Shen Yu, a former cruise ship chef, gives up his high-paying job to help his cousin, Lin Xiangdong, turn around a struggling fishpond. After three years of work generating two million yuan in profits, he is cheated out of his rightful share. Furious, Shen Yu walks away and takes over an abandoned alkaline pond that nobody wants. Together with Gu Lan, a technical poverty-alleviation specialist, he tackles the challenge of raising marine fish in saline-alkaline water. Without Shen Yu's secret recipes, Lin Xiangdong's fish rapidly deteriorate in quality, ruining a banquet and leaving him buried in debt. Meanwhile, Shen Yu successfully raises marine species such as leopard coral grouper, and his business flourishes. Driven by jealousy and malice, Lin Xiangdong secretly poisons the pond in the middle of the night. He is eventually convicted and sent to prison. Shen Yu acquires his fishpond and leads the entire village to prosperity, becoming a pioneer in rural revitalization.