Plot Synopsis
"Small Town Stories" tells the story of Mu Di, a graduate student specializing in traditional Chinese music, who "escapes" from the big city and returns to her hometown to embark on an unconventional journey.
Mu Di, a female graduate student majoring in suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) at aprestigious university in Beijing, loses the opportunity to join a national orchestra due to illness. She is forced to retuto her hometown for recuperation.
There, she crossespaths with Bai Lang, the owner of a well-connected eventplanning company in the small town. Despite their contrastingpersonalities and backgrounds, the two form an unlikelypartnership, experiencing mutual transformation.
The story unfolds in this small town, resembling a diverse and flavorful dish that reflects the complexities of human relationships. It is also like a bustling food stall where laughter and tears intertwine.
Different individuals can experience the various aspects of small-town charm, the ups and downs of life, and the diverse range of human experiences within this story.
Where to Watch "Small Town Stories"
iQIYI (Subscription)YoYo TV Free (sub)YoYo English Channel Free (sub)Episodes Recap
- 1-4
- 5-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
- 17-20
- 21-24
- 25-28
- 29-30
Episode 1 : Mu Di and Bai Lang met for the first time.
Episode 2 : Mu Di's tinnitus disappeared as she played the suona at the funeral.
Episode 3 : Mu Di helped Bai Lang complete the sea burial.
Episode 4 : Bai Lang was forced to buy the fishing boat.
Episode 5 : Mu Di and William became friends through a blind date.
Episode 6 : William and Ding Yi competed for Mu Di.
Episode 7 : Mu Di's performance failed at the wedding.
Episode 8 : Mu Di's new song has become a hit.
Episode 9 : Bai Lang sold the company to William.
Episode 10 : Mu Di and William run a company.
Episode 11 : Xu Huan made a mistake out of jealousy.
Episode 12 : Bai Lang and Mu Di finally made up.
Episode 13 : Mu Di received a message from Beijing.
Episode 14 : Mu Di returned to Beijing to prepare for an interview.
Episode 15 : Mu Di failed the exam for the Suona.
Episode 16 : Bai Lang went to Beijing to console Mu Di.
Episode 17 : Mu Di returned to Wei Hai with a sad heart.
Episode 18 : Everyone helped Da Lei complete the wedding.
Episode 19 : Mu Di went to school to become a teacher.
Episode 20 : Mu Ma organized a birthday banquet for Mu Di.
Episode 21 : Bai Lang formed a band with Mu Di.
Episode 22 : William and Qu Wen Wen are together.
Episode 23 : The band had a successful first performance.
Episode 24 : The band's live broadcast finally succeeded.
Cast & Role
William Jia
(Wu Xing Jian)
Ding Yi
(Xu Shao Ying)
Huang Jin
(Song Jia Teng)
Qu Wen Wen
(Lv Xiao Yu)
I used to really like this drama, but now I suddenly don't like it anymore. Why should they use the kindness of the female lead to fulfill their lives? Does the female lead owe them anything?
Except for William, none of the others even bothered to say sorry. Especially the male lead, he blames the female lead for having only dreams. The female lead grew up being pampered by her parents, never having to worry about money, and she won't have to worry about it in the future either.
Why should she try to understand them? Although the female lead's parents may want their child to be by their side, it's definitely not in this way. The male lead's character lacks a sincere apology.
First of all, in the episode with the fishing boat, it's true that the male lead mistreated the female lead, and he wasn't good in that aspect. Secondly, regarding William buying the company, the price he offered cannot be refused.
The male lead didn't force William to make the purchase; they both benefited from it.
Secondly, it's normal for the female lead to feel deceived and to blame herself. She thinks it's because of her that William deceived her.
However, she doesn't know the whole story. William was also deceiving her along with the male lead. So, it's not entirely the male lead's fault. They both have issues, as the female lead mentioned, one unwilling to refund money and the other unwilling to give up shares.
And let's not bring up moral coercion or anything like that. The fact that the female lead has shares in the company doesn't prevent her from going to Beijing. It's just that this situation has left her speechless and conflicted.
Arguments can easily escalate when emotions are involved.
I don't see any issue with the male lead's character. He prioritizes money for the sake of his livelihood, his sick mother, and his numerous siblings. Dignity and money are not even comparable; having money allows his family and friends to live a good life, and the sick girl can afford her surgery.
