The hemp rope always breaks at its weakest point, and misfortune seeks out those already burdened with suffering.
One evening, Detective Sun followed Xiangzi, who was pulling Professor Cao's rickshaw. They ran through several streets, and Xiangzi sensed something was amiss. He discreetly informed Professor Cao, and the two of them seized the opportunity to separate. Professor Cao found shelter with friends, while Xiangzi returned to Professor Cao's home. However, the man named Sun unexpectedly showed up at Xiangzi's doorstep. He barged into Xiangzi's room, threatened him verbally, and brandished a handgun. Sun accused Xiangzi and Professor Cao of being accomplices, labeling them as troublemakers. To save his life, Xiangzi had no choice but to part with his hard-earned savings for buying a rickshaw. He wept bitterly, clutching his shattered money jar.

Desperate for a livelihood, Xiangzi reluctantly attended Liu Sier's birthday banquet with Huniu. She had given him some money in advance to buy various delicious treats to present to Liu Sier. During the banquet, Xiangzi worked diligently, helping out where needed. Liu Sier, who had no son of his own, was delighted and wished he had a son like Xiangzi. Huniu immediately sensed Liu Sier's intentions and urged Xiangzi to kneel and accept the role of father. This scene aroused jealousy among other rickshaw pullers at the banquet. They taunted Xiangzi, saying, "We all earn our living through physical strength, but Xiangzi is different; he's using that!" Unable to bear the humiliation, Xiangzi exclaimed, "Let's settle this outside!" Fueled by alcohol, the argument escalated into a physical altercation.

Liu Sier overheard the comments and realized that, as he had no sons, the future of his rickshaw business depended on a son-in-law. However, he was furious at the idea of using his hard-earned wealth to provide a dowry for someone else's marriage. He confronted Huniu during the banquet, saying, "I see through your schemes, Xiangzi. You seem honest, but you've unexpectedly targeted me for your own gain!" Huniu, feeling desperate, directly confronted Liu Sier and revealed that she was carrying Xiangzi's child. In this heated confrontation, Liu Sier exploded in anger, calling Huniu despicable. He declared that he would rather burn down his rickshaw business than leave it to them. In this confrontational situation, Huniu practically severed her father-daughter relationship with Liu Sier and set a wedding date with Xiangzi.

麻绳专挑细处断，噩运只找苦命人。
一天夜晚，一位孙侦探一路跟着拉着曹教授的祥子，跑了好几条街，祥子感觉不对，悄悄告知了曹先生，两人趁机分开。曹教授跑到朋友那里避风头去了，祥子则回到了曹家。可是姓孙的居然找上门来了，他闯进祥子的屋里， 言语威胁，并掏出来手枪，污蔑祥子和曹教授是一伙人，都是暴乱分子。想要活命，唯有破财免灾。祥子幸苦攒了那么长时间的买车钱就这样被孙侦探敲诈走了。祥子抱着被砸碎的存钱罐儿痛哭不已。
迫于生计，祥子还是被虎妞拉着出现在了刘四爷的寿宴上，虎妞提前塞给祥子一点钱，让他买了一堆好吃的孝敬刘四爷，同时在寿宴上勤快跑腿帮忙，膝下无子的刘四爷很是高兴，心想要是自己有个这样的儿子该多好。虎妞立马看出来刘四爷的心思，怂恿祥子跪下认干爹。这样的场景引起了其他拉车人的嫉妒，在寿宴上他们对祥子冷嘲热讽，“我们都是凭力气挣钱，祥子不一样，他是用那个！” 祥子不堪受辱，“我们出去说！” 在酒精的刺激下，争论变成了打架斗殴，刘四爷听见了这些言论，他没有儿子，整个车厂以后是要给女婿的，但是祥子只是个拉车的苦力，自己幸苦打拼下来的财富怎么能给别人做嫁衣？他暴怒了，直接在寿宴上和虎妞吵起来，“我看出来了这里面有猫腻儿，看你挺老实，赏几碗饭吃，没想到居然把算盘打到我的头上！” 虎妞急了，直接和刘四爷摊牌，自己有了祥子的骨肉，从此跟定了祥子！刘四爷急火攻心，大骂虎妞太贱，自己宁愿烧了车厂也不会留给他们。在撕破脸皮的情况下，虎妞几乎和刘四爷断了父女关系，直接定下了自己的婚期。

