A Couple Transmigrates into a Period Novel as Supporting Characters

Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao are a modern couple who, after reading a novel featuring characters with their exact names, experience vivid dreams of transmigrating into the story. The dreams reveal the harsh lives of the original characters: Li Ruolan as a neglected daughter in a son-preferencing family, and Deng Minghao as an invisible middle child in a large family. When they discover they possess a spatial dimension with fertile land and spiritual water, they prepare for their inevitable transmigration by selling their home, providing for their parents, and stockpiling supplies. After six months of preparation, they accidentally fall into a river while fishing and wake up in 1970s Beijing, having successfully transmigrated into the novel.

Upon acquiring the original owners' memories, Li Ruolan learns she is being forced to marry a violent factory director's son in exchange for a job for her brother. Deng Minghao, meanwhile, faces neglect from his family and lack of employment prospects. Rather than endure their families' exploitation, they decide to register as educated youths sent to the countryside, specifically choosing Qianjin Village in the Northeast, where the novel's protagonists are also headed. Before departing, they utilize their spatial abilities to harvest crops, raise livestock, and generate income by selling goods door-to-door, avoiding the dangerous black market initially.

Deng Minghao later encounters a black market boss who attempts to cheat him. Outsmarting the man, Deng Minghao lures him into a trap and, with Li Ruolan's help inside the space, robs the boss's home. They steal vast amounts of cash, ration coupons, gold, antiques, and jewelry, securing their financial future for years to come. They also anonymously report the boss to the authorities, ensuring his downfall. With their resources secured, they purchase necessary supplies, including clothing, food, and household items, before boarding a train to the Northeast.

On the train, they meet the novel's main characters, Xu Tao and Qin Wan, as well as Guo Xiaoya, a supporting character who appears to be reborn and is already showing hostility toward Qin Wan. Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao maintain a low profile, observing the drama unfold while navigating interactions with other educated youths, including the shallow Li Yingying and the kind Zhou Shengnan and Zheng Fanghua. Upon arriving at Shengli Brigade, they are greeted by Li Baozong, the original Li Ruolan's brother, who is now a senior educated youth. The couple quickly establishes themselves, contributing food to the communal meal and seeking out the brigade leader to arrange their marriage and housing.

Li Ruolan and Deng Minghao plan to build a modest house near the youth dormitory to maintain independence while staying within the community. They present gifts to the brigade leader and his wife, explaining their desire to escape their neglectful families. The brigade leader, sympathetic to their situation, agrees to help them obtain marriage certificates and oversee the construction of their home. As they settle into their new life in the rural Northeast, they prepare to face the challenges of the era while keeping a safe distance from the central drama involving the reborn Guo Xiaoya and the original protagonists.