In the remote mountains of Enshi in Central China, the river Dasha separates a village in two. When villagers need to cross the river to cultivate their lands or to go to the nearby city, the only way is to take an old boat from old Tian. For three generations, the Tians have undertaken to make people cross the river for free. Tian's wife died a few years ago and his only son Chuanjie works in the city. Tian Hai lives alone in his small squalid hut, making do with very little. Tian Chuanjie comes to see his aged widower father. He tries to convince him to stop these crossing of the river. The young man will spend a whole summer in the village, trying to understand the reasons pushing a human being to help others without return.

The film is based on a true story, inspired by the touching real-life events of the 1993 (01) class of the Fruit Tree Department at Hebei Agricultural University, whose students took care of their late classmate’s parents for 15 years. After the sudden passing of Li Baoyang in his youth due to illness, his classmates—unrelated by blood but bound by love—make a lasting promise to honor his memory and care for his aging parents as their own, embodying the spirit of “treating others’ elders as one’s own.” Their 15-year journey of devotion is tied together by a bet between Liu Qu’er, a man hardened by life’s harsh realities, and a village chief who still believes in kindness and trust. Though Liu Qu’er ultimately loses the bet, he stands on stage singing, “A promise worth a thousand gold.” This moving story of commitment and compassion became a symbol of “Good Deeds in Hebei,” echoing across the land and warming countless hearts.