At the insistence of Huniu, a grand but peculiar wedding began. The sound of suona (a Chinese wind instrument) resonated throughout Beijing as a sedan chair, carried by eight bearers, transported Huniu to Xiangzi's residence. Excited children happily ran alongside the procession, but apart from the bride, no one from her family attended the wedding. Xiangzi went through the ceremonies with Huniu, somewhat bewildered, and by the end of the festivities, they became a legally married couple. Shortly thereafter, Huniu confessed to Xiangzi that she had deceived him and was not actually pregnant. Her only aim was to marry him smoothly. Xiangzi, upon hearing of Huniu's deception, was left speechless, as if he had become numb to it all.

Next door to Xiangzi's new home lived the family of Xiaofuzi. Xiaofuzi was a delicate and beautiful girl, but she had an alcoholic father and two younger siblings who were still minors. Xiaofuzi had recently been married off by her father, and she had returned to her parents' home to visit her brothers.

After their marriage, Xiangzi remained fixated on his goal of obtaining his new rickshaw, while Huniu had plans for them to enjoy a few carefree days together, intending to seek refuge with her biological father, Liu Sier, once they had spent all the money. After all, there was a blood connection. Huniu wanted Xiangzi to stay with her, but Xiangzi couldn't resist the itch to work and secretly went out to earn some money. He was unwilling to ask for help from Liu Sier. Huniu suggested he engage in business, but Xiangzi had no knowledge of it and only knew how to pull a rickshaw with physical labor.
A few days later, Huniu returned to the rickshaw yard, hoping to find her biological father. To her dismay, she discovered that the yard had changed owners, and Liu Sier had sold the business and disappeared. Huniu had lost her future source of income, and she wept bitterly, cursing her heartless father. After her tears had dried, she took out her remaining savings and told Xiangzi to buy his own rickshaw. Xiangzi's spirits immediately lifted, and he reassured her that he could support her by pulling a rickshaw.

On the other side of town, the man who had abandoned Xiaofuzi had their home seized by the landlord. Xiaofuzi had no choice but to return to her parents' house. Her father, who had previously struggled to make ends meet by pulling a rickshaw, now had an additional mouth to feed. He looked at the dilapidated walls, his tattered clothes, and his two young children, his distress reaching its peak. He took a sip from the wine jug on the table, lowered his bald head, and sighed heavily. Xiaofuzi did her best to help alleviate the family's burden, fetching water and cooking meals while gathering firewood herself. Xiangzi's family, seeing Xiaofuzi's plight, sometimes offered her some assistance by providing items for her.

在虎妞的坚持下，一场盛大但奇怪的婚嫁开始了。唢呐声响彻了北京城，八抬大轿载着虎妞入了祥子的处所，小孩子欢喜地围着抬轿队伍一路小跑，但是除了新娘，娘家没有一人出现在这场婚礼上。祥子就这样稀里糊涂地和虎妞拜了天地，等到婚礼结束，他们变成了合法夫妻。不久，虎妞告诉祥子，自己骗了他，她还没有怀孕。目的只是为了顺利嫁给他，祥子听说了虎妞的小伎俩，一时语塞，他似乎已经变得麻木了。
在祥子新家的旁边住着邻居小福子一家，小福子生的清秀，但是这个姑娘却有一个酒鬼父亲。还有两个未成年的弟弟。小福子此时刚被父亲卖给别人做了媳妇，这次是回娘家看看自己的兄弟。
婚后的祥子依然心心念念自己的新车，而虎妞却计划他们一起快活几天，等身上钱花光了再去投奔自己的亲爹刘四爷，毕竟是有血缘关系呢。虎妞想要祥子陪自己，但祥子不拉车心里痒痒的，就偷偷出去干活儿了。祥子不愿意去求刘四爷，虎妞让他去做生意，但他完全不会，只会拉车出力气。几天后，虎妞回到了车厂，本想找自己亲爹，但是发现车厂已经换了主人，刘四爷卖了车厂变现跑路了。虎妞失去了下半辈子的现金流，痛哭流涕，咒骂老爹心狠恶毒。哭完了，她取出自己剩下的积蓄，让祥子买一辆自己的车，祥子瞬间精神抖擞，安慰道，可以靠拉车养活虎妞。
另一边，男人抛弃了小福子，房东收了他们的房子，小福子不得已又回到了娘家，她的老爹原本只能靠拉车赚点幸苦钱，这样一来家里又多了一张吃饭的嘴。这个老车夫望着破旧的墙壁，穿着破烂的两个小孩儿，愁苦到了极点，拿起桌子上的酒壶又喝了一口，低下秃头，重重叹气。小福子尽量做些事情减轻家里的重担，她烧水做饭，自己找柴火，祥子一家见小福子可怜，有时候也会送些东西给她。

