Gu Yu, female, 14 years old. Due to her alcoholic dad wanting to sell her off for a dowry worth RMB 30,000, she quitted school.
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Cai Gui Zhi, female, 15 years old. Due to parents unable to pay for fees, she quitted school.
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Ning Hua, Liu Xi Ying, and many more.
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They were all girls born in the mountain from Huaping County, Yunnan.
And they were all girls who come from impoverished family with terrible gender discrimination values.
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Luckily, they met Zhang Gui Mei, an ordinary teacher who has a stubborn grit to dare to dream big, the execution power to bulldoze any difficult challenges, the dedication to stay on her chosen path for her girls.

Needless to say, an outrageous dream such as building a free high school requires money - a lot of money at that.

Luckily, Zhang Gui Mei is also blessed with the persuasive power to ignite a spark in others to act and support. Her speech in episode 2 to the Party Congress members and journalist was so touching and powerful that it caught the needed attention of the right people, with funds, to build a high school that’s free for these girls.

Securing the funds is only the first hurdle over.
Looking for a land to build that school is the second.
Securing teachers who are willing to teach is the third.
Getting the girls and their families to believe that education matters is the fourth.

And these challenges do not stop at successful start of school. Because these girls are from families that are poor and had been neglecting education for their past few years, many of them realistically do not have the right foundation to comprehend the high school syllabus - it’s as good as asking a group of elementary students to take national exam.

It would’ve made sense for the school to make bets on their more promising students.
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But of course, not in Zhang Gui Mei’s watch.
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True to her ideals, Zhang Gui Mei demanded for every student to pass the exams and get a university placement.
No bell curve.
No one left behind.
For these girls whose only way to break out of their poverty cycle is through education, they have no other options.

And so, the girls studied day and night. They studied until nosebleed. The teachers accompanied them. Zhang Gui Mei accompanied them.
Until the end.

Based on a true story, I really like the Zhang Gui Mei that’s portrayed here by Song Jia. It’s usually hard for me to relate to someone who has such noble dreams like Zhang Gui Mei because they are the legends - extraordinary people who have a calling to save the world.

But She and Her Girls show a humane and likeable side to Zhang Gui Mei as the earnest teacher who dedicates all her life to her students.

Zhang Gui Mei portrayed here has lots of flaws. Heck, she will knock on your door at 1am when it comes to asking help for her girls. She talks big and dares to promise the moon, if it means her girls will continue studying. Her plans and executions are full of flaws. She is pushy and demanding when it comes to securing the best chances for her girls. But one will respect her, trust her, and root for her because Zhang Gui Mei truly lives for her girls, and her actions spoke for herself.

Lan Xi Ya as Gu Yu and Du Lan as Cai Gui Zhi were also well cast, nailing their roles as the representatives of Zhang Gui Mei’s and Huaping County girls. Their stories are nothing new - the rivals who make each other stronger, the tangible success that will made Zhang Gui Mei’s and teachers’ effort worth it.

What I love best is how this show balances the pragmatism of life and hope for change. In a tightly packed 23 episode, She and Her Girls rightfully covered a lot of spectrum of social issues that’s paired with practical actions on how to overcome them - mindset change is hard work, money is needed to fund dreams, actions speak louder than words, opportunities aren’t that easy to protect and
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sometimes …,
daring to dream can change the lives of many,
if you work hard at it.

~~~ quote Zhang Gui Mei

“I have a dream. My dream is to establish a free high school for these girls born in poverty, so that they have the opportunity to read and study.

I want to give them a chance to see the world like the boys do. I want them to leave the mountains and see the vast skies and landscapes. I want them to know that girls born in the mountains don’t need to have bleak future.

Besides giving birth to babies and doing housework like their moms, life can have different possibilities.

Because I truly believe, that an educated woman can be independent from others’ support and can choose the life they want to live. An educated woman can break the cycle of inter generational poverty and change the fate of 3 generations.”