The Miller's Wife

This film (drama)Also known as磨坊女人，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2005Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin/Cantonese，Current Douban rating8.2(For reference only)。

In a small county in Jiaodong, nestled between the mountains and the sea, a bustling trade route attracts merchants from far and wide. The waterway worker's husband, a gambler, died after losing everything to his addiction, leaving her with the mill and their underage son, Xiaoshun. The waterway worker inspects the mill, unable to let go of her attachment to it. Since marrying into the Shui family, her life has been intertwined with the mill. This business was established by Shui's grandfather and is well-known in the area. After becoming obsessed with gambling, Shui's father passed away in anger, urging the waterway worker on his deathbed to keep the family business afloat. Now, her son Xiaoshun shows no interest in the mill, only wanting to become a cart driver. When the whip cracks, no distance can deter him. He urges his mother to let go, believing he can support her. The owner of the well-known Baozi shop, Boss Wang, arrives, offering to exchange the mill to help the waterway worker through her hardships. Bai Junxu, the grain officer from the Water Army Camp, has also taken an interest in the waterway worker and decides to mediate, proposing marriage. He asks her to use the mill as her dowry, promising a comfortable life together. What should she do? Leave this place of sorrow or regroup and fight back? The waterway worker decides to keep the mill open! Her father from her maiden family was a businessman, and she has been influenced by him since childhood. For these past years, she has been the one keeping the mill going; Shui has merely been a figurehead. She believes she can manage. She is determined to become the only female head of a mill in this small Jiaodong county. Xiaoshun is the waterway worker's only son. He doesn't want to be the young owner but is enamored with driving carts. This passion leads him to fall into the hands of the owner of a cart business, Huang Si, incurring debts from gambling. Feeling guilty towards his mother, he cuts off his finger to pledge his determination. He inherited his mother’s fiery spirit, seeming silent yet daring to poison the county magistrate’s flour to avenge his friends in the revolution. In the end, he kills Huang Si and flees to another land. Old Jingtai is the mill's veteran worker. He has a wife back home but left her for a Korean who digs ginseng. Out of respect for Shui's dying wishes, he takes care of the widowed mother and son, dedicating himself tirelessly to the mill. Loyal and devoted, he secretly falls in love with the waterway worker but feels unworthy to express his feelings. He merely hopes to attract her attention. However, she seems to be oblivious to his existence. When Xiaoshun gets into trouble, he steps forward, taking the blame and sacrificing himself. Only as he faces execution does he finally win the affection of the long-desired waterway worker. Wu Laoda is the boss of a quarry. With remarkable skills in "grinding," he is regarded as a hero by the common people. Charming and generous, he and the waterway worker naturally become secret lovers, their love akin to a tide. But when Xiaoshun faces disaster, he finds himself at a loss. The heroic death of Old Jingtai awakens him from his stupor, filled with shame. He wishes to reshape his image in the waterway worker's eyes, joining the quarry revolt, ultimately paying with his life.