ACA Publishing Limited

Detective Ran Dongdong has two problems. One is the dead young woman with a missing hand, and the other is her husband. The first to be called to the scene when the body is found floating near a lakeside luxury hotel, she begins an investigation that soon leads her into a web centred on the scandalous affairs of a powerful businessman. When she begins to see echoes of the case everywhere, including in her personal relations, she can’t resist interrogating her own marriage. But will the resonances set off a chain reaction in her life that she can’t control?

Wang Mojie’s dreams wilted in the Beijing heat. Leaving his failed marriage behind, he seeks meaning in Lhasa. Instead, he finds Ukyi Lhamo. The soul of every party, her studied Parisian charms hide an inner rootlessness as she searches for her grandmother, the key to her lost Tibetan heritage.Crossing paths among a gathering of self-exiled intellectuals living among the cool mountains, the two find themselves on the sidelines of a fierce philosophical debate. However, as Wang Mojie’s masochistic fantasies resurface, can they cling to what they mutually lack? Or was it never possible to make peace with zero?

A dentist''s girlfriend with cavities, an elderly career criminal with no-one to turn to but the police, a dismissed housemaid on the way to a back-alley abortion clinic and a crane operator who’s never had a man treat her right, for whom gold is cashed-out love.These are the stories of the people from China’s liminal sprawl, who seek a fresh start beyond a neglected countryside that''s no longer home and a metropolis indifferent to their existence. As each small cruelty only compounds their humiliation, will their hopes pan out, or are the gates to a new future rusted shut?

Honoured Investors,As Zhongfu Group enters its eighth decade, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of two famous coal mines, which demonstrate our steadfast commitment to promoting the interests of local government and the people of Jingzhou.While the recent death of a Discipline Inspection Committee member has been regrettable, any accusations of accounting irregularities or missing wages are unfounded. To assuage any possibility of misconduct, Qi Ben’an along with his siblings will be promoted to oversee these new assets with immediate effect.Nothing can stop this bright era of unprecedented prosperity. We thank you for your continued support.

Growing up in a glittering new decade of possibility, Anran is radically different to her sister. Outspoken and idealistic, she relishes in challenging hypocrisy, unlike the older Anjing, whose memories of a turbulent past remind her of the perils of going against the grain.When Anran is targeted by her teacher for her refusal to conform to authority, should Anjing shield her sibling from life''s hard truths, or will she let her blaze her own path?First published in China in 1984, Tie Ning’s coming-of-age novella depicts the challenges of being true to yourself in an era of unpredictable transformation.

I’ve always believed in being more of an observer. Why struggle when what will be will be? Some might call it ‘giving up’, but my philosophy has ensured a life without incident.There’s no use despairing over my hometown being knocked down, or that a murder occurred on our street. Getting involved would only cause trouble. Though now it seems Ma Li wishes to divorce. She’ll see sense eventually – it certainly isn''t my fault…Yang Zhengguang’s psychodrama scrutinises a self-proclaimed scholar’s inner world, satirising the delusions we maintain in order to justify continuing in the tedious routine of daily life.

1966, China is on the cusp of a decade of upheaval, and the furnaces of Old Kiln have never been this cold. The village’s once-famed ceramics production has almost ground to a halt. Only ancient grudges smoulder beneath its poverty-stricken streets, never forgotten by the two families that preside over the village. Between them stands the adopted Inkcap, whose mysterious origins leave him unloved and barely tolerated.When the faraway capital demands a purer party line, the directive trickles down to this hinterland and revolutionary factions form. Clashing visions for a new future unravel the tight-knit community along clan lines.

No one expected the Qing Dynasty to fall, least of all the people of Shawan.Sheltered from time by the mountains that surround the village, they have prospered from tilling the rich soil inherited from their ancestors. Helmed by the Chen and Zhu clans, its feudal traditions leave them unprepared for the chaos about to engulf their homeland.Amid clashing ideologies within and Japanese invaders without, the two families must lead the village through decades of transformation. As the old certainties are uprooted, a molten nation takes shape around them. But will Shawan still be a place to call home?

Huang Ying, the timid bumpkin, owes everything to Wang Feng. She’d taken her under her wing, introduced her to a dazzling new world and watched her flourish – but perhaps she’d done her job too well…Now, the country girl lives in a fancy apartment with a well-paid job and a happy family. And the old “mentor” spirals the drain after a “misunderstanding” with her boss. But Wang Feng’s not one for backing down, especially when her protege starts living her life. She’ll need it back, her ex-BFF owes her that much. The question is, does Huang Ying feel the same?

Collecting two decades of remembrances from China’s premier literary caricaturist, these short stories offer bite-sized misdeeds committed by Nanjing’s underground literati. Freed from family duties, the “boys” spend their nights freewheeling and trying their luck with pretty girls amid a haze of cigarette smoke and cheap beer. However, as the evening drags on, trouble brews and dates turn sour. Their only real solace is an unspoken camaraderie. After the tales of cruel pranks, cramped apartments, sleazy karaoke bars and dead cats, maybe the joke will be on them – but for now, the night has only just begun.