One day, Xiaofuzi's alcoholic father went on a drunken rampage, throwing things around. Her two younger brothers were trembling in fear, and Xiaofuzi quickly shielded them. Her father complained, "The whole family relies on me to make money. I've been running around all day with an empty stomach, worse off than an animal! If you really care about your brothers, you should find a way to earn money. Instead of idling around, why don't you go out and sell something?"
Desperate and with no food left, Xiaofuzi agonized internally. Her two younger brothers were on the brink of starvation. The next day, she started working the streets. A disheveled and creepy-looking man eyed her, and the two of them entered a small alley...

It was raining outside Beijing, and the rain, accompanied by the wind, pelted Xiangzi. His shirt clung tightly to his well-defined muscles. Finally, the day's work was done. Xiangzi pulled an empty rickshaw in the direction of his home. Through the rain and fog, he saw Xiaofuzi standing alone under an awning, seeking shelter from the rain.
"Hi, get in the cart. I'll take you home," Xiangzi said. Xiaofuzi, filled with gratitude and embarrassment, hesitated for a moment and then got into the rickshaw. The rain soaked Xiangzi's entire body as they made their way back through the streets of tearful Beijing. After resting at home, Xiangzi suddenly developed a high fever. Because Xiangzi and Xiaofuzi had become close, Huniu began to resent her.

When Xiangzi had recovered, he was cleaning his beloved rickshaw, preparing to go out to work. Remembering the favor from the last time she had been given a ride, Xiaofuzi came over to help with the cleaning. "My dad also pulled a rickshaw, so I know how to do these things!" Xiangzi looked at the lively Xiaofuzi and smiled happily.
Coincidentally, Huniu returned home, and when she saw this scene, she angrily burst into the house, throwing the groceries on the table. Through the window, she shouted at Xiaofuzi, "You go out there to seduce men, and you're not satisfied with that. Now you dare to do these dirty things here..."

Her words grew more and more hurtful, so the tearful Xiaofuzi retreated into her house. Xiangzi felt uncomfortable deep inside, understanding Xiaofuzi's predicament. He scolded Huniu in retort and then left the house.

一日，小福子的酒鬼老爸撒起酒疯来乱摔东西，两个弟弟吓得瑟瑟发抖，小福子赶紧护住他们，老爹抱怨道，“整个家里都指望我一个人挣钱，我饿着肚子跑了一天，连个牲口都不如！你如果真的心疼你的弟弟，自然会想到办法赚钱。闲着也是闲着，你怎么不去卖呢！？” 绝望的小福子内心煎熬着，再没有吃的，两个弟弟就快饿死了。第二天，她开始站街，一位邋遢猥琐的大叔打量着她，两人走进了小胡同……
北京城下雨了，雨带着风吹打在祥子的身上，它的衬衫被淋湿紧紧贴在结实的肌肉上。这一天终于收工了，祥子拉着空车往回家的方向跑，穿过雨雾，他看见了小福子孤零零地站在门檐下躲雨，“福姑娘，上车吧，拉你回去。” 小福子带着感激，难为情地犹豫片刻上了车，雨水淋湿了祥子全身，两个苦命人在哭泣的北京城中穿过一条又一条街道回到了他们居住的院子。到家歇息后，祥子就发起了高烧，因为祥子和小福子走得近，虎妞开始对小福子不满。
等到祥子身体康复了，他清理着自己的爱车，准备出门干活儿。小福子念着上次载她的恩情，过来帮忙擦车，“我爹也是拉车的，这些活儿都会！” 祥子看着水灵的小福子开心地笑了。恰好虎妞回来了，看到这一幕后，愤怒地冲进家，把买回来的菜往桌子上一扔，隔着窗户大骂小福子，“在外面钓野男人还不知足，现在胆敢在我这里做这种龌龊之事……” 后面的话越来越难听，小福子委屈地跑回了屋内。祥子心里很不是滋味，他明白小福子的苦衷，向虎妞反驳地责备了几句出门走了。

