"Nature" is a rural realist film about human nature, motherhood, and family affection. One winter morning, in a remote mountain village, a young madwoman hid among a stack of straw. She was taken in by Xizi's mother, known for her stinginess and selfishness, and married to Xizi, who was unable to find a wife. The madwoman and Xizi married and soon gave birth to a son, Zhuzi. Xizi's mother, believing rumors that the madwoman's breast milk was poisonous, forbade her from breastfeeding and kicked her out of the house. As Zhuzi grew up, the madwoman, who had been wandering for years, suddenly returned to the village. The madwoman cut brambles to help Zhuzi raise money for his tuition, but Zhuzi refused to accept her offer. Zhuzi even refused to let his mother go to the county town to bring him cotton clothes.