Li Lin, a spoiled second-generation rich girl from 21st-century China, dies in a car accident and transmigrates into the body of a seventeen-year-old girl with the same name in 1970s Kyoto. The original Li Lin was the pampered daughter of a textile factory director and his accountant wife. Despite having a job lined up for her after high school graduation, she is secretly reported to the authorities by her neighbor, Liu Lan, who is consumed by jealousy over Li Lin’s privileged life. The original girl dies of fright upon learning she has been sent to the countryside for re-education. Li Lin awakens in this new body and discovers she possesses a mysterious spatial ability linked to a multi-floor shopping mall from her previous era, stocked with modern goods, currency, and vintage items perfect for the 1970s context.
Before departing, Li Lin’s loving parents pack her with supplies, money, and coupons, unaware of the hardships awaiting her. On the train to the countryside, she encounters Liu Lan and Zhang Qinghua, who attempt to manipulate her. Li Lin firmly rejects their schemes, slapping Liu Lan when she probes for personal information, and befriends Hu Yingying, a capable girl who stands up to Zhang Qinghua’s harassment. Li Lin and Hu Yingying arrive at the Zayinhe Commune and are assigned to the Majiacun Team, led by the shrewd Zhang Jun. Unlike the other new educated youths who are assigned to communal dormitories, Li Lin and Hu Yingying secure single rooms by paying rent, a decision that isolates them from the group but provides privacy and safety.
Upon settling in, Li Lin and Hu Yingying are approached by the older educated youths, led by Zheng Guoqiang and Zhao Li, who propose a communal dining arrangement. This is revealed to be a scheme to extort money and food from the newcomers. Li Lin and Hu Yingying refuse, asserting their independence. The rejection sparks hostility, with the group threatening to withhold help if the girls encounter trouble. Li Lin, confident in her spatial resources, dismisses the threats and establishes a boundary, declaring that they will mind their own business. She and Hu Yingying purchase necessary household items and cookware, carefully maintaining a facade of normalcy while secretly utilizing her space to store goods and access modern comforts.
The narrative follows Li Lin’s adaptation to rural labor. She finds field weeding exhausting and seeks easier work, such as collecting pig grass for the team’s pigs, despite warnings that it yields insufficient work points for grain rations. Her friend Lin Meina shares her own past mistakes, having learned too late that low-effort work leads to hunger. Meanwhile, Liu Lan struggles with the physical demands of farm work, complaining constantly and attempting to align herself with the hostile group. Zhang Qinghua and Sun Xiaogang also navigate the social dynamics, with Sun Xiaogang attempting to befriend Li Lin for potential gain. The story highlights the stark contrast between Li Lin’s preparedness, bolstered by her secret space, and the genuine struggles of her peers who lack such advantages. Li Lin’s primary conflict revolves around surviving the political and social pressures of the commune while concealing her spatial ability and protecting her newfound friendship with Hu Yingying from the scheming elements within the educated youth community.
