Xu Jiahe, a cotton picker operator, kindly offers to harvest cotton in Liuwan Village at a low price. However, Liu Guizhi tries to take advantage of him by understating the size of her cotton fields and then making excuses to demand extra money after the harvest. She forces him to work an entire day for nothing and even pay an additional 1,000 yuan just to leave. Heartbroken, Xu Jiahe leaves and heads to Qingling Village, where people play by the rules. Once word spreads, all the cotton picker operators begin avoiding Liuwan Village because of Liu Guizhi's dishonesty. When rainy weather approaches, even her offer to pay higher prices cannot persuade anyone to take the job.