Outcast of the Seventies: After Marrying a Retired Soldier, She Had Many Children

Yao Qingqing, a modern woman, transmigrates into the body of Yao Qing, a peasant wife in 1972 rural China. The original Yao Qing was married to Shen Shupei, a university student who loved her cousin, Yao Qian. Because the Yao family opposed the match between Yao Qian and the army officer Sheng Yunze, they married Yao Qian to Shen Shupei as a placeholder. After Shen Shupei entered university, he neglected Yao Qing, who subsequently developed a large abdominal swelling. The village accused her of infidelity and carrying another man's child, leading to her suicide by drowning. Upon waking, Yao Qingqing discovers she is not pregnant but suffers from a severe illness causing abdominal distension. She faces immediate hostility from her mother-in-law, who intends to sell her to a violent butcher to recover the bride price.

Yao Qingqing refuses to submit, threatening legal consequences for bigamy and asserting her right to divorce. She returns to her maternal home, where she confronts her abusive, gambling father and selfish brother. Demonstrating physical competence and sharp wit, she defends herself against her father's violence. Her grandmother, Yao Lao Tai, intervenes and allows Yao Qingqing to stay in her small courtyard. There, Yao Qingqing meets Sheng Yunze, Yao Qian’s former fiancé, who has returned from the army and is now a farmer. Yao Qingqing learns that Yao Qian has broken off her engagement with Sheng Yunze and is pursuing Shen Shupei.

Seeking financial independence and medical treatment, Yao Qingqing borrows twenty yuan from an educated youth she rescues from harassment. She then confronts the Shen family, demanding divorce and compensation. Using the false claim of pregnancy and the threat of scandal, she extorts fifteen yuan and divorce papers from the Shen family. She travels to the provincial city, where she encounters Shen Shupei and Yao Qian. Yao Qingqing reveals that she knows about their affair and uses the situation to pressure Shen Shupei into paying her eighty yuan for an abortion, which she never intended to undergo. She visits a hospital and confirms she is not pregnant, leaving Shen Shupei and Yao Qian embarrassed and furious.

After returning home, Yao Qingqing treats her illness with traditional medicine prescribed by a local doctor. Her sister-in-law, Tian Huaihua, escapes her abusive mother-in-law, who forced her to take abortifacient herbs due to superstition about bearing a daughter. Yao Qingqing helps Tian Huaihua negotiate a household split, allowing her to stay with Grandma Yao. Yao Qingqing joins a communal water conservancy project to earn work points and grain, where she reunites with An Ruoxi, the educated youth she helped previously. The story concludes with Yao Qingqing establishing her independence, managing her health, and navigating the complex social dynamics of the village while preparing for her future.