An Ancient-Era Elderly Woman with a Spatial Dimension Directly Connected to a Modern Vegetable Market

Lu Minggui lived through a harrowing famine during the Chongzhen reign, where extreme drought turned the northern provinces into barren wastelands. Abandoned by her eldest son, Song Dazhi, and his wife, Hu Cuihua, she was left to die in a ruined temple. As she fell into a dry ditch and died, a wooden hairpin absorbed her blood and vanished, transporting her consciousness back in time. She awoke in her own bed, reborn to the day her second son, Song Dahe, was reported dead in battle. In her previous life, this tragedy had broken her spirit, leading her to trust the eldest branch exclusively and eventually hand over all her savings, which resulted in her neglect of the second branch and her own tragic end.

Upon regaining consciousness, Lu Minggui immediately recognized the deception surrounding her family. Hu Cuihua had been whispering that the second branch was extinct to isolate Lu Minggui, but this time, Lu Minggui refused to be manipulated. She slapped Hu Cuihua for her gloating expression and asserted her authority as the matriarch. Her primary focus shifted to protecting her second daughter-in-law, Shen Juye, who was seven months pregnant and despondent after losing her husband. Lu Minggui lied to Shen Juye, claiming Dahe was merely missing rather than dead, to preserve her will to live and protect the unborn grandchild. She ordered Hu Cuihua to fetch a doctor and used her own savings to pay for medical care and medicine, ensuring the pregnancy would survive.

Lu Minggui also confronted the theft committed by her eldest son. She discovered that Song Dazhi had stolen her copper coins while she was unconscious to buy meat for his own family, rather than using the money for her care. By creating a public scene in the courtyard, she forced Song Dazhi to return the stolen money under the scrutiny of neighbors, reclaiming her financial control. She locked away her remaining silver and coins, refusing to let the eldest branch access her resources any longer. This marked a decisive shift in household dynamics, as Lu Minggui began to prioritize the second branch, providing them with nourishing food like egg soup and spinach, which had previously been reserved for the eldest grandchildren.

During her daily chores, Lu Minggui accidentally entered a mysterious white space through her wooden hairpin. This space connected to a modern vegetable market, where she encountered Li Zi’an, a kind shop owner. Initially terrified by the futuristic environment, she was calmed by Li Zi’an, who provided her with cola and steamed buns when she fainted from low blood sugar. Lu Minggui attempted to pay with two ancient Taichang Tongbao coins she carried. Li Zi’an accepted them, unaware of their potential value as antiques. This discovery introduced a supernatural element to her rebirth, offering a potential avenue for resource acquisition in a time of scarcity.

Back in the Song household, Lu Minggui enforced strict labor duties, forcing the lazy eldest branch to work in the fields and tend to chores. She protected her granddaughter Manman from bullying by the eldest grandchildren, Jinbao and Erfen, beating Jinbao with a broom when he attacked the five-year-old. Lu Minggui’s transformation from a gentle, easily manipulated widow to a stern, calculating matriarch unsettled her children. She resolved to prepare for the impending famine by stockpiling resources and ensuring the survival of the second branch. The story follows her navigation of family politics, her use of the mysterious space to gather supplies, and her determination to alter the tragic fate that had befallen her in her past life.