The miserable and lazy farmer Nils-Erik likes it that his wife Matilda rules and dictates, but cannot come to terms with the fact that she constantly falls for the flattery of their neighbor Valdemar. Their son Lennart has inherited the mother's touchiness and the father's laziness and feels like a failure. Then Nils-Erik gets an idea! But is it wise to involve the local postman Dag-Otto in his plans?

A year has passed since Matilda Karlsson arranged a job in the city for her son Lennart and managed to persuade her late husband Nils-Erik to take care of the farm. Everything is fine except for one thing, Matilda wants grandchildren. Lennart and the neighbor's daughter Inga get along well so she thinks they would make a perfect couple. But there are many obstacles along the way.

The year is 1949 and we are back at Matilda and Nils-Erik's farm. Their son Lennart and his wife Rakel are planning to take over the farm after his parents.