. Before liberation, he joined the army with his countryman Guo Dunzi. He lived and died in the rain of bullets, and later went to town as a worker. 1960, two wives were pregnant at the same time, so it was decided that if one of them gave birth to a boy and the other gave birth to a girl, the two children would grow up and get married. Guo Dunzi was later sent back to his hometown and died of poverty and illness. Today, his daughter Guo will come to Beijing to visit Master Xun's family. After the implementation of the responsibility system in rural areas, the Xinger family made a fortune. Today, she walked into Beijing for the first time. After getting off the train, she took a parcel and went to Tiananmen Square to take photos. Then she climbed up the long-awaited Wangfujing three-story department store, and bought a big bag of wine and cakes to Xun's house. She was generous when she met Feng Wanshu, but she couldn't understand what Feng Wanshu said about "computer" and "information", so she asked Feng Wanshu if he knew that a wild vegetable called waterlogging in the field would make her face swollen. The first person to come to the Xue family for a wedding banquet was Lu Baosang, a 29-year-old single man. He was born in an ordinary citizen's family. His father, Lu Shengqi, is a beggar in Beijing Beggars' Sect. He was once bought by the authorities with steamed bread to fight hunger and civil war. His mother, Huang, is said to be the daughter of "Huang" who sold insect medicine in Tianqiao before liberation. Lu Baosang inherited his parents' hooliganism and didn't bring gifts. When you enter the house, you need cigarettes and sugar. I didn't expect that the specifications of cigarettes and sugar are very high. The groom Xue is very unhappy today. He thought of the grievances and difficulties he had suffered for getting married. In order to buy a gold-plated radar watch for his fiancee, his parents saved money for three years. He has another unspeakable difficulty: on a snowy night, a woman offered her love to him, but he failed, which caused him serious psychological trauma. The bride Pan Xiuya does some chores in a photo studio, such as issuing invoices and collecting negatives. Her father, a small businessman, worked as a clerk in a washing and dyeing shop after liberation. Her mother's family used to set up stalls and deal in wigs. Pan Xiuya, who grew up in this family, has a heavy sense of inferiority, so she often puts on airs with customers like most salespeople to find a little spiritual satisfaction. She doesn't value "love" when looking for a partner, but mainly considers whether it is "suitable". After trying to change her position by pursuing the professor's son, she chose Xue. A rented car took her to Xue's house, and the wedding reception began. Zhan took the bride back and went back to her room to take care of the two guests, who were dragged together by her to talk about the object. Ji Zhiman, a classmate of Zhan University, is now teaching mathematics in a middle school. I am unmarried in my 40 s and like collecting stamps. Mu Ying, a woman, lives in this quadrangle, and the room connected with Xue Da's mother's house is her home. She hasn't moved here for a long time. She is a doctor and lives in the infirmary of the unit, so Zhan doesn't know much about her. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, she married a hero who was disabled in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, named Mu Ying. After being sent to college, his ideas changed. He divorced the hero, married his classmate Ge Zunzhi and changed his name to Mu Ying. During the Cultural Revolution, Ge Zunzhi became mediocre and had no ambition. She divorced Ge again and fell in love with a minister who had just returned to work. Zhan forced her to meet Ji Zhiman, so she had to come, but she only asked Ji Zhiman for a stamp that Zhang Chen dreamed of. Director Zhang Qilin's house was not calm at noon. Pang Qishan, who has just been promoted to the position of information stationmaster, asked him to buy books from abroad. An anonymous letter exposed that the administrative director of the bureau sought personal gain in the process of housing distribution. The wedding reception of the Xue family reached its climax. Lu Baosang, who was drunk and glib, was a rogue and humiliated Lu Xichun, saying that his father ran errands for clients and prostitutes in brothels before liberation. Lu Xichun was scarred and wanted to beat Lu Baosang, but he didn't want to stir up the Xue family wedding. He was so wronged that he sat under the cooking shed and cried. Lu Baosang ran wild and lifted the table, and was knocked down by Uncle Yin who knew how to set bones at the same table. Yao Xiangdong, a middle school student who went downhill because of improper education, mingled with the crowd who came to congratulate Xue family and stole the bride's radar watch and the gift money for the chef. The bride was wronged, and the kind uncle Xun asked her to take money to buy the same watch. He lied that the thief put it outside the door and returned it to the Xue family after being discovered. Living side by side with the Taishi family is the old editor Han. He has trained many young poets, and he has also been entangled by "literary youth" who are insane. Today, an opportunistic and morally corrupt "literary newcomer" came to beg for a manuscript that was invalidated seven years ago and humiliated him face to face, almost driving him crazy. A Zhi Zhu was demolished and her husband was missing. Wandering in the street, he saw a group of old people sunbathing under the bell and drum tower, saying that the past is the present. Grandpa Hu talked about coolies in the Forbidden City 50 years ago, and Mrs. Hai talked about the lotus market in Shichahai 40 years ago. In the quadrangle, the wedding banquet is coming to an end, and Xue's eldest brother Xue is back. He is the captain of the transport team. He got up this morning and took the team to grab the task. On the way, he helped someone repair the car and missed his important event. Aunt Xue was moved by Lu Xichun's simplicity and kindness and decided to be a relative in the future. At this time, Zhang Qilin was still thinking about the work of the unit on the plane and realized that time is money. Feng Wanshu, Zhang Xiuzao and Guo are planning a party to exchange information and discuss the mission of young people. ..... Life is colorful, and the bell and drum towers stand tall and enduring, and become the witness of social history and personal destiny.