 Women s roles and consumerism in a Chinese village. The independent Ermo supports her son and disabled husband, rising early to make noodles she sells as a street vendor. A snooty neighbor has a TV, so Ermo wants a huge one. The neighbor s husband, Blindman, offers her transport to sell baskets she s made. After he gets her a city job making restaurant noodles and more money, their relationship becomes an affair. She s also selling her blood. When she discovers Blindman is subsidizing her pay, she throws the money at him and quits the job; he covers their affair and her reputation by getting beaten up over a woman in the city. When she has enough for the TV, she s exhausted.