Adapted from a novel of the same title, this film depicts a young woman’s transformation from housewife to loyal Communist. This process is presented as “natural” – possessed of inherent logic rather than merely “incidental”. Hence, the film is really about Communist revolution that won over the hearts and minds of Chinese youth.

An episode from the life of a metallurgical plant collective. Lu Zhong-kui, an advanced worker appointed as head of the smelting shop, initiates the re-equipment of the open-hearth furnace. The plant director and some specialists warn him that the furnace, built by Americans, is operating at maximum capacity. However, many refer to the experience of the Soviet people and support Lu. And then an accident occurs: steel bursts out of the furnace... This episode is full of drama, as is the entire story about the selfless and persistent struggle of a worker-promoter to fulfill the state plan.

During the Lantern Festival, mother took her daughter Xiaomei to a temple fair. Mother bought a beautiful doll for Xiaomei, and asked the master in the toy store to repair the little wooden figure that Xiaomei had damaged. Not long after Xiaomei returned home to play, she burned the legs of the little wooden man, stained the dolls, and threw them in the corner in disgust. Xiaomei falls asleep and dreams of the toys.