On this day, Xiaofuzi received another male customer while Huniu gossiped with other neighbors, blaming Xiaofuzi for dirtying their courtyard. After Xiaofuzi had seen off her customer, Huniu threw a bucket of dirty water at her door and shouted, "Shameless! Look at what our place has become! If I catch her bringing men into her house again, I'll kick her out!" Xiaofuzi cowered inside her house, crying in frustration. For the sake of survival, for the sake of living, why should people at the bottom of society make life difficult for each other? Xiaofuzi was genuinely worried that Huniu would forbid her from receiving customers, so she knelt at Huniu's doorstep with her two younger brothers and confessed her difficulties, begging Huniu to give them a way out. Their plight unexpectedly stirred sympathy in Huniu, who thought about her impending childbirth and the need for assistance. She decided to make peace with Xiaofuzi.

Almost all of Xiangzi's rickshaw colleagues, and even the pharmacy owner, knew that Xiangzi was about to become a father. Although they didn't know the baby's gender, they teased him, "Xiangzi, we heard your wife is going to give you a big, healthy son!" Xiangzi, filled with joy, worked even harder pulling the rickshaw.

Huniu was in labor, but the process was not going smoothly. Sweat soaked her clothes, and the baby was not coming out. Xiaofuzi and the neighboring woman came to help, while Xiangzi desperately went to pray to the Buddha and got a special herbal concoction believed to help ease childbirth. He rushed back, and after giving it to Huniu, he heard that it would ensure a smooth delivery. However, by nightfall, Huniu still hadn't given birth. She had a premonition that this time might be life-threatening. She called for Xiangzi and talked about her hopes for the future, "My dear Xiangzi, if I can give birth to this child, I promise we'll have a good life together." The pain of labor made Huniu cry out, and the neighboring woman realized that the baby was in a difficult position, a breach birth. She urged Xiangzi to find a foreign doctor. In a hurry, Xiangzi ran to the foreign doctor's place, but the doctor demanded 30 yuan upfront, which Xiangzi didn't have. Seeing this, the doctor was unwilling to make the house call. Xiangzi tried to find Mr. Li, but he was already asleep. His rickshaw friends were still working, but they also didn't have enough money. As for the wealthy rickshaw company owners, who would lend money to a poor rickshaw puller? Xiangzi rushed back to see Huniu one last time, and in the end, Huniu didn't make it, leaving Xiangzi forever. The joyous occasion turned into a tragedy. Xiangzi sold his rickshaw but was left with a mountain of debt to cover the funeral expenses.

