Lu Xiao, a retired reconnaissance soldier, returns to his hometown to recuperate. His troublesome neighbor, Sun Mantang, builds a chicken coop outside Lu Xiao's courtyard wall, where the roosters' early-morning crowing disturbs his sleep. After negotiations fail, Lu Xiao plants mugwort along the foot of the wall, affecting the chickens and reducing their egg production. Sun Mantang repeatedly resorts to underhanded tactics, including poisoning, making false accusations, and scattering nails. Lu Xiao carefully documents everything and presents the complete evidence at a village meeting. Sun Mantang loses the case and is ordered to dismantle the coop and pay compensation by a deadline. Lu Xiao turns his mugwort into a business, develops mugwort products, and establishes a cooperative that encourages young people to return to their hometown. Eventually, Sun Mantang comes to apologize and joins the cooperative as a worker, bringing the conflict to an end.