In Qingshui River Village, the Qin family has relied on an old dam to monopolize the river and its water rights for over twenty years, repeatedly flooding the Yue family's farmland. The river has even crept dangerously close to the Yue family's ancestral graves, fueling deep resentment between the two clans. Yue Dong, a young man who has returned to his hometown, rejects fighting and revenge. Instead, he rallies the villagers through policies and evidence, using the construction of a reservoir to break the Qin family's monopoly over the water. Driven by outdated feudal beliefs, the Qin family obstructs him at every turn, instigating conflicts and illegally selling public river water. Divisions emerge within the Qin family, and their second son, Qin Gui, finally breaks free from his family's prejudices and comes to his senses. After enduring severe droughts and raging floods, the privately built dam is dealt with according to law. Eventually, everyone lets go of generations of grudges and establishes a collective water management system.