The story took place in a village nestled at the foot of a mountain in Yunnan Province in south China, where the author had spent two years when she was young and befriended a family of six daughters. The father of the six girls had all along wanted to have a son, but he never got one. His unfulfilled wish led to a series of miserable events. However, the sisters, the eldest girl in particular, bore their misfortune bravely and filled the family with care and love.