Seizing Space in the 1970s: My Flash Marriage and the Kicking of Scum Relatives

Ming Leyao, a modern-day doctor and heir to a renowned Traditional Chinese Medicine family, dies in a car accident and transmigrates into the body of an orphaned girl with the same name in August 1977. The original Ming Leyao was an outcast in the Ming family, abused by her grandmother and cousins, and had just been framed for having an affair with Fu Wen Cheng, a paralyzed soldier living in a dilapidated shack. Upon waking in the middle of a mob attempting to catch them, Ming Leyao uses her medical knowledge and sharp wit to expose her cousin Ming Hongdou for assault, turning the accusation around and saving herself from ruin. She discovers that Fu Wen Cheng’s leg injury is caused by a specific poison, which she agrees to treat in exchange for payment, marking the beginning of their complex relationship.

Ming Leyao’s new life is fraught with immediate challenges. She learns of a hidden spatial dimension left to her by her grandfather, containing modern supplies, food, and a mystical Golden Lotus that grants her enhanced physical abilities and healing properties. After eating a lotus seed, she undergoes a physical transformation, regaining her health and beauty. Simultaneously, she navigates the treacherous dynamics of the Ming family, who seek to exploit her support allowance and force her into a marriage with an idiotic relative to secure a bride price. With the help of the brigade leader Pang Jianyuan and her newly formed alliances, Ming Leyao successfully separates from the Ming family, receiving a small plot of land and a house to build. She establishes herself as an independent woman, using her spatial resources to trade goods on the black market for income and ration coupons.

The core conflict revolves around Ming Leyao’s struggle for autonomy against a patriarchal and greedy family system, while also managing her growing bond with Fu Wen Cheng. She treats his poisoned legs with acupuncture and herbal medicine, gradually restoring his mobility. Fu Wen Cheng, once a proud soldier discarded by his family due to his disability, finds in Ming Leyao not just a healer but a partner who respects his strength. Their relationship deepens as she provides him with nutritious meals and emotional support, while he assists her with resources and protection. Meanwhile, the Ming family’s schemes to undermine her reputation and control her finances are repeatedly thwarted by Ming Leyao’s intelligence and the growing public sympathy she garners through her hard work and kindness.

Key turning points include Ming Leyao’s discovery of the ancestral letter in her space, which confirms her transmigration was foreseen, and her acquisition of a teaching position at a new literacy class and primary school established in the brigade. This role provides her with social status and protection, making it harder for the Ming family to harm her. She also confronts the Ming family’s plot to force her marriage, exposing their greed and solidifying her independence. As her health and social standing improve, Ming Leyao begins to rebuild her life on her own terms, balancing her medical practice, her new career as a teacher, and her developing relationship with Fu Wen Cheng. The story moves toward her establishing a stable, prosperous life while continuing to outmaneuver her antagonists and support Fu Wen Cheng’s recovery and eventual return to a meaningful role in society.