Zhou Cheng turns his mother-in-law's small diner into a two-story restaurant, yet he never gets enough to eat or sleep. The moment he picks up his rice bowl, it gets dumped into the swill bucket; whatever is left is carried off by his brother-in-law. Before dawn he goes out to buy groceries, and upon returning he still has to haul coal. His mother-in-law shields her lazy son, while his wife always urges him to endure it. While his younger brother moves into a new house, he still lives in a leaking rental. At the anniversary banquet he is demoted and his pay is cut, so he takes off his apron and leaves. Mother and son assume that once he goes out he will starve, and even spread rumors to ruin his reputation. He establishes a firm footing in the neighboring county relying on his craft, and when his brother-in-law impersonates his name to take on a birthday banquet he is exposed in public, causing the restaurant's sign to be taken down. His wife blocks customers from rushing their dishes for him, and he is finally able to sit down and finish a warm meal.