Reborn in the 70s: Playing the Victim

Zhan Lin, a successful fashion designer in Shenzhen, dies suddenly in July 1993 from overwork and exhaustion. Upon regaining consciousness, she finds herself reborn in her fifteen-year-old body on July 16, 1970, in Weiyang City. The timeline places her just days before a catastrophic series of events that destroyed her family. In her previous life, her father, Zhan Guocheng, was arrested for an extramarital affair, which triggered a financial scandal involving embezzlement at the power plant. This led to the liquidation of family assets, the forced rural relocation of her brother, and the dissolution of her marriage to Ning Yunshu, a man she had loved deeply but treated poorly due to pride and misunderstanding. Her mother, Hong Huiying, eventually abandoned her children to remarry in Hu Shi, leaving Zhan Lin to endure a life of hardship in the northwest.

Upon returning to 1970, Zhan Lin overhears a heated argument between her parents. She discovers that her father is being blackmailed regarding a anonymous report letter that led to the death of Ning Zezhao, Ning Yunshu’s father, while in custody. Zhan Lin realizes that her father’s timid nature and the manipulative influence of her maternal aunt, Zhang Yufeng, and her cousins, He Zhenghong and He Zhengli, are the root causes of the family’s downfall. In her past life, her mother had secretly funneled family savings to these relatives, leaving the Zhan household vulnerable to financial ruin when audits began. Zhan Lin resolves to change her fate, protect her family’s assets, and prevent the estrangement from Ning Yunshu.

The immediate crisis arrives on July 20, 1970, when Zhan Guocheng is caught in an affair with Qin Xiaoqin. Neighbors spread the scandal rapidly, and Shi Lanhua, a rival from the power plant, publicly humiliates the family. Zhan Lin remains calm, knowing this event is merely the precursor to the deeper financial investigation. She begins a meticulous search of her home, uncovering hidden stashes of cash, gold bars, and ration coupons that her parents had secreted away for emergencies. She finds deposit slips totaling thousands of yuan, along with a hidden account book belonging to her mother that details decades of financial support sent to Zhang Yufeng and the He sisters.

Among the discovered documents, Zhan Lin finds medical records revealing a shocking truth: her mother had undergone an induced abortion in 1958, a pregnancy that was not her father’s child, but rather the result of an affair with a man named Song Yuhe. This secret explains her mother’s deep-seated guilt and her subsequent subservience to the He family, who held leverage over her. Zhan Lin also finds a job referral letter for a position at a guesthouse, a valuable asset that was stolen in her previous life by Xu Yanlai, the stepdaughter of He Zhengli. Determined to secure her family’s future, Zhan Lin hides the gold and cash in a secret compartment within her stove and relocates the crucial account book to a hidden space in her brick wall.

While investigating the town, Zhan Lin encounters Cen Jin, a former classmate who disappeared in August 1970 in her previous life. Cen Jin is seen with Zhang Lihe, a man connected to the power plant’s financial department. Zhan Lin recalls that Cen Jin had hidden a ledger before her disappearance, which later became evidence in the interrogation of Zhang Lihe. This connection suggests that the financial crimes at the power plant are intertwined with the disappearances and secrets of those around her. Zhan Lin also learns that the Beijing courtyard house sold by her grandmother was registered under the name Wei Junyi, a relative of the He family, indicating a long-con scheme to steal family property.

As the power plant begins its audit, Zhan Lin prepares to intercept the stolen job referral and expose the financial manipulation by her aunt’s family. She plans to use the hidden evidence to protect her father from false accusations and to ensure that the family’s wealth remains intact. The story follows her efforts to navigate the complex social politics of 1970s China, outmaneuver her manipulative relatives, and rebuild her relationship with Ning Yunshu, who is currently stationed in Guizhou but remains a central figure in her destiny.