In 1986, during housing allocation at a state factory, Zhou Zheng is squeezed out by insiders and gets only a derelict cold storage. Helped secretly by neighbor Old Wang, he finds abandoned heating pipes in the walls and learns the warehouse is marked for demolition. He spends all his savings to reinforce the place, facing constant harassment from Liu Wei and pressure from the corrupt factory director. With patience and wits, he overcomes troubles, gets demolition compensation and helps Old Wang bring down the director. Zhou Zheng then quits to launch a business. Starting with a decoration crew, he survives cutthroat competition and powerful opposition. He purchases the old factory, rebuilds it into Zhengjingfang mixed-use buildings, opens a wonton shop and climbs up the social ladder.
