明朝末年，全球气候骤变，引发连绵不绝的洪灾和旱灾。为了生存，静哥儿带着妻子如烟前往江南投靠表亲。在旅店中，一员外对如烟一见钟情，但他有阴谋。员外以赔罪为名，邀请静哥儿享受大餐，并试图离间夫妻关系。当夜，一群衙役逮捕了静哥儿，将他送往县衙。员外假意帮助，但实际上是想控制如烟。
在牢房里，小林被误认为抢劫犯，他其实是一位秀才，被迫向未婚妻如兰借钱参加乡试。在典当时，他意外遇到了逃跑中的员外两人争斗不休，最终被误解并遭到逮捕。但小林真相 eventually revealed, and the county magistrate put employee in charge of shoe to test who it belonged to. Employee's wife was unable to wear it, but Liang cried out for justice, exposing employee's wrongdoings. County magistrate freed Jing Ge'er and banished employee to Liaodong.
Jing Ge'er became a official with the help of county magistrate and together with Xiao Lin passed the imperial examination. This story teaches us that there is no free lunch in this world, we should be cautious when encountering seemingly profitable opportunities without risks.
