1970s Rebirth: Starting Off By Beating Up the Stepsister Before Going To The Countryside!

Wen Nuan, an eighteen-year-old woman living in a cramped factory district in China, is reborn after a tragic life defined by familial betrayal. In her previous existence, she was manipulated by her stepmother, Tan Xiulian, and her two months younger stepsister, Wen Qing. Despite being the biological daughter of Wen Changming, she was forced to labor for the household while Wen Qing enjoyed privilege. The cycle of abuse culminated in Wen Nuan being framed for theft, sent to the countryside, and eventually sold by her father to a crippled man after her acceptance letter to university was stolen. Upon waking in the past, at the exact moment Wen Qing accuses her of stealing a jade talisman, Wen Nuan resolves to rewrite her fate and sever all ties with her toxic family.

The immediate conflict arises when Wen Qing attempts to frame Wen Nuan again to secure her own position. Instead of submitting, Wen Nuan physically retaliates, slapping Wen Qing and exposing the family's internal corruption to the neighbors. She leverages her father's rival, Li Haiyang, to amplify the public scandal, forcing Wen Changming and Tan Xiulian to reveal their hypocrisy. Wen Nuan demands the return of her mother’s bankbook, discovering that Tan Xiulian had embezzled the funds to support her own brother. This confrontation marks the beginning of Wen Nuan’s strategic dismantling of the family’s authority over her.

A key turning point occurs when Wen Nuan discovers she can access a mystical spatial dimension through the blood of the jade talisman. This space, a remnant of her maternal ancestor’s heritage, offers a sanctuary and a means to store wealth and goods safely. Empowered by this advantage and her rebirth knowledge, Wen Nuan negotiates a formal separation from the Wen family. She extracts 1,400 yuan, various ration coupons, and a promise to return her mother’s dowry chest in exchange for signing a legal severance document. She also publishes a notice in the newspaper to make the separation public, ensuring no social leverage remains for her father.

With her household registration transferred and her future sealed for relocation to Heilongjiang, Wen Nuan secures her economic independence by selling her factory apprenticeship to her former classmate, Li Hongmei. The transaction provides her with additional cash and essential supplies for her journey. However, the conflict is far from over. Wen Changming, desperate to retrieve the valuable dowry chest containing Qing dynasty seals rumored to hide a treasure, plots to murder Wen Nuan and frame it as a suicide. He visits an unlicensed clinic to obtain poison, intending to serve it to her during a deceptive dinner.

Wen Nuan, anticipating the betrayal, consumes a detoxifying pill from her spatial dimension before eating. She overhears her father’s plot through the skylight, confirming his intent to sell her to Liu the cripple and kill her to keep the inheritance. Rather than fleeing immediately, she decides to turn the tables, using the information to expose her father’s crimes and protect herself. The story moves toward a confrontation where Wen Nuan plans to dismantle the conspiracy, save herself from the fate of being sold, and ensure that her abusers face justice for their crimes against her mother and her.