Wang Yuan'er is a fifteen-year-old girl living in Changle Town with her mother, Madam Liang, and three younger sisters. Her father, Wang Da, has recently passed away, leaving the family in a vulnerable position under the authority of her paternal grandmother, Grandma Wang, and her second uncle and aunt. In her previous life, Wang Yuan'er was gentle and submissive, allowing her relatives to control her earnings. After her mother died from complications following childbirth due to neglect, Wang Yuan'er was forced into a miserable marriage as a concubine to an elderly, wealthy man. There, she was treated as a tool, secretly sent money to her siblings that never reached them, and ultimately driven to murder the man's foolish son before taking her own life after learning of her family's destruction in a flood. Upon dying, she awakens in her fifteen-year-old body, moments after falling from a mountain while gathering firewood, realizing she has been given a second chance to change her fate and protect her family.
Determined to alter the tragic outcomes of her past, Wang Yuan'er resolves to be selfish and cold-hearted if necessary to ensure the survival and well-being of her mother and sisters. She immediately confronts her second aunt, Madam Zhang, who is verbally abusing her grieving mother over lost gambling money. Using sharp wit and public pressure, Wang Yuan'er silences her aunt and asserts her family's dignity. When summoned by Grandma Wang to hand over her earnings from the firewood, Wang Yuan'er refuses, cleverly framing her refusal as an act of filial piety intended to buy nourishment for her pregnant mother. Her strategic defense forces Grandma Wang to allow her to keep her earnings to avoid public scandal, marking the first time Wang Yuan'er successfully claims financial autonomy.
Recognizing the urgent need for income to support her frail, pregnant mother and prevent the hardships that led to her mother's death in her past life, Wang Yuan'er devises a business plan. She recalls a recipe for marinated tea eggs learned from a cook in her previous life and decides to sell them at the busy Changle River pier. Despite opposition from Madam Zhang, who attempts to withhold the family's egg supply, Wang Yuan'er negotiates with Grandma Wang, promising to repay the cost if the venture fails. She successfully produces the tea eggs, which become an instant hit among travelers due to their unique flavor. The business generates steady income, allowing Wang Yuan'er to save money and improve her family's diet.
The narrative also introduces Gou Dan, a young boy who steals buns and is later revealed to be the future notorious bandit leader Zhao Dali. Wang Yuan'er intervenes when he is bullied by local youths, offering him a warning about his father's drinking habits rather than harboring resentment. This act of empathy contrasts with her calculated approach to her own family's survival. As the story progresses, Wang Yuan'er learns of Gou Dan's father's death by drowning, confirming that certain events remain unchanged. Meanwhile, she becomes aware of impending political turmoil, including the assassination of the emperor and the subsequent rise of a new ruler who will boost the local economy through canal transport. Understanding that land values in Changle Town will skyrocket, Wang Yuan'er focuses on accumulating capital to invest in property, aiming to secure a future where her family is protected from the poverty and exploitation that defined her previous existence.
