From 2014 to 2019, Wang Bing filmed workers in the Chinese garment district of Zhili in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. In 18,000 workshops, 300,000 migrant workers who have left home to toil for low wages, working 15-hour days. Youth (Hard Times) is the second chapter in the trilogy of films that follow the workers in the workshops of Zhili, following Youth (Spring). This time, the focus is on “money.” A young worker misplaces his wage ledger and pleads with his boss to be paid, only to be ignored. At one factory, the owner fails to pay on Sunday and then disappears, leaving only the unpaid workers behind. In such moments, someone always says, “I should go back home and farm” or “Everyone is like that here.” Another factory sees disputes over overtime pay. When the workers board buses to return home for the Spring Festival, they fall asleep clutching gift packages. A young man sings, “I want to know why you look so sad.” (JUNG Sung-il)