A Kitchen That Connects to Ancient Times: I Escape the Apocalypse to Farm

Shen Youyou was a sentient zombie who had survived the apocalypse for an unknown period, retaining her human consciousness and memories while the world around her lay in ruins. The endless loneliness and gray desolation of the dead city weighed heavily on her, despite her ability to cook and maintain a semblance of normalcy within a magical, self-resetting kitchen. Her existence was a quiet struggle against madness until she fell asleep in her dark home and woke up in a thatched hut in a lush, green ancient world. A mechanical voice informed her that she had successfully escaped the apocalypse and entered a farming novel instance. Upon checking her reflection, she discovered her livid, zombie-like skin was gone, replaced by the body of a fifteen-year-old girl named Shen Youyou, who was known in the village as the "foolish girl" due to a childhood fever that left her mentally childlike.

Her new life began with confusion and fear, but also profound relief at being among living humans again. She was found by Mo Yan, a young man living in the mountains with two orphaned children, Tuanzi and Yuanyuan. After a strange encounter where she emotionally tested their reality by touching them, she retreated to her dilapidated hut. Learning from Mo Yan that she had been abandoned by her family and left to starve on the mountain, she realized her new family was in dire straits. Her biological mother, Li Shi, and father, Shen He, along with her younger brother, Shen Nan, had been driven out of the main Shen family compound by the vicious Old Madam Shen. The grandmother had falsely blamed Shen Youyou’s foolishness for her eldest grandson’s illnesses and now refused to support the second branch, leaving them with no home and Shen He suffering from a severe leg injury.

Shen Youyou descended the mountain to confront the situation, arriving just as Old Madam Shen was verbally abusing her mother and brother. When the elderly woman attempted to strike the young Shen Nan, Shen Youyou intervened, physically overpowering the entire Shen family with combat skills honed during the apocalypse. She forced Old Madam Shen to pay ten taels of silver for medical treatment and signed a family separation agreement, legally cutting ties with the abusive relatives. She then brought her weakened family up the mountain to live in her small thatched hut, beginning their struggle to survive in poverty.

As they settled in, Shen Youyou discovered she had retained two supernatural advantages from her previous life. First, a "Botanical Encyclopedia System" activated when she collected plants, rewarding her with seeds and items like wild chicken eggs, tomatoes, and chili peppers for completing tasks. Second, her magical kitchen, which she named Manman, had traveled with her to this world. Manman provided infinite ingredients and cooking tools, allowing Shen Youyou to utilize her past life’s expertise as a professional chef. In an era where cooking was rudimentary and flavorless, her culinary skills became a revolutionary asset. She cooked a braised chicken dish for Mo Yan that stunned his palate, leading to a partnership where Mo Yan provided game and Shen Youyou prepared meals for both families.

The narrative follows Shen Youyou’s adaptation to this new world, which she identifies as the fictional Ning Dynasty. She learns that while crops like potatoes and corn exist, the culinary knowledge to make them delicious is absent, creating a "desert of deliciousness." Seizing this opportunity, she begins cultivating her magical garden, planting rare vegetables like tomatoes and chilies. Her cooking not only nourishes her family and helps Shen He’s leg heal but also wins over her neighbor Mo Yan and his grandchildren. The story establishes a trajectory where Shen Youyou will use her culinary talents and system rewards to build a prosperous life, protect her newfound family from further exploitation, and navigate the social dynamics of the village, all while hiding the true origin of her abilities behind a story of spiritual guidance.