After being cast aside by their husbands, Shen Qiao and Yan Zhiying join forces in a dilapidated courtyard in Shenjing Village to build a business from scratch. Shen Qiao understands mechanical processes and puts her skills to use dismantling a wedding bed, filtering alkaline water, and building a lever-operated press. Yan Zhiying excels at understanding people and business warfare, using ghostly disguises to establish authority, persuading matchmakers to switch sides, and negotiating soap sales. They take in other unfortunate women, including He Maimiao and Yu Banxia, and use animal traps, alkaline water, and comfrey-scented soap to fight back against village thugs, clan elders, and local officials. After paying double the autumn tax and securing an independent land deed, their 'Widows' Workshop' transforms into Qiaoying Manor, surrounded by high walls. Together, the sisters become immensely wealthy.