这天，小福子又接待了一位男性，虎妞拉着其他邻居说闲话，怪小福子脏了他们居住的院子。等到小福子送了那位客人离开后，虎妞一盆脏水泼向了小福子门口，大骂道，“不要脸，瞧瞧我们这儿都快成窑子了！再让我看到她往屋里领男人，我把她踢出去!” 小福子躲在屋内委屈地哭泣，为了生存，为了活下去，底层人何苦为难底层人呢。小福子真的担心虎妞会禁止她接客，于是带着自己两个弟弟，跪在了虎妞门口，坦白了自己的苦衷，一家人哀求虎妞给自己一条生路。他们的遭遇让虎妞难得地生起同情心，想到自己也快临产了，到时候还需要人帮忙，于是就和小福子化干戈为玉帛。
几乎所有的拉车同行，甚至药店掌柜都知道，祥子快有孩子诞生了。尽管还不知道这个孩子的性别，但大家都调侃，“祥子，听说嫂子要给你生个大胖小子了！” 祥子开心地像个孩子，拉车更卖力了。
虎妞要分娩了，但是过程并不顺利，汗水浸透了她的衣裳，孩子迟迟不出来，小福子还有隔壁的大婶都过来帮忙，祥子急得去拜菩萨，求了香火灰烬的土方子，回来后加水给虎妞服下，听说菩萨会保佑孕妇生孩子顺利。但是直到了晚上，虎妞都没能生出孩子，她心里有预感，这次恐怕九死一生，她叫来祥子，述说着未来的希望，“我的好祥子，如果我能生下孩子，将来一定好好和你过日子。” 分娩的痛苦让虎妞哭喊，大婶察觉到，这孩子横生倒仰，十足的难产，让祥子赶紧去找洋大夫。祥子火急火燎地跑到洋大夫那里，但是大夫先要30块，祥子身上根本没那么多钱，大夫见状不愿意出诊。祥子找了李大爷，但是人家早睡了，拉车的朋友倒是还在干活儿，但是他也没这么多钱。那些有钱的车厂主，谁又愿意借钱给一个臭拉车的呢？祥子赶回来，见了虎妞最后一面，虎妞最终还是没挺过去，永远离开了祥子。喜事变成了丧事，祥子卖了车，还欠下了一堆钱才把丧事办完。

Xiangzi made the choice to leave this sorrowful place. Before he departed, he promised Xiaofuzi that once he had made a life for himself on the outside, he would return for her. Xiaofuzi lost her life partner who had been her source of support. Most tragically, her alcoholic father, driven by greed, sold her directly into a brothel, where the men there subjected her to physical abuse and mistreatment. In her despairing wait, Xiaofuzi took her own life by hanging.
Later, when Xiangzi returned to search for Xiaofuzi, he couldn't find her at their previous residence. During a conversation with a 60-year-old veteran rickshaw puller, the elderly man sighed, acknowledging the bleak fate of rickshaw pullers—men who labored strenuously，many of their women end up in prostitution. In a rush, Xiangzi went to the brothel to look for Xiaofuzi, only to discover that she was no longer there.

From then on, Xiangzi drifted aimlessly, pulling his rickshaw like a walking corpse just to survive. During this period, he had his belongings confiscated by the police, was evicted from his rented room by the landlord, and eventually sank so low that he resorted to scavenging for food and begging for sustenance. The 60-year-old veteran rickshaw puller died of starvation on the streets, and Xiangzi respectfully covered his face with a piece of cloth to preserve his last shreds of dignity.

Xiangzi, disheveled and vacant-eyed, wandered through the streets of Beijing, embodying the countless rickshaw pullers who suffered similarly tragic destinies on the lower rungs of society.

祥子选择离开这个伤心的地方，他临走前向小福子承诺，在外面混好了一定会回来找她。小福子失去了生活上互相支持的伙伴。最要命的是，小福子的酒鬼父亲为了钱，直接把她卖到了窑子里，那些男人们会打骂小福子，在绝望的等待中，小福子上吊自尽了。后来祥子回来寻找小福子，在原来的住所没找到人。和一位60岁的老车夫闲聊，老人感概道，车夫的命运是悲惨的，男的卖力气，他们的女眷很多最后去卖肉。祥子慌忙中去窑子寻找小福子，得知小福子已经不在了。之后的祥子，浑浑噩噩，如行尸走肉般拉车存活，期间被警察顺走车上东西，被房东赶出租房，最后沦落到拣地上吃的，乞讨为生。那位60岁的老车夫饿死在了街头，祥子撤下自己身上一块布盖在他脸上，保留其最后的一丝尊严。蓬头垢面的祥子痴呆地行走在北京城，无数的底层车夫重复着类似的悲惨命运。