The company is not just about him; he needs to consider everyone's situation. Moreover, that one million has nothing to do with the female lead. When comparing dreams and staying alive, of course, staying alive takes precedence.
Dreams should be built on a level without financial pressure, that belongs to the realm of the spiritual. How can one's spirit be enriched if their physical being is not well-off?
I'm extremely angry. I feel like the plot of this drama completely destroys one's sense of values. The male lead is essentially morally blackmailing others. Why should he use the female lead's dreams to pay for his brother's daughter's life?
They didn't even know each other before, and the female lead is capable and financially able to support him in achieving his dreams. After the viral spread of the internet hit song, the female lead could have easily returned to Beijing and pursued her own dreams.
The male lead selling the company was solely because of the female lead, which allowed him to sell it at such a high price. Despite knowing this, the male lead still acts this way. And the female lead is too weak and cowardly. It's not her fault, and she could have pursued her own dreams.
All the supporting characters want him to stay in this city. Why can't the female lead go out and pursue her own dreams? Everyone is only thinking about themselves, selfish and self-serving!
Mu Di's performance itself would cause tinnitus, so it's no wonder she wasn't chosen for the group. After she went back home, her experiences made her famous and she was given special treatment.
Even if she wasn't selected, she shouldn't be so pessimistic. After all, life has changed her suona*. Now that she's lost due to reality, she shouldn't blame others (don't attack me).
The character of the male lead has been terrible since the first episode. Yes, he is loyal and values friendship, but can't they handle their own messes instead of relying on others all the time?
Right from the start, he deceived the female lead's second uncle into renting a boat for a useless purpose, which ended up costing the female lead's family 100,000 yuan to take over the boat.
Maybe the female lead's family can afford to lose that amount, but why should he be entitled to that money? Later on, he deceived the female lead for his own benefit. To put it plainly, he just wanted the female lead to work for him and make money for him.
He even continuously pressured the female lead to go against her own wishes. After the female lead finally built up her own company with great difficulty, it's even more ridiculous that he sold her out and then stood on a moral high ground, accusing the female lead.
I've said it before, what does Old Pan's daughter, who supposedly died, have to do with the female lead? It was the male lead's own incompetence that prevented him from making money and caused her death.
He has no shame. When I see this, I feel like this TV drama is just a perverted man's imagination. Why would a good girl, who comes from a good family, has a high education, and is even attractive and sought after by others, be with a disrespectful, uncomprehending, and even manipulative guy like him, who only has a middle school education, no career, and no character?
Have his friends ever respected the female lead in any way? Yes, he has protected the female lead, but if it weren't for the male lead, the female lead wouldn't have encountered all those problems in the first place.
She wouldn't have needed him. You can't let a stray dog bite someone and then step forward to save them and expect them to be grateful for your kindness, can you?
The moral compass of this drama is questionable. First, they deceive the relatives of the female lead by exploiting her relationship with her friend's death. Even though they knew the consequences, it was the female lead's family who had to bear them, yet they still have the audacity to act righteous.
Later on, they only managed to buy the company for 1 million because of the female lead. If it weren't for William wanting to have a concert with the female lead and buying his company, their ideal price for purchasing the company would have been 100,000.
It's because of the female lead that they gained the benefit, yet they morally manipulate her, saying that their friend's child's illness is more important than the female lead's dream. Their moral compass is disgusting.
Yes, their friend is unfortunate, but what does it have to do with the female lead? They and their friend are the beneficiaries. When the female lead criticizes them, they resort to moral manipulation, and once again, it is the female lead who bears the consequences.
How shameless can they be?
I couldn't continue watching after the fourth episode. The male lead's character is too disgusting. The female lead took the temporary job thinking it was a legitimate business, but something must have gone wrong in the middle, and the male lead, as the person in charge, didn't care.
He tried to manipulate her emotionally, using a saintly act to keep her around, but he didn't even say a simple apology or show any responsibility. Some viewers may think this reflects the reality of small towns.
There was a scene in the middle of nowhere where the male lead asked if he should give her a ride back, and the female lead responded rudely. But that's because she felt deceived and didn't trust the person in charge.
