The story begins in the early 1970s in a mountain village in the north called Shangliang Village.
The leader of a gang of hooligans, named Benzi, had his eyes on Liu Hanxiang, a classmate of Feng Jiachang. He brought people to the school gate to forcibly take her away. The boys who usually boasted were all scared speechless. Feng Jiachang, who had been going to school barefoot because he couldn't afford shoes and was mocked by classmates as the "barefoot immortal", stepped forward. He picked up two bricks, walked up to Benzi, and challenged him to a one-on-one fight, asking Benzi to hit him first. Before Benzi could react, Feng Jiachang hit himself. The gang was intimidated by his courage and let Hanxiang go. Benzi, who was known for his ferocity and aggression, began to respect Feng Jiachang. Meanwhile, Hanxiang, who lived in the same village as Feng Jiachang and was the daughter of Liu Guodou, the secretary of the brigade, started to develop special feelings for Feng Jiachang.