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The life-story of Wu Xun, a beggar in the Qing dynasty who set up free schools for poor children.
At a Shanghai apartment, Mr Hou, a Nationalist official, gets ready to move to Taiwan upon the imminent defeat of the KMT during the Civil War. Mrs Hou gives an ultimatum to the rest of the tenants to move out on behalf of her husband, who is the "owner" of the flat and who is now planning to sell it. From the conversations with the rest, we find out that Hou has been a Hanjian during the Sino-Japanese War and that he has since taken over the apartment by force from the old landlord, Mr Kong. The tenants, including Mr Kong, Mrs Xiao, Little Broadcast (alias Mr Xiao, played by Zhao Dan) and a schoolteacher, Mr Hua, and his wife, initially plan to band together, but circumstances force them to find other ways out. Mr Hua tries to find a place to stay at the KMT-sponsored school he is teaching in. Little Broadcast and Mrs Xiao invest in black market gold. As the situation escalates, Mr Hua gets arrested by KMT agents and his young daughter falls desperately ill.
Li Zhongming was originally an elementary school teacher, but lost his job due to the war and was displaced to Shanghai. With no money and no home to return to, he is persuaded by Zhu Laowu, a tricycle driver, to ride a tricycle, and his practicality attracts the attention of Sun Jin'e, the owner of a car dealership, who falls in love with him. By chance, Li Zhongming met a young female teacher named Zhao Shuqiu, and a sympathetic relationship soon developed between the two, which made Sun Jin'e very sad. However, because of the huge difference in social status between Li Zhongming and Zhao Shuqiu, the romance soon caused a lot of gossip. Eventually, Zhao Shuqiu loses her job and her home, and the kind-hearted Li Zhongming agrees to let Zhao Shuqiu live in his house, but the two remain innocent of each other.
