The protagonist, a university teacher at Peking University. In her past life, she lived a miserable existence for thirty years after being sent down, losing all her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. She died in a hospital bed at an old age, kept alive only by a promise to her husband. At the moment of death, her grandfather's voice reminded her of the Qiao family's ancestral jade bracelet. She was reborn back to March 1972, just one week before her family was scheduled to be sent down. She is also called Ah-Ru by her husband and Old Qiao by neighbors. She is quiet and private by nature but takes decisive action in her rebirth to prepare for the hardships ahead.
