本书内容：人的一生总难免有一些这样那机关报社会关系，就连述遗这样的单身老太例外。述遗的社会关系有三条线：一条是彭姨，这个女人是她三十多年的同事，她俩一起进纺纱厂，一起学徒，一起成为熟练工，成为老师傅，后来又一起退休。现在彭姨就住在述遗后面那排平房里头。另一条线是老卫，老卫是纺纱厂的工会主席，三十多年来对于述遗的私人生活一直有着毫不减退的窥视兴趣，他在生活上也比较照顾她。还有一条线是述遗所在街道的垃圾工小廖，他每天傍晚将述遗的垃圾收走，述遗每月给他三块钱。......（Synopsis: A person can not live without some kinds of social connections or the other. Even the single old woman Shu Yi is no exception. There are three threads binding her. The first is Mrs. Peng, her thirty-year-long colleague, with whom Shu Yi have been recruited by the spinning mill, served as apprentices, become skilled workers and experienced mentors themselves, before retiring. Now Mrs. Peng is living in one of a row of one-storey houses behind Shu Yi's house. The second one is Old Wei, chairman of the mill's labor union, who has taken a voyeuristic interest in the private life of Shu Yi and has helped Shu Yi in everyday life for over thirty years. The third thread is the garbage collector Liao who collects Shu Yi's garbage every evening and charges her 3 yuan a month... ）