It was understandable that she didn't want to get in the car. Later, when there was no car available, he immediately demanded five hundred upfront, even though the female lead had taken a taxi there for just over two hundred.
It felt like a blatant rip-off to me. In my opinion, he was just an opportunist taking advantage of the situation.
To complete the sea burial, he didn't want to lose money, so he deceived the female lead's second uncle into renting a boat.
Because they needed money for boat repairs, it was as if they didn't earn anything from taking on that job. And then they went to ask the customers for more money, claiming that the customer, a war veteran who wanted a sea burial, had agreed (but a sea burial in such a short time is impossible, and the customer even said, "Thank you for finding a company that can do it quickly and at a low cost.
Can't you be more honest? The customer can afford it, at least the six thousand plus that was already paid). They didn't consider the feelings of the second uncle, who owned the fishing boat.
Not to mention the feudal superstitions, it's someone else's belief and their freedom. The male lead's behavior was deceptive and morally problematic.
When the female lead found out about it from her friend, she immediately went to confront them and reluctantly agreed on the boat.
The situation escalated on the boat due to the deceased's family quarreling, and they set sail. It must have been a mix of emotions for her, and before leaving, she urged the male lead to resolve the situation and calm things down.
Afterwards, the second uncle somehow found out and went to the female lead's parents (of course, the second uncle didn't know the male lead, and I think the second uncle was a bit foolish.
They barely knew each other, and the female lead even warned him that the male lead couldn't be trusted, but he still signed a contract with the male lead on the spot). The female lead's parents, being relatives and her parents after all, had no choice but to pay a hundred thousand to purchase the fishing boat (the second uncle mentioned that the used fishing boat was worth a hundred and thirty thousand, but they cut him some slack because they were relatives).
I mean, shouldn't the second uncle have gone directly to the male lead with the female lead? They should have had a way to contact each other since they must have communicated when transferring the fishing boat.
The female lead didn't know about the purchase of the fishing boat in advance, but as soon as she found out, she immediately went to the male lead to pay the money because she had been taken advantage of.
They had only met a few times, and yet the male lead acted as if they were close friends and deceived the second uncle. And he didn't even compensate them. It infuriated me. The male lead said that the contract they signed earlier wasn't solid enough, so he couldn't be sued.
He's a low-class person with no morals! He was smug and probably felt like he had fulfilled the customer's wish for nothing. He didn't make much money, didn't gain any major benefits, but he thought he had outsmarted his peers in the industry.
I bet he thinks highly of himself. Haha. He knew perfectly well that the local fishing boat was being used for nothing, and no one would buy the fish caught by that boat. He deceived the second uncle, all for the sake of not losing money and proving himself in front of his peers.
Did he not care about the second uncle's livelihood? In my personal opinion, this is the epitome of shamelessness, and it completely ruined the story for me.
I initially really liked this drama, it was the first one I watched in 2024, but I stopped liking it from this episode onwards. I've dropped it. The female lead is clueless from beginning to end, constantly deceived by the male lead and Huang Jin.
The female lead has her own dreams and doesn't need to worry about money. The male lead and Huang Jin took advantage of her kindness. When William told him about wanting to start a company with the female lead, he should have told her and not deceived her into signing a share transfer agreement.
What I dislike the most is how Huang Tao treated the female lead as a commodity. William is also at fault, the biggest fault lies with the male lead and his group of friends. It feels like this drama has a bit of a grudge against the wealthy. What does the female lead have to do with the things that happened to the male lead and his friends?
Why should she be sold off to help them? From a realistic perspective, they didn't do anything wrong, but they deceived and manipulated her. They will forever owe the female lead an apology. I support the female lead's best friend in going back to Beijing.
And why does William, who is so wealthy, know that the female lead wants to return to Beijing but insists on keeping her by the male lead's side? They've been bullying her from the beginning to the end just because of her kindness. I can't believe that the male lead's family and career and William's dreams are being forced onto the female lead.
She should go back to Beijing and pursue her own dreams. I really dislike the male lead and his group of friends. Watching a drama is supposed to be for happiness, but after finishing this, I feel really down. It's realistic, but I don't want to say anymore.
I wish everyone who enjoys watching this drama a happy day.
