The film follows a group of single young men working at the Zhonghua Shipyard Forging Workshop. These men lack manners and discipline. Though they are serious about work, they sometimes can be rowdy in public and act like hooligans. Miss Ding, who just just graduated college, moves into the same apartment flat as these men, and become the teacher for the factory's amateur education system. One man takes a liking to Miss Ding, but Miss Ding has other plans...

This simple romance story does not mean much to westerners, and in fact, does not even mean anything to Chinese today, but it was a big thing when it was made, not long after the end of Cultural Revolution in which even the personal romance was restricted. This movie is one of the pioneers of personal liberalization in advocating people seeking out their love following their own hearts, not from other people.

During their school days, Yanling and Lishuang are lovers. However, Yanling's father, who is the director of the Education Bureau, feels that Lishuang is not worthy of becoming his son-in-law. To separate the lovers the father sends Yanling to be a teacher in a island. There Yanling meets Shuijian, also a teacher there. At the same time, Lishuang had already engaged with Ding Langmei, a childhood sweetheart in her hometown. After realizing her father is not the respected figure she once though, Yanling decides to stay on the island to teach.