Introduction to Troubled Winter

The protagonist of the novel, Ethan Hao Lei, is the head of a family who is unsuccessful in worldly profit-making. He served in the battlefield, and after retirement he tried various careers without success. Finally, one winter in the English town where his ancestors lived, he became an employee of the Italian merchant Maruno's grocery store. He is an honest person and never complains. Although he is often tempted and sees that various means must be used to achieve material success, these means of calculating others will make him ruthless and will risk his integrity. The danger of fragmentation. He walked between the shelves and counters all day long, caught in the contradiction between making money from materials and adhering to his own personality. He spent many hopeless winters, and therefore fell into "trouble" and couldn't control himself. As a result, his thrifty wife and underage children were dissatisfied with him. All this made him even more restless. So he began to betray his conscience and reported Maruno, who was as close to him as a father and son, to the immigration bureau, causing Maruno to be deported. He also used hard and soft tactics to force the banker Baker to serve him, and despicably obtained a piece of land. He also planned Going to rob a bank. After achieving his goals one after another, he felt extremely empty and fell into self-condemnation. In order to find relief, he had no choice but to commit suicide by throwing himself into the sea on a rainy night.