On her very first day as a new bride in the family, she refuses to follow the old rule of asking three times before serving the first meal. Eighty-five-year-old Great-Grandma Zhang Guilan rules over three generations of women in the Zhao family with an entire set of strict traditions. But when Su Wantang arrives, life begins to change for all three women. The eldest daughter-in-law, who has endured twenty years in silence, goes out to work and rises to become an assistant workshop director. Her mother-in-law steps out of the kitchen for the first time and earns her very first paycheck. Even the indebted elder sister-in-law gets a job at the factory. After Great-Grandma falls ill, the younger generation takes turns caring for her, and her stubborn heart begins to soften. Over the New Year's Eve dinner, the family finally speaks openly about everything. When spring arrives, new buds appear on the osmanthus tree in the courtyard. Sitting beneath it, she says, 'This is rather nice.'