Yu Huai, a burned-out graduate student in traditional Chinese medicine from the twenty-first century, dies of sudden cardiac arrest and awakens in 1984 inside the body of a twenty-year-old peasant girl with the same name. The original Yu Huai was abused by her parents, forced into labor since childhood, and was about to be sold to an elderly cripple for a bride price of two hundred yuan. Unable to accept her fate, the original owner had run into the mountains, only to hit her head on a rock. Yu Huai uses her medical knowledge to treat her own injuries and decides to escape rather than submit to her family's plans.
After hiding in Pine Mountain for five days, Yu Huai emerges disguised as a wildling and encounters Chi Xu, a dangerous man hiding from smugglers who are pursuing him. Chi Xu has been bitten by a snake, and the wound has become infected, threatening his leg. Although he initially threatens her with a pistol, Yu Huai negotiates a deal: she will treat his infection for one hundred yuan. She successfully drains the abscess and applies medicinal herbs, saving his leg. In return, Chi Xu pays her and later asks her to help him descend the mountain and make a phone call. After completing the task, Yu Huai attempts to travel to the city but realizes she lacks the identification documents required to buy train tickets or stay in hotels.
Stranded in Yunzhou City, Yu Huai finds temporary shelter under a bridge and takes a job as a dishwasher in a private restaurant. During this time, she encounters Fang Mingqiang, a lame man begging with his asthmatic grandson, Xiaoyu. Yu Huai treats the boy's acute asthma attack with acupuncture and provides the man with a prescription for his knee osteoarthritis, even giving him money for medical supplies. Her actions are witnessed by Chi Xu, who has returned to the city. Impressed by her medical skills and resourcefulness, Chi Xu offers her a position as a live-in nanny in Lin'an City, promising to help her obtain legal identity documents in exchange for her services.
Yu Huai accepts the offer and moves into Chi Xu's luxurious home, where she is introduced to his subordinate, Lu Qiyuan. Chi Xu reveals that he is involved in both legitimate trade, running a foreign trade company, and illegal smuggling operations, including firearms. The narrative establishes a complex dynamic between Yu Huai and Chi Xu, who is cold, domineering, and haunted by past traumas involving his family's persecution during the Cultural Revolution and a woman named Wen Yetong. Despite his initial disdain for her appearance and background, Chi Xu finds himself drawn to Yu Huai's independence and lack of fear. Meanwhile, Yu Huai remains focused on her goal of establishing a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, viewing her employment with Chi Xu as a means to an end rather than a romantic entanglement. The story sets the stage for Yu Huai to navigate the dangerous world of 1980s Chinese crime and commerce while using her medical expertise to survive and thrive.
