Daily Life of Striving and Watching Drama in the 90s

Li Mei, a widow working at a struggling furniture factory, faces mounting pressure from her late husband's family and community gossip after his disappearance. Tong Aihua, her stepfather, was robbed and fell into a river while collecting payments for the factory, leaving his body unrecovered. His mother, Zhang Cuihua, and her family accuse Li Mei of being a jinx and attempt to seize the compensation money and the job position Tong Aihua held, which Li Mei had originally given to him. The household is further strained by the impending arrival of Su Ruyi, Tong Aihua's daughter from his first marriage to Su Ying, who is coming to live with them because she did not get into university.

Su Ruyi, a transmigrator who has awakened in the body of the original novel's female supporting character, arrives by train with an insatiable appetite and hidden physical strength. In the original story, this character was a vain, scheming woman who ruined the male lead's life before meeting a gruesome end. Su Ruyi, however, intends to avoid that fate and live comfortably. Upon disembarking, she is targeted by human traffickers but defeats them with terrifying ease, revealing that she possesses superhuman strength. She arrives at Li Mei's cramped home to find a chaotic scene: Zhang Cuihua is physically attacking Li Mei and Tong Yunyun, Tong Aihua's daughter with Li Mei, while Tong Guangyao, Zhang Cuihua's grandson, causes trouble. Su Ruyi single-handedly stops the violence, lifting the aggressive grandmother and child with one hand and throwing them out of the apartment, effectively neutralizing the immediate threat.

The family dynamics are complex. Tong Yunyun, a ten-year-old tomboy who insists she is a boy, is initially hostile but is won over by Su Ruyi's southern fruits and direct confrontation of patriarchal norms. Su Ruyi brings an abundance of food and gifts, which she instructs Wang Huiting, Li Mei's outgoing daughter, to distribute to factory leaders and neighbors to secure their support. Su Ruyi's presence shifts the power balance entirely. She is not the subservient, greedy stepdaughter the relatives expected. Instead, she is capable, strong, and strategically savvy, helping Li Mei navigate the bureaucratic hurdles regarding Tong Aihua's status.

The core conflict revolves around the uncertainty of Tong Aihua's fate and the financial survival of Li Mei's household. The factory refuses to pay death benefits without a body, suspecting embezzlement, while the Zhang family exploits the situation to harass Li Mei. Su Ruyi's primary goal is to find her father, whether alive or dead, and to establish her own livelihood. She uses her knowledge of the future and her enhanced physical abilities to protect her new family from external threats. Her relationship with Li Mei evolves from cautious acceptance to mutual respect, as Li Mei realizes Su Ruyi is a valuable ally rather than a burden.

Key turning points include Su Ruyi's defeat of the traffickers, which establishes her combat capability, and her physical intervention in the family dispute, which deters the Zhang family from further aggression. Su Ruyi also begins to investigate the circumstances of Tong Aihua's disappearance, suspecting foul play beyond the reported robbery. The narrative sets the stage for Su Ruyi to navigate the treacherous social and economic landscape of the era, using her strength and modern mindset to secure a stable future for herself and the women in her household, while uncovering the truth behind the missing accountant.