A basket of eggs tests the conscience of an entire village. Zhao Guoliang, an egg collector known for his fair prices, accurate scales, and honesty, is accused by the whole village of making a meager two-cent profit, and is publicly stripped of his sign and driven out. Clutching a stack of account books, he crosses the mountain ridge to reopen a collection station in Minjiaao, a place where no one else dares to go, establishing a firm foothold through graded egg inspection and cash payments. When the villagers are forced to lower their prices for egg swaps and watch their eggs rot in their baskets, they finally remember the man they drove away. The entire village crosses the mountain to beg him to return, but he only replies with one sentence: The road is your own choice.