Drama written by Su Shuyangin in 1978. The feature film adaptation was produced by Beijing Film Studio in 1980. Fang Lingxuan, a veteran Chinese medicine doctor, devotes himself to the research of new drugs for coronary heart disease and receives the enthusiastic support of Premier Zhou Enlai. But the Ministry of Health, controlled by the "Gang of Four," uses Fang's son-in-law to obstruct the research. Just as Fang and his colleagues finally succeed in producing a new drug, Premier Zhou dies. Grief turns into strength, and despite persecution, Fang works hard.

An old teahouse in Beijing serves as the stage for a drama that unfolds over several tumultuous decades of modern Chinese history, from the waning days of the Qing dynasty to the eve of the People's Republic.