Shen Anan is an eighteen-year-old girl who has just passed the competitive examination to secure a sales position at the local supply and marketing cooperative, a coveted job that guarantees stability in the city. Upon returning home to share her success, she is confronted by her mother, Liu Cailan, and a stranger who claims to be her biological sister, Shen Xiuxiu. Liu Cailan reveals that Shen Anan was switched at birth and is not their biological child. Instead of offering comfort, she demands that Shen Anan surrender her newly acquired job to Shen Xiuxiu as compensation for the eighteen years of hardship the biological daughter supposedly endured in the countryside.
Shen Anan protests, explaining that the job was earned through her own efforts and that losing it would force her back to the rural areas, a fate she has worked tirelessly to escape. Her refusal only infuriates her mother, who accuses her of being an ungrateful white-eyed wolf. Shen Anan’s father and brother show no sympathy, and she is ultimately slapped and kicked out of the house. Drenched in a torrential rainstorm, Shen Anan collapses from a high fever and is found by the Huo family. She awakens in the home of Huo Aihua, a doctor, and his wife, Yang Qiuju. Their son, Huo Rufeng, is a decorated military officer confined to a wheelchair after sustaining severe injuries while protecting villagers during a flood disaster.
Desperate for shelter and income, Shen Anan accepts an offer to become the Huo family’s live-in housekeeper. Her duties include cooking, cleaning, and assisting Huo Rufeng with his daily care. The Huo parents are kind and grateful for her help, treating her with a warmth she has never experienced from her adoptive family. Huo Rufeng, initially aloof and intimidating, gradually becomes intrigued by Shen Anan’s resilience and her evident interest in traditional Chinese medicine. He discovers her medical textbooks and begins to soften, offering her protection when he learns that her household registration status makes her vulnerable to forced relocation to the countryside.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiuxiu settles into her new role at the supply and marketing cooperative but quickly reveals her true nature. She refuses to perform household chores, expecting her biological mother to serve her, and hoards her salary. When Shen Anan returns to the Shen family home to confront Shen Xiuxiu about the report that led to her being targeted for relocation to the harsh Northwest region, Liu Cailan and Shen Dacai side entirely with their biological daughter. They view Shen Anan as a disaster who has cursed the family, despite the recent improvements in their fortunes, which they attribute to Shen Xiuxiu’s presence.
Shen Xiuxiu, terrified that Shen Anan will expose her theft of the job, conspires with Dr. Zhang, a hospital official whose husband controls relocation assignments. She bribes Dr. Zhang with fabric coupons to ensure Shen Anan is sent far away. When Shen Anan learns of the report, she decides to fight back, intending to expose Shen Xiuxiu and reclaim her rightful place. However, the Huo family faces its own crisis. Shen Xiuxiu reports that Huo Rufeng is abusing his power by keeping an unemployed city girl as a live-in caretaker instead of sending her to the countryside like everyone else. The accusation threatens Huo Rufeng’s military career and the family’s reputation. Faced with the choice between protecting Shen Anan and saving his son’s future, Huo Aihua is forced to let Shen Anan go. Shen Anan, unwilling to be the cause of the Huo family’s downfall, accepts her fate and prepares for relocation, but not before vowing to ruin Shen Xiuxiu’s stolen job in retaliation.
