Lin Xiaoyun takes her son to rent a small shop at the subway entrance to sell handmade steamed buns, and business is booming. Landlady Aunt Zhao, green with envy, forcibly raises the rent. Her younger brother Zhao Qiang kicks over the steamer to drive her away, boasting that he will take over. Lin Xiaoyun calmly moves out, bringing her sourdough starter to reopen in a narrow alley five hundred meters away. The Zhao family copies her methods but fails to replicate the taste, leaving their business in dismal shape. Aunt Zhao chases her to the alley to cause trouble only to be rebuffed by customers, and later gets shut down, suspended, and hit with a massive compensation fine for selling overnight steamed buns that cause food poisoning. Relying on her craftsmanship and reputation, Lin Xiaoyun expands rapidly, opening three shops. Her son returns to help her after graduating from university. The Zhao family shop ultimately goes bankrupt, and Aunt Zhao comes knocking to beg her to take it over, but is refused.