In a fishing village in eastern Zhejiang in the 1980s, the Xu family is struggling under a mountain of debt. Fisherman Lu Chengzhou comes to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage and takes on the Xu family's debts. Together, they overcome every obstacle thrown their way by fish merchant Qian Maocai and struggle to build a business with their fishing and fish-pickling skills. After enduring storms, dangerous encounters at sea, and their rivals' schemes, they establish a fishing village supply and marketing cooperative, uphold their principles of honesty and trust, and rebuild a happy home for their family by the sea.