The thousand mu of terraced fields in Turtleback Village turn out to grow on the back of a thousand-year-old giant turtle that has been trapped for six hundred years. The young Tian He wants to free it, but his father, Tian Wanshan, discovers that the turtle's living shell is worth a fortune and can even prolong life and restore youth. Driven by greed, they begin chiseling off the turtle's shell piece by piece, causing the water veins to dry up. Faced with the debt of gratitude owed by their ancestors and the wealth within easy reach, Tian He must make a choice.