Mother and Daughter: Building an Empire From the Soil

Xia Yan, a twenty-eight-year-old woman with no stable employment, spends her days knitting and listening to audiobooks alongside her aging mother, Wang Chunhua. Their quiet life is shattered when they are suddenly transported to the early Qin Dynasty, inhabiting the bodies of a widowed mother and her young daughter within a fractured, impoverished peasant family. The original mother had died of grief upon learning her abusive husband was killed in battle, while the original daughter, Xia Yan, was an abused child neglected by her family. Upon waking, the two modern women must navigate a hostile environment where they are viewed as weak and poor, with their late husband’s military compensation money already coveted by their cruel mother-in-law and extended family.

The immediate conflict centers on survival and securing resources. Xia Yan, utilizing her modern knowledge and sharp tongue, publicly confronts the extended family to claim the compensation money, preventing the matriarch from stealing it. This act establishes a tense dynamic within the household. Shortly after, both women discover they possess a shared spatial dimension accessed through a system interface. The space contains fertile land and a spring, with time flowing one hundred times faster inside than outside. This advantage allows them to cultivate high-yield crops and purify salt, providing a secret source of wealth and food that they carefully conceal from their relatives.

As they attempt to rebuild their lives, internal family tensions rise. Xia Yan’s modern sensibilities clash with the patriarchal expectations of the era, leading to violent confrontations with her new eldest brother, Xia Huai’an. After a severe beating, Xia Yan flees into the wilderness, entering her spatial dimension to survive alone. During her eight-year absence, the political landscape of the Qin state shifts dramatically under King Zheng. Xia Yan inadvertently encounters rebel leaders Cheng Jiao and Fan Yuqi, manipulating them by posing as a celestial being to ensure her safe passage. Meanwhile, Wang Chunhua remains at home, raising the children and maintaining the household’s fragile stability, constantly checking the space for signs of her daughter’s survival.

Xia Yan eventually returns to the village, reuniting with a remorseful family. The narrative then shifts toward economic expansion and political navigation. Utilizing the space’s agricultural outputs, they decide to open a grain shop in the county town, seeking financial independence while avoiding the jealousy that comes with visible wealth. The story follows their efforts to integrate into Qin society, manage the complex relationships with their adopted siblings, and leverage their secret spatial abilities to secure a future in a turbulent historical period.