The Beauty from the 1970s State-Owned Factory Reforms the Villainous Cub and Strikes It Rich

Chen Qing, a hardworking design professional from the twenty-first century, dies from overwork and transmigrates into the body of a woman with the same name in 1970s Guangdong Province. She finds herself in the world of a period novel titled "Marriage in the Era: The Little Soft One Wins Big," inhabiting the role of the tragic villainess. The original host was an arrogant young woman who abused her two young orphans, He Yuxiang and He Yuting, the children of her deceased sister. In the novel's plot, the boy He Yuxiang grows up to become a ruthless, highly intelligent villain who eventually has the original host executed after she ruins his life. Chen Qing wakes up to find the six-year-old He Yuxiang shielding his four-year-old sister from her, both children emaciated and terrified. Recognizing the fatal stakes, she immediately changes her behavior, applying medicine to the girl's wound and sending the boy to buy meat, marking the beginning of her effort to alter their fate.

The new Chen Qing faces immediate financial peril. The original host had accumulated 178 yuan in debt, largely due to vanity and borrowing from Yang Xiujin, a divorced logistics director who is pursuing her. Chen Qing is also responsible for the two children, who are deeply suspicious of her sudden kindness. She discovers that the family's survival depends on a piece of gold inherited from their father, which the boy guards fiercely. Chen Qing realizes that the family's recent string of deaths and the greed surrounding the gold are linked to a darker conspiracy. To survive, she decides to use her modern design skills to start a tailoring business, aiming to pay off her debts and secure a future for the children while avoiding the original plot's tragic ending.

At her workplace in the Linhai Machinery Factory, Chen Qing is assigned to organize a welcome party for incoming scientific researchers. She strategically allies with Tian Mengya, the daughter of a deputy director, to share the workload and protect herself from blame. During this time, she encounters He Yuan, a handsome researcher whose photo she sees in the files. Meanwhile, she confronts local bullies who have been stealing vegetables from the children. Using her wit and sharp tongue, she turns the situation around, exposing the bully's mother's jealousy and securing compensation while publicly asserting her role as the children's protector. This act shifts the neighborhood's perception of her, as she frames her past harshness as a misguided attempt to make the orphans self-reliant in case she died.

Chen Qing continues to navigate the complex social dynamics of the factory and her community. She publicly clarifies her relationship with Yang Xiujin, revealing the debt to her colleagues to deflect his manipulative advances and gain sympathy. She also accepts help from Director Lin, a kind Women's Federation official who provides access to affordable firewood and offers mending work. Chen Qing begins sewing clothes for neighbors, slowly building a reputation and a small income. She gives the children new clothes she made, attempting to bridge the emotional gap between them. The boy remains guarded but notices her genuine efforts, while the girl begins to trust her. Chen Qing's ultimate goal is to uncover the truth behind her family's deaths, protect the children from the future villain's dark path, and establish financial independence in a challenging era.