Reborn in a fishing village in 1980, Zhang Jianguo, who once wasted his days gambling and loafing around, finally comes to his senses. Drawing on his experience as an ocean-going sailor in his previous life, he gets ahead by intercepting schools of shrimp while tide foraging, harvesting wild sea cucumbers on a deserted island, and risking his life to collect rare goose barnacles. He amasses a fortune along the way. He beats up greedy relatives who covet his family's property and outsmarts fishmongers who try to drive down his prices. After applying for an interest-free loan, he buys a large steel-hulled fishing boat and provides for his mother, wife, and daughters. From a good-for-nothing street loafer despised by everyone, he gradually rises to become a renowned fishing tycoon in the surrounding area, writing an inspiring rags-to-riches legend amid the changing tides of the era.