In 1988, Cao Xiangdong, a demobilized mechanic from Liuxi Township in Qingyang, refuses to exchange his marriage arrangement. He overturns the banquet, breaks off the engagement, and loses his employment quota. Relying on his mechanical skills, he repairs diesel engines to make a living. He transforms ordinary noodles into two-mao oil-splashed noodles and brings Ma Er Leng and Qiu Shizhu into the business as shareholders, earning his first pot of gold. When the noodle factory falls behind on wages, he rescues the educated youth Ye Xiaoman, and the two establish Xiangdong Food Distribution. Wei Lianshan tries to drive them out by setting a fire and forcing prices down, while Jiang Chunhua causes a scene at a banquet. The pair clear their names with physical evidence and account books. When their product-tasting event is sabotaged with poison and they face deliberate obstruction, discolored noodle soup and evidence from the scene expose the truth. Cao Xiangdong secures a loan and wins a bid to lease the factory building, establishing Xiangdong Noodle Company. Their instant noodles sell out. With their rivals eliminated, Ye Xiaoman joins the Cao family as a shareholder through her technical contribution, and the newlyweds complete their formal change of address within the family.