Cheng Yanchuan builds a house for his cousin Cheng Fushun. Before work begins, both sides agree that the balance will be settled once the main structure is completed. After the project finishes, however, taking advantage of their family relation, Cheng Fushun feels that family members shouldn't be so strict about wages, making all sorts of excuses to hold back 16,000 yuan in construction payments. Unwilling to let him make things difficult for the workers, Cheng Yanchuan pays his co-workers' wages out of his own pocket and insists on reconciling the accounts as agreed, eventually getting the overdue money back. Later, Cheng Fushun recommends Zheng Shaoliang to take over Cao Yongqing's house-building job; although the other party quotes a lower price, he continuously raises prices temporarily and alters construction blueprints without authorization, throwing the homeowner into a dispute. Revolving around project accounting, family affection, and rules, the story conveys that work must first follow a contract: settle the wages, then talk brotherhood.