Ruan Qiqi, a twenty-six-year-old woman from the twenty-first century, dies after being crushed during a supermarket rush for rice in March 1971. Her soul is mistakenly harvested by incompetent underworld officials who intended to take a sixty-two-year-old woman. With her original body cremated and reincarnation delayed by five years, Ruan Qiqi causes chaos in the underworld until the King of Hell grants her a deal: she may possess a spatial dimension filled with modern supplies, nine resurrection pills, and the ability to communicate with plants, provided she inhabits the body of a dying girl named Ruan Qiqi in the past. The original host was a poor rural girl from Ruanjiawan who had just been abandoned by her fiancé, He Jianjun, for Commander Lu’s granddaughter, Liu Hongling. After being deceived into visiting the military district, the original girl was drugged and assaulted by Liu Hongling’s brother, Liu Hongbo, and a group of hooligans. Humiliated by rumors spread through the village, she committed suicide, leaving behind three requests for the new occupant: avenge her, save a good man named Lu Ye who would later die from injuries sustained protecting her, and gain admission to the Workers’, Peasants’, and Soldiers’ University.
Ruan Qiqi arrives at the Tanzhou Military District three days after her transmigration, just as the original girl’s fate was sealed. She confronts He Jianjun and Liu Hongling in Commander Lu’s office, where she dramatically attempts suicide by hanging to force the authorities to address her grievance. Lu Ye, the deputy battalion commander and Commander Lu’s estranged son, recognizes her as a fellow outsider and aids her. Ruan Qiqi publicly beats He Jianjun for his betrayal and demands the return of three times the betrothal gift, totaling nine hundred yuan, citing a written contract. She also exposes Liu Hongling’s pregnancy, causing chaos within the Lu family and leading to Liu Hongbo’s public humiliation after he attempts to drug Ruan Qiqi in a restaurant. Ruan Qiqi turns the tables by swapping the drugged soda, resulting in Liu Hongbo and his accomplices being caught in compromising positions, an incident that spreads through the city and damages the Lu family’s reputation.
As Ruan Qiqi settles into the military guesthouse, she discovers her golden finger: a massive supermarket and storage space containing unlimited food, medicine, and goods from the modern era. She also learns she can communicate with plants, specifically a ginkgo tree outside her window, who reveals the location of hidden gold bars. This spatial ability provides her with the financial means to improve her life and support her family. Meanwhile, her relationship with Lu Ye deepens. Both are individuals who feel alienated from their surroundings due to their unconventional minds. Lu Ye, who was abandoned as a child and raised by various families before joining the army, finds in Ruan Qiqi someone who understands his isolation without judgment. They spend time together, climbing Yuelu Mountain and taking photographs, marking a shift from mutual utility to genuine companionship.
The core conflict revolves around Ruan Qiqi’s determination to dismantle the lives of those who destroyed the original host while navigating the rigid social and political structures of 1970s China. She faces opposition from the Lu family, particularly Commander Lu, who is torn between his duty to his granddaughter and his reputation, and Mo Qiufeng, the political commissar and Lu Ye’s stepfather, who harbors secrets about Lu Ye’s past. Ruan Qiqi’s actions threaten the power dynamics within the military district, as she refuses to be intimidated by Liu Hongling’s status or He Jianjun’s ambitions. Her ultimate goal is to secure justice for the original host, ensure Lu Ye’s survival, and achieve her own educational aspirations, all while leveraging her supernatural advantages to outmaneuver her enemies in an era where such powers are unseen and ununderstood.
