Chen Shuilian, a woman in her forties living in Lulin Village during the Great Qing Dynasty, lies dying in a dilapidated woodshed, neglected by her family and left to suffer in the cold. Her final moments are visited only by Da Ya, the young daughter of her deceased second son, whom Chen Shuilian had previously mistreated. In a last act of remorse, she gives Da Ya a hidden silver ingot and urges her to flee, before passing away in regret over her lifelong favoritism toward her eldest son and neglect of her other children. Upon death, Chen Shuilian’s consciousness shifts, and she awakens in her younger body, thirty-five years old, just as a chaotic family dispute erupts in her bedroom. She realizes she has been reborn to the past, before the tragedies that destroyed her family.
The scene unfolding before her involves her eldest son, Zhao Jiagu, who has returned home with a pregnant mistress, Liu Hong, demanding that he divorce his loyal wife, Wang Miaomiao, to marry the newcomer. In her previous life, Chen Shuilian’s blind favoritism toward Zhao Jiagu led her to support this divorce, resulting in the expulsion of Wang Miaomiao, the eventual death of her second son and daughter-in-law, and her own miserable end. Now, armed with knowledge of the future, Chen Shuilian rejects Zhao Jiagu’s demands. She violently drives him and Liu Hong out of the house, refusing to allow the divorce or the intrusion of the mistress into the family. Her sudden change in behavior shocks her remaining sons, Zhao Maizhou and Zhao Fengtian, as well as Wang Miaomiao, who is bewildered by her mother-in-law’s unexpected defense.
Zhao Jiagu, unwilling to accept the loss of his mother’s support and the potential scandal, attempts to negotiate. He insists on taking half of the family’s assets, including the ten taels of silver Chen Shuilian had previously sold their land to fund his tavern job. Chen Shuilian, determined to sever ties completely, calls upon the village chief to mediate a formal family division. She demands that Zhao Jiagu leave with nothing but an IOU for the silver he received, which he must repay within a year. After intense negotiation and pressure from Liu Hong, who reveals her own family wealth, Zhao Jiagu reluctantly agrees to the terms to avoid further conflict and potential legal trouble.
With the family division document signed and sealed, Zhao Jiagu and Liu Hong are expelled from the household. Zhao Jiagu, bitter and resentful, demands a divorce from Wang Miaomiao before leaving, attempting to force her out as well. Chen Shuilian intervenes, slapping Zhao Jiagu for bullying his wife and declaring that Wang Miaomiao will remain in the house. She instructs Wang Miaomiao to continue her duties, maintaining her fierce exterior to avoid suspicion while subtly protecting the woman who suffered so much in the past life. The story concludes with Chen Shuilian beginning to rebuild her family dynamics, determined to correct the mistakes of her previous existence by supporting her hardworking younger sons and protecting Wang Miaomiao from the fate that befell her before.
