Back to 1968

Mu Jinyue transmigrates into the body of a fifteen-year-old girl in rural China in 1968, inheriting a life of extreme poverty and abuse. The Mu family is a large, undivided household where the third branch, to which Mu Jinyue belongs, bears the brunt of labor and disdain from the matriarchal grandmother and the favored eldest and fourth uncles. Mu Jinyue faces an imminent arranged marriage to a violent, impoverished man from a neighboring village, a fate she desperately wishes to escape. Meanwhile, her elder cousin, Mu Jinhua, suddenly refuses her own engagement to Du Yu, a city worker with a state ration, claiming she has had prophetic dreams. Unbeknownst to Mu Jinyue, Mu Jinhua is a reborn individual who remembers a past life where marrying into the city led to humiliation and misery, while the poor man she rejected, Zhou Shi, became a wealthy entrepreneur. Mu Jinhua schemes to swap marriages, intending to marry Zhou Shi in this lifetime while forcing Mu Jinyue into the city marriage she knows is a trap.

The family dynamics shift when Mu Jinhua’s predictions appear to come true, leading the elders to agree to the switch. Mu Jinyue is forced to marry Du Yu, while Mu Jinhua wed Zhou Shi. On her wedding day, Mu Jinyue travels to the city with her family, only to discover that Du Yu has already registered his marriage to another woman, the daughter of a factory director. The Du family publicly humiliates the Mu family, with Grandma Mu demanding exorbitant compensation for the broken engagement. Cornered and unable to return to her abusive home, Mu Jinyue makes a desperate decision. She approaches Jiang Yi, a former top student from the same compound who is now a quiet, ostracized worker caring for his bedridden mother. Despite his reserved nature and the risks involved, Jiang Yi agrees to marry her, negotiating a bride price of twenty yuan and a factory job for her cousin in exchange.

Mu Jinyue and Jiang Yi register their marriage on the same day, escaping the Du family’s courtyard. Jiang Yi’s motive is practical: he needs a caregiver for his mother, and Mu Jinyue needs an escape. Their arrangement is cold but mutually beneficial. Upon entering the Jiang household, Mu Jinyue discovers she possesses a latent wood-element ability from her past life, which allows her to purify bodies and restore vitality. She uses this power subtly on her new mother-in-law, Zhang Yulan, alleviating her pain and establishing a foundation of trust. The first few days are tense as Mu Jinyue adapts to her new role, performing domestic duties and learning the routines of caring for a paralyzed patient. Jiang Yi remains distant but fair, providing her with food and shelter while maintaining strict boundaries.

As Mu Jinyue settles into her new life, she begins to navigate the complex social hierarchy of the urban compound. Unlike the rural village, where she was treated as disposable labor, the city offers her a degree of anonymity and potential upward mobility through Jiang Yi’s job connections. She observes the Du family’s downfall and Mu Jinhua’s rising fortune from a distance, realizing that her cousin’s rebirth has not guaranteed happiness. Mu Jinyue’s primary focus shifts from survival to securing her own future. She works diligently to improve her relationship with Jiang Yi and his mother, using her unique abilities to aid Zhang Yulan’s recovery. The narrative establishes a contrast between Mu Jinyue’s pragmatic acceptance of her circumstances and the emotional turmoil of those around her, setting the stage for her gradual rise from a abused village girl to an independent woman in a changing era.