Set in the rural Northeast of China, Xu Cheng is a young man living in extreme poverty while his mother suffers from a serious illness. Village Party secretary Wang Dashan deliberately makes things difficult for him, allotting him only a barren plot of land known throughout the village as the "Rotten Sand Dune," which everyone despises. With no way out, the taciturn, mute Uncle steps forward with watermelon seeds and teaches Xu Cheng the technique of growing watermelons in sand-covered fields. Despite the ridicule, Xu Cheng and his wife dig up stones and prepare the land, only to face repeated sabotage from Wang Dashan and his son, who destroy seedlings, cut off irrigation water, and block their transport. While desperately protecting his watermelon plants, Xu Cheng also uncovers the truth about how his father was crippled years ago by waterlogged timber and gathers evidence to win justice. In the end, the village tyrant falls from power, Xu Cheng escapes poverty, and he helps the entire village find a way to prosperity by growing watermelons in sandy soil.