This won't do, this won't do. I'm really angry after watching ten episodes in one go. First, "Sea Burial" deceived the female lead's second uncle into renting a boat for a sea burial, but in the end, they made the female lead's parents foot the bill.
Then they went to the male lead to ask for the money back and seek justice. The male lead acted like he's poor and justified his actions, which was really unreasonable and disgusting.
Although he agreed to repay the money in the end, it was because of that police officer. But even that police officer took care of them because of the female lead. Second, although it's legal to sell his own company, he knew William's intentions and knew that the female lead was only there to help him repay the money quickly.
Yet, he still sold the company for his own selfish interests, which indeed benefited his brothers, but his sense of righteousness and morality was just a suggestion when it came to the responsibility of the female lead.
Really, from a realistic perspective, this kind of character for the male lead is really detestable, and then they develop an emotional storyline... (This criticism is only directed at this TV drama and its plot.
I really like the actors, and their acting is great! But I just can't accept the storyline.) Did no one consider the feelings of the female lead? Why is she trapped in a situation where she can't escape just because she wants to help someone repay their debts, all because of her strong sense of responsibility...
It's really frustrating in the middle of the night...
I don't know if this drama is promoting ethnic culture or perpetuating traditional gender roles. All I see is the female lead suffering from psychological tinnitus due to her ex-boyfriend's infidelity. Returning to her hometown did not help her truly rediscover herself.
Instead, she can only continue playing the suona horn when looking at another man's photo. There is no transition after a failed attempt; she is immediately assimilated into outdated thinking. She goes back to her hometown, gets a job, gets married, and has children, all in a conventional manner.
And all the female characters seem to be fixated on getting married and having children, despising being single. It's truly frightening.
Shouldn't it be about temporarily facing setbacks, finding oneself in one's hometown, pursuing one's dreams, and doing what one wants to do?
Yes, this type of idol drama does tend to make people lose their ability to think critically, but I feel that these kinds of dramas are indirectly brainwashing society, making people believe that women should have ordinary jobs, stay close to their parents, and get married and have children early.
It's terrifying, truly terrifying.
The male lead has a sense of loyalty, but it's mostly based on deceiving the female lead. The first time, he borrowed the female lead's second uncle's boat for a sea burial, tricking her into thinking it was for taking wedding photos.
And the female lead's second uncle only rented the boat because he thought it was for the female lead's friend. Later, the female lead's family had to spend 100,000 yuan to buy a boat because of this incident. Then, the male lead gave the female lead a 10% stake in the company as repayment, but it was actually just for the money.
After the female lead helped them promote the suona instrument, the male lead sold the remaining 90% of the shares to William. In reality, William only bought the shares because he was interested in the female lead. Basically, they sold out the female lead.
Male lead, you may have loyalty towards your buddies, but it's built upon hurting the female lead. And Huang Jin, his sister Huang Tao, is even more detestable.
Well, how should I put it? This drama initially felt quite innovative and enjoyable, promoting traditional culture. But the deeper you delve into it, the more off it feels. It's just about a girl who strives to make it in the big city but ends up being stuck in a small county, and everyone pushes all the responsibilities onto the female lead.
What really astonishes me is that the female lead's best friend ends up betraying her for a guy. It's such a cliché plotline. I continued watching, hoping for some twists or turns, but the male lead is also very irresponsible, leaving all the business matters to the female lead and her friends.
How can an innocent and naive person understand all that? In the end, they still have to ask for their help. The more I watch, the more uncomfortable it feels.
The male lead is really problematic so far. He rented a fishing boat to deceive people. He tricked the female lead into investing in order to help the police.
He refunded the contract money to destroy someone's car, and later he sold the company behind the female lead's back. The second male lead deserves to be tricked since he's rich.
Can this company be sold for 1 million without the female lead? Every day, he either deceives the female lead or tries to manipulate her from a moral high ground.
He's not sincere at all! As for whether he will change later on, we'll have to wait and see.
I'm really frustrated with the male lead. In the episode of the sea burial, after learning that it would be inauspicious for the fishing boat to conduct a funeral, the male lead chooses to rent the female lead's second uncle's boat by lying and deceiving.
After the funeral is over, due to competition among colleagues, the fact that a funeral was held on the boat is revealed, and the second uncle is unhappy. When the female lead confronts the male lead about it, he tries to defend himself in every possible way.