Fake Heiress Returns to the Village, Pampered by a Scheming Rustic Man

Li Jiao, once a pampered heiress from the capital, was abandoned by her adoptive parents and sent to the remote Shishui Village after the real heiress returned. In her previous life, she married Qin Lie, a man with a problematic political background and a disabled leg, only to despise him and elope with the deceitful educated youth Li Wenbo. Li Wenbo sold her into slavery, leading to a decade of suffering and a tragic death where Qin Lie, having searched for her relentlessly, died of grief beside her frozen body. Reborn on a snowy night in 1982, Li Jiao retains her memories and resolves to change her fate. When Li Wenbo appears at her window to collect the hush money Qin Lie earned at great personal risk, Li Jiao violently rejects him, smashing an enamel mug over his head and throwing him out. She then turns her attention to Qin Lie, who is suffering from a high fever and a gangrenous leg wound, believing her kindness is merely an act before she leaves him.

Despite Qin Lie’s self-loathing and attempts to push her away, Li Jiao insists on staying. She warms her icy hands against his chest and declares that she will not abandon him. The next morning, Qin Lie’s abusive sister-in-law, Wang Cuifen, arrives to demand the money, insulting Qin Lie’s status and threatening to take the funds for her own children. Li Jiao fiercely defends her husband, threatening to expose the Qin family’s embezzlement and abuse if they touch the money. She physically repels Wang Cuifen, establishing her dominance in the household. Recognizing the severity of Qin Lie’s leg infection, Li Jiao takes him to the county hospital. She pays for emergency surgery and expensive imported antibiotics, spending their entire life savings of 550 yuan. The surgery is successful, saving his leg, but the medical bills deplete their funds almost immediately.

With no money left for further treatment or food, Li Jiao ventures into the hospital corridor to find a way to earn income. She encounters an old man selling what appears to be worthless firewood. Utilizing her knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, Li Jiao identifies the branches as rare, fifty-year-old wild Broad-tendon Vine, a potent herb for bone and tendon recovery. She buys the entire stock for forty cents and begins stewing it with an old hen in the hospital ward. The aromatic soup attracts the attention of the retired Old Bureau Chief, a patient suffering from severe rheumatism. After tasting the broth and experiencing immediate relief from his chronic pain, the Old Bureau Chief agrees to buy the remaining herbs and the recipe for eighty yuan. Li Jiao continues to sell the soup and herbs, generating enough income to cover hospital fees and purchase warm clothing and food for Qin Lie. Throughout this process, Qin Lie remains skeptical of her sudden devotion, suspecting it is a manipulation, yet he finds himself increasingly captivated by her genuine care and protective nature. Li Jiao’s transformation from a spoiled, blind bride to a capable, fierce protector marks the beginning of a new dynamic in their marriage, as she works to secure their future while nursing Qin Lie back to health.