After being publicly humiliated by Chen Wenyuan, an educated youth from the provincial capital, and kept waiting for three years without him marrying her, Zhao Qiaozhen sets their marriage certificate ablaze. Cheng Jianjun, wishing to repay her for saving his life, marries her. The villagers all say she is marrying above her station. She makes no argument. Starting with making shoe soles in a small side courtyard, she takes orders from the supply and marketing cooperative, trains apprentices, and establishes her own workshop, eventually winning first prize at the provincial exhibition. When the thirty sewing machines begin humming, she remembers the special technique her father taught her: unpick the stitches and thread the needle again. Flowers have two sides, and so do people. The one who keeps quiet is the one truly worthy of trust.