Amid the wave of layoffs in the 1990s, Lin Xiufang, a female textile worker, is dismissed because of gender discrimination, then faces indifference and pressure from her husband and mother-in-law. To earn tuition money for her daughter, she starts up her old sewing machine again, beginning with street-side clothing repairs before opening her own shop and taking orders. When her husband squanders her earnings and smashes her shop, destroying her business, she refuses to endure it silently any longer. Relying on her craftsmanship and courage, she establishes a garment factory and helps her fellow laid-off women find work again, ultimately becoming her own strongest support.