In a northern rural village in the 1980s, Xu Huilan, ignoring the obstruction of the Hu family's eldest son Hu Yongliang, resolutely marries Hu Shuliang. Right after the wedding she faces harassment from her in-laws and the constraints of old customs, but she refuses to bow her head and argues for separating the household. When her husband goes to the city to work, Huilan stays home alone, standing up against gossip and scheming, rushing to harvest cotton and starting a small cotton workshop, leading the village women to earn money and become independent with their own hands. Out of vanity, Hu Yongliang marries a city wife, exhausting the family's savings only for the marriage to fall apart, and he repeatedly causes trouble. After enduring all kinds of conflicts and entanglements, Huilan and her husband save up money and build a new house. The family lets go of past grudges, the women break free from feudal shackles, and through diligence and hard work they live a brand-new life.