In 1985, Lu Haisheng, a coastal forager from Longwan Village, suffers a broken right leg when an out-of-control winch strikes him as he tries to save his younger brother. Realizing he can no longer earn money at sea, his parents deceive him under the pretense of taking him to the county hospital for treatment, abandon him on a leaking wooden raft near Ghost Reef, and leave only when a school of sharks closes in. Just as his life hangs by a thread, Ao Lingzhu, a golden carp he rescued as a child, appears to repay his kindness, heals his injury, and grants him the Tide-Listening Dragon Seal. Meanwhile, the Lu family seizes his fishing boat and plots to trade his wife and daughter for a motorcycle. Returning across the waves, Lu Haisheng rescues his wife, protects his daughter, and settles accounts with his own relatives. From searching the shore for treasures to building a fishing fleet, revitalizing tidal flats, and fighting a red tide, he leads his fellow villagers toward shared prosperity while his parasitic family members and unscrupulous merchants suffer the consequences of their own greed.