This is a story that took place in 1920s Beijing, China.

Xiangzi was an ordinary cart driver who, after three years of hard work in the big city, finally managed to buy his own cart. However, one day, he and his beloved human-powered rickshaw were captured by soldiers and drawn into the warlord's chaos. During a battle, his cart was destroyed. Xiangzi seized an opportunity to escape and on his way, he managed to acquire three camels.

Later, he encountered an old man and, feeling thirsty, asked for water. As they chatted, Xiangzi learned that the old man was a camel herder. He persuaded the old man to buy his camels, but in troubled times, life was already hard enough. The old man worried about taking care of more camels, so Xiangzi voluntarily brought the camels over and said he would accept whatever price the old man offered, without haggling. In the end, Xiangzi received 35 silver dollars.
Returning to the city, he bought new clothes, got a haircut, and learned that the people who had witnessed his experiences had given him a nickname – "Camel Xiangzi."

这是一则发生在1920年代的中国北京城的故事。
祥子是一位普通的车夫，来到大城市后经过自己三年的奋斗终于买上了自己的车。
但是某天，他和自己心爱的人力拉车被士兵抓走，卷入了军阀混战，在一次战争中，自己的车被毁坏了。祥子抓住机会逃了出来，在逃亡的路上他拉回来了三匹骆驼。后来遇到一位老大爷，因口渴向其讨水喝，闲聊起来，得知大爷就是养骆驼的。祥子于是劝说大爷买下自己的骆驼，但乱世之中人活着已经不易，大爷担心更多的骆驼自己养不起，祥子主动把骆驼牵过去表示能卖多少是多少，不还价。就这样，祥子得到了35块钱。
回到城里，买了新衣服，剃了头，得知他经历的人给他起了个绰号 —— “骆驼祥子”。

Xiangzi, in order to make a living, sought refuge at Liu Sier's Ren He car factory, hoping to rent a car to continue his old profession. At the same time, he entrusted the remaining thirty dollars to Liu Sier for safekeeping. And so, he began working hard again, pulling carts tirelessly, all in the hopes of buying a new cart.

Liu Sier's daughter, Huniu, was a crude and fierce woman who had reached a mature age and was still unmarried. She was responsible for collecting rent from the cart drivers every day when they finished work. Xiangzi didn't particularly like her, but Huniu occasionally took care of him. For example, she would give him an extra bowl of water to drink after work and sometimes invite him to sit at the same table as Liu Sier for meals. This prevented Xiangzi from distancing himself from her directly. Liu Sier could see that Huniu had a fondness for Xiangzi, but he was also aware of their different social and economic statuses.

Moreover, for many years, Liu Sier managed the entire factory by himself, with Huniu taking care of the domestic side. This allowed him to free up his resources to engage in money lending. Furthermore, he wasn't in a hurry to marry off Huniu. After all, who would satisfy an older man without a wife or concubines? To be honest, my mind starts to wander with these thoughts. With Liu Sier's financial resources and means, could he really not find a wife? But does the entire factory have other women besides Huniu?

祥子为了生计，投奔到了刘四爷的人和车厂，希望租一辆车从事老本行。同时，他把剩下的三十块钱交给了刘四爷保管，就这样他重新开始卖力拉车。风雨无阻，只为买一辆新车。
刘四爷的女儿虎妞是个粗俗，凶悍的大龄剩女，每天车夫们收工的时候她就负责收租金。祥子并不喜欢她，但虎妞时不时地照顾着祥子，比如收工后多盛碗水给他喝，让他和刘四爷凑个桌儿一起吃饭，这也就让祥子没好意思直接疏远她。刘四爷看得出来，虎妞喜欢祥子，但是虎妞是自己的女儿，祥子是挺能干，但是他的经济和社会地位实在太差，最重要的是这么多年，四爷管理着整个车厂，他主外，虎妞主内，他可以腾出手来用闲钱去放贷。而且，他才不忙着把虎妞嫁出去，否则谁来满足一个没有妻妾的老男人呢？老实说，推理到这里，我鸡皮疙瘩起来了。凭刘四爷的财力和手段，他会讨不到老婆吗？但是整个车厂除了虎妞之外还有其他女人吗？

Xiangzi found a job driving a special car for a Mr. Yang. Initially, they agreed that he could earn some extra money each month. However, Mr. Yang's wife and their household steward would constantly order Xiangzi around, making him fetch water, carry children, and even polish their shoes. Over time, Xiangzi became more exhausted than usual. But Mr. Yang rudely shouted, "We pay you, so you must do the household chores!" In a fit of anger, Xiangzi quit his job!

Down on his luck, Xiangzi returned to Liu Sier's car factory to rest. Huniu caught him and led him into her room. She had prepared a table full of delicious dishes – roasted chicken, pork knuckles, white wine – and they began to eat together. Sensing an opportunity, Huniu filled Xiangzi's glass with wine. Xiangzi, who had never been much of a drinker, couldn't keep up with the factory owner's daughter, Huniu, when it came to drinking. After a few glasses, Xiangzi began to feel a bit intoxicated. Huniu seduced him, and that night, he ended up staying in her room.

