On a freezing winter day, Lin Qiuhe jumps into a river to save her fiancé, Li Jianguo, leaving her with an injury that makes it difficult for her to conceive. She lives frugally to support his university education and lovingly takes care of his mother, Zhou Yufen. But after Li Jianguo moves to the city for work, he uses her infertility as an excuse to demand a divorce, offering her 500 yuan to leave. His mother condemns her ungrateful son and chooses to stay by Lin Qiuhe's side. Together, they plan to make a living selling their family's ancestral chili sauce at market stalls. Their business initially struggles, until Lin Qiuhe offers fried tofu samples to go with the sauce, and their entire stock quickly sells out. On their way home by ox cart, the two women pass Beishankou and encounter a landslide. They rescue Shen Yan, a seriously injured and unconscious geological engineer, and lovingly nurse him back to health despite the gossip and criticism of others. This fateful encounter completely changes the course of their lives.