Widow Brasse goes to great lengths to support her children and her elderly grandfather. Poverty and irritation are a constant state of affairs in the family, as there is not enough money to go around, even though Johanna Brasse washes clothes for strangers day after day. But as life goes, one day Grandpa Philipp is hit by a car and the widow senses a good deal. Although Grandpa is not injured, he is put to bed and given a proper bandage. All the preparations are made to extract a good deal of compensation from the remorseful driver. But everything turns out quite differently.

Frugality can be a virtue, but for Schneider Nörig this virtue seems to have turned into avarice. For him, pancakes with two kinds of jam are a reprehensible luxury. He prefers to put the money aside, or rather put it in his piggy bank. It is therefore not surprising that Schneider Nörig has to prevent the marriage of his youngest daughter to an almost penniless craftsman. Neighbor Krup seems to be a promising candidate and a good match in his eyes. Money could come into the family if Nörig were to marry Krup's sister...

In the post-war period, the young farmer Heiko Herkens secretly distils beet schnapps in a hidden alcove with his farmhand Jan Spinn, has fun with Fleet Helga, the gendarme's daughter, and enjoys his life after the war and imprisonment. The maid Taline, who has lived on the farm with Jan for years, knows nothing about the moonshine still. However, this life of lottery is a thorn in her side. How she longs for Heiko to marry a righteous farmer's wife and for peace and order to finally return to the farm!

Exciting things happen on Captain Brass' small cargo ship on the last day in port: a windy "doctor" turns the captain on to a strange new ship's pharmacy, in which the medicines are replenished free of charge by his staff in every port of call. The "curbside swallow" Olga has long known that this is really about cocaine smuggling...

With his human nature and good-natured character, Police Master Johannes Wilke has everything under control. For this reason, he can afford to enjoy a glass of schnapps and play chess on the phone while on duty. Both his colleague Benthin and Pastor Petersen are not at all happy with such an approach to the job. But when a floater, a naked bather and a thieving tipple brother turn up, Wilke puts his beloved chessboard to one side...

Widow Lührs only receives a meagre pension and is therefore reliant on supplementary income, so she plays commercial cards without permission! One day, farmer Henck from Schandeloh appears at her house, who wants to scare his bossy wife with the help of the cards. Wilhelmine Lührs hesitates, but ham, sausage and money finally persuade her to change her mind. She lays out the cards for Mrs. Henck just as her husband had wished. But the fraud is discovered and Mrs. Lührs has to appear before the public prosecutor. But even in court, the ludicrous Wilhelmine manages to use her wisdom to cleverly get out of the affair.