70s: Reborn as the Cannon Fodder Female Lead, Starting by Ripping Apart My Whole Family

Qin Yian dies in a bizarre accident when a cake spike pierces her skull at her birthday party. Her consciousness, however, does not fade but is pulled into a black gemstone necklace, transporting her to July 1976 in Jile County. She awakens in the body of a twenty-year-old woman who shares her name, trapped in a dilapidated firewood shed. This body belongs to the original female lead of a deadly literature novel, a genre where the protagonist dies tragically and haunts the world as a vengeful ghost. Qin Yian quickly comprehends her dire situation: she has transmigrated into the cannon fodder real heiress of a story involving swapped identities, abuse, and murder.

The original owner of this body, also named Qin Yian, was stolen as an infant by her adoptive parents, Qin Dagui and Liu Guifang. They conspired with Liu Guifang’s rival to swap their biological daughter, Qin Niannian, with the real heiress. For twenty years, the real Qin Yian was treated as a servant, beaten, starved, and forced to sleep in a shed. The fake daughter, Qin Niannian, enjoyed a privileged life. When the real Qin Yian’s biological parents began searching for her, the adoptive family panicked. They sold the real Qin Yian to a cruel, abusive family for eight hundred yuan to prevent her from exposing the truth. The novel’s original plot saw her die from exhaustion after two years of torture, after which her ghostly consciousness returned to her birth family to witness the fake daughter’s rise and eventual downfall, before being punished in the underworld for hoarding souls.

Qin Yian refuses to follow this tragic script. Arriving on the day of her forced marriage, she faces her abusive adoptive parents and siblings who are beating her for being lazy. Instead of cowering, she fights back with brutal efficiency. Using a snake and her own physical strength, she beats Qin Dagui, Liu Guifang, Qin Niannian, and Qin Jinbao unconscious. She forces the abusers to drink from a urine and feces bucket, punishing them for their verbal abuse. When the buyers from the Liu family arrive to take her, she ambushes them in the courtyard, beating them and pouring the filth over them. She then feigns being a victim of human trafficking, waiting for the police who were called by a neighbor.

At the police station, Qin Yian presents irrefutable evidence. She produces letters proving the adoption parents stole her and sold her job. She reveals the fake birthmark on Qin Niannian’s arm, corroborated by a witness who saw it was not there previously. She also exposes Qin Niannian’s theft of high-quality steel from the factory, which was being sold on the black market. Her biological parents, Qin Jiaguo and Xia Xiulan, arrive with Engineer Zhou Jinglin. Qin Yian clarifies the identity mix-up, pointing out that the girl they recognize as their daughter is actually the imposter. The police confirm Qin Niannian’s deception through forensic evidence and witness testimony.

Qin Yian’s testimony also triggers the reopening of the case regarding Liu Bing’s first wife, Sun Jing, who died under suspicious circumstances. Sun Jing’s family provides a diary and photographs showing she was beaten to death by the Liu family. This connects the human trafficking ring to murder. The police arrest the entire Qin and Liu families. The legal proceedings are swift due to the severity of the crimes, including child abduction, human trafficking, embezzlement, and murder. Qin Dagui and Liu Guifang are sentenced to death for their roles in the abduction and trafficking. The Liu family members, including Liu Bing, Zhao Xiaohong, and Liu Laogen, are also sentenced to death for the murder of Sun Jing. Qin Niannian receives life imprisonment, and Qin Jinbao is sentenced to ten years for his involvement in theft and gambling.

Qin Yian attends the public execution, watching as her tormentors are shot. As the criminals die, she sees the ghost of the original novel’s protagonist floating above. The ghost thanks Qin Yian for breaking the cycle of tragedy and allowing the criminals to face justice rather than being consumed by vengeance. The ghost then departs to travel through other worlds. After the execution, Qin Yian reunites with her biological parents. She also helps a neighbor, Wang Xinxin, break off an engagement with a man who disrespects her. Qin Yian then turns her attention to her new advantage: the black gemstone necklace and the jade pendant have merged, creating a spiritual space with a thousand acres of fertile land and a fish pond. She plans to use this space to build a new life, far removed from the abuse of her past.