The story begins in an ancient time with a devastating flood brought on by seven days and nights of continuous rain. The survivors of the great deluge settle in a new locality. They are ridden with guilt, for the flood had only happened because of their failure to carry out proper flood prevention measures. The story then skips to the present and a village called Baotown.
王安憶在這時候也拋出了一部《小鮑莊》，故事開頭從七天七夜的雨引來大洪水的宇宙洪荒開始，說著小鮑莊的祖先因為治水失敗，帶著贖罪的心情在此地落地生根。