After this incident, Xiangzi felt anxious and uneasy. He didn't really like Huniu because of her fiery personality, unattractive appearance, and older age. He had been hoping to find a pure and innocent country girl. However, after that night, he felt compelled to take responsibility for Huniu.

祥子找到了一个给姓杨的老爷家拉专车的差事，起初说好了，每月可以多挣点。但是老爷的夫人，手下的管家都会使唤他，时不时地让祥子挑水，抱孩子，甚至家里的孩子也会命令祥子给自己搽鞋。一来二去，祥子比平时更累了。但是杨老爷蛮横地吼道，“我们给你钱，家里的活儿你都得干！” 祥子一怒之下裸辞了！
落魄之下，祥子回到了刘四爷的车厂休息。虎妞抓住他领到自己屋里，准备了一桌子好菜，烧鸡，猪肘子，白酒，两人一起吃起来，虎妞见时机成熟，给祥子斟满酒，从没喝过酒的祥子显然比不上车厂女主人虎妞的酒量。几杯下肚，祥子就有点醉醺醺的了。虎妞引诱着祥子，让他这一晚在自己的屋里过夜了。
发生这种事情后，祥子内心惶恐不安，他本不喜欢虎妞，因为她性格泼辣，容貌丑陋，年龄也大，他想找的是清白单纯的乡下姑娘。但是那一夜后，他不得不对虎妞负责。

During a gloomy moment, Xiangzi ran into his respected Professor Cao. Professor Cao always wore black-framed glasses, carried a few books, and had a smile on his face. He never bossed Xiangzi around or gave orders. This time, Professor Cao asked Xiangzi to work as a monthly rickshaw puller for him and offered accommodation. Xiangzi readily agreed without hesitation.

Xiangzi's diligence and honesty were apparent to everyone. Huniu hinted that he should live with her, suggesting that she could use her savings to buy a few rickshaws and earn a living through renting them out. Others even mentioned that he could borrow money from different people and, with his savings, immediately buy his own rickshaw. However, Xiangzi refused to ask for help and wanted to purchase a rickshaw through his own labor. It was a happy period for him. Professor Cao and his family treated him as an equal friend, not a lowly servant. Xiangzi also saved some money, and he was only about one-third away from buying a new rickshaw.

But unfortunately, this was when Huniu came knocking on his door. She called him out, lying that she was pregnant. Xiangzi panicked, filled with regret and confusion. He aimlessly wandered the streets to avoid her, but Huniu caught up with him. She demanded that he attend Liu Sier's birthday party, threatening, "If you don't come, I'll create a scene at Cao's house for three days and three nights." Reluctantly, Xiangzi agreed to Huniu's plan. He would regard Liu Sier as the father to him at Liu Sier's birthday party to please him. Later, Huniu would reveal her pregnancy to him, hoping that Liu Sier would accept the proposal. Huniu also returned the 30 yuan that she stored by Liu Sier to calm Xiangzi down.
When Xiangzi returned home, he cried in agony, overwhelmed with self-blame. In his sorrow, he picked up a large bowl from the table and went to buy alcohol, attempting to numb himself through the power of liquor.

郁闷之际，祥子碰到了自己尊敬的曹教授，曹先生总是带着黑框眼镜，拎着几本书，脸上带着微笑，从来不对祥子颐指气使地发布命令。这一次，曹教授让祥子给自己拉包月，并提供住宿，祥子自然毫不犹豫地同意了。
祥子的勤奋和老实所有人都看在眼里，虎妞暗示他和自己一起过，她可以用自己的积蓄买几辆车以后靠收租为生，还有人劝说祥子找不同的人借点钱再加上他自己的储蓄也能立马买上车，但是祥子不愿意求人，想凭借自己的劳动买上车。这段时间是幸福的，曹教授家里人都没有把他看作下等的仆人，而是平等的朋友。祥子也攒了一些钱，还差大约总额的1/3就能买上新车了。
但是偏偏此时，虎妞找上门来了，她在门口把祥子叫出来，骗他说自己有了孩子。祥子慌了，满脸悔恨和迷茫，他逃避似地在大街上瞎走，虎妞追上他，让其在刘四爷生日那天一定到场，祥子犹豫了，“如果你不来，我就在姓曹的门口嚷他个三天三夜。” 虎妞威胁道。不得已，祥子答应了虎妞的计划，在刘四爷生日那天认他作干爹，把他哄高兴，后面再由虎妞把自己怀孕的事实泄露给他，这样刘四爷应该会接受这门亲事。虎妞再把存在刘四爷那里的30块钱还给了祥子，安抚了他。
祥子回到家，痛苦地掩面而泣，他自责不已，伤心之余他拿起桌上的大碗去买了酒，企图通过酒精麻痹自己。