During the famine of the 1980s, Lin Feng works tirelessly to support his family and even builds their house with his own hands. Yet his mother, Zhao Cuihua, favors his younger brother, Lin Wen. To please Lin Wen's fiancée, Xiao Lan, Zhao Cuihua and her son decide to slaughter Da Huang, the old dog who has been Lin Feng's companion for five years. Lin Feng desperately protects his beloved dog but is forced to sign a document severing family ties. In the middle of a heavy snowstorm, he is thrown out of his home with nothing. Lin Feng takes Da Huang and seeks shelter in an abandoned temple. Unexpectedly, Da Huang awakens an extraordinary sense of smell, allowing him to detect medicinal herbs, traps, and wild animals deep in the mountains. Together, they venture into the dangerous Black Mountain Valley, where they discover a century-old wild ginseng. Lin Feng also cleverly sets a trap to capture a gigantic wild boar king. By selling medicinal herbs, he earns his first fortune. When he returns to his village, he encounters Lin Wen and their mother deliberately trying to humiliate him. Lin Feng simply walks away and buys supplies to prepare for the coming winter.