The action takes place in the village of Fires collective farm "Power of Labor". People gather at the house of the dying chairman. Yevlampy Nikitich Lykov was famous not only in the region, but also in the country. Everyone understands that change is coming, and they remember the thirty years that Lykov headed the collective farm.
The old man, Matvey Studenkin, the first chairman, has been appearing for five years now. He carried out collectivization in the village, organized a commune. At first, there were few supporters of the commune, but a “vocal poor poor free man” gathered around him, unexpectedly supported by a young, quickly wealthy Ivan Slegov. Studenkin's goal was to “beat the counter”, and not to establish a new economy. He sat on the board, and the men did not want to work in the field. The fists tried to kill him, but by mistake instead of him, they burnt his wife alive in the bathhouse. He forcibly drove everyone to the collective farm. But when the time came to choose the chairman of the newly formed collective farm, they did not choose him, but his assistant Piyko Lykov. Since then, he headed the farm, and Matvey Studenkin then worked as a groom. Now hardly anyone remembered him.
Comes to the dying and the second person after him on the collective farm, accountant Ivan Ivanovich Slegov. Once he himself dreamed of bringing happiness to his native village. Having returned home after the gymnasium, when the post-revolutionary devastation reigned in the village, he managed to get rich by making an exchange of horses for pigs, incredible for the village, and began to raise pigs. But he wanted happiness and wealth for everyone. Therefore, he joined the collective farm. However, the men did not believe him. His thoroughbred cattle died on the collective farm, and Ivan himself no longer had the look that he had before. Then he decided to take revenge - to set fire to the collective farm stables. But at the crime scene the chairman found him and deafened the shafts, and then he himself drove to the hospital. He didn’t tell anyone, but he took Ivan, from whom his spine was broken, to his accountants. So all his life and crippled in the board of the collective farm.
With the wise management of Ivan and the Lykovsky approach to people, they achieved a harvest in the first year. The collective farm had bread when hunger raged around. The surplus immediately went in exchange for bricks for the barn, and the foundations of collective farm welfare were gradually laid.
Piiko knew how to find a common language with the right people. But he also found an enemy - the secretary of the Chisty district committee. He was about to remove Lykov from his post. But then a large regional meeting of collective farmers took place, where Lykov managed to excel. Then - the congress of collective farmers-percussionists in Moscow, even climbed a photograph with Comrade Stalin himself. But it turned out that all Lykov’s powerful friends are enemies of the people. They cleaned the wedges and beneath him, but he himself landed in the camps. Lykov emerged victorious, they began to fear him.
Suddenly, a scandal erupted near the chairman’s deathbed. The ever-quiet and silent wife of Lykova, Olga, falls upon the secretary Alka Studenkina, who came to say goodbye, the former lover of the chairman, and now he is “consolidating” him. While the scandal occurs, Lykov dies. Ivan Slegov argues about replacing with Lykov’s deputy, the son of that same Chistykh, Valera, who was once caught stealing, but forgiven and serving Lykov faithfully. Slegov calls a person whose name cannot be pronounced in this house, the nephew of the chairman, Sergei Lykov.
This man was considered lucky by everyone. Happy childhood on a wealthy uncle collective farm. Then the war, and also lucky - for the whole war not a single scratch. When he returned, the collective farm sent him to the Timiryazev Academy to study as an agronomist: his uncle wanted to have his candidate of sciences, or even a professor, on the collective farm. But, having perfectly studied two courses, Sergey returned home to save the neighboring village where hunger reigned. At that time, collective farms were enlarged, and neighboring Petrakovskaya entered the "Power of Labor". Sergei asked to be the foreman there. The team was transferred to cost accounting - for help in technology and seed grain they had to pay from the crop. But Sergey managed to put hope in the souls of women who had not seen anything in life for many years. And a miracle happened - the bread in Petrakovsky was better born than in the Fire. Then Ivan Slegov noticed him and saw himself young in him. But Sergey was not afraid that they would not understand him, because he did not count on his own strength, did not consider himself a national hero, but believed in women of Petrakovsky. “A wick without a lamp will not burn.”
But the next year, uncle Yevlampy removed the equipment from Petrakovskaya during the sowing. Sowing was littered. Sergei from the foremen was transferred to the assistants of the foreman, and the hopes of the Petrakovites were quenched, and it seems, forever. Sergey poured grief with vodka. At this time, his love for the former assistant Ksyusha Scheglova broke out. He wanted to leave, but she could not leave her mother and asked Sergey to obey his uncle. There was no exit. The reason for the unexpected happy denouement became uncle's passion for Ksenia. The fight between uncle and nephew turns into melee Sergei with the driver and lackey of the chairman Lehoy Shablov: usually in this way problems were solved in the Fires. The forces were unequal, and Sergei was in a ditch unconscious. I had to endure uncle contempt: drunk in a ditch. But the knot came loose - Ksyusha moved to Petrakovskaya.
Evlampy Lykov is dying. Matvey Studenkin dies the same night. One remains Alka Studenkina. The sons of the chairman, as usual drunk drunk, the same night with axes hammer the faithful lackey Lech Shablov, who had once carved the eldest son in the middle of the street for disrespect to his father. Recommending Sergey, ends his career Slegov. The collective farm is burying the chairman. But the battle is not over, one also has to argue with the dead. And Sergey to lead this battle.
