The Great Beauty Arrives in the Alley of the ’90s

Xu Meng, a woman who lived a difficult life in southern China, finds herself reborn in the summer of 1990 in Beijing. She returns to her eighteen-year-old body, moments after using the public latrine in the Dahuaishu Alley where she grew up. In her previous life, after failing the college entrance exam and losing her adoptive mother, she was forced into an arranged marriage with a disabled man. She fled to the south, built a modest business, but remained haunted by the trauma of her past. The pivotal moment of her previous life occurred when her cousin, Xu Jia, who had stolen Xu Meng’s university admission, pushed her into icy water, an act that nearly killed her due to Xu Meng’s fear of water. Now back in 1990, Xu Meng resolves to change her fate and protect those she loves.

Upon returning home, Xu Meng reunites with her adoptive mother, Feng Yanwen, a kind woman who had been oppressed by the Xu family. The Xu family, led by the cruel Granny Xue and the abusive Xu Jiefang, viewed Feng Yanwen and Xu Meng as burdens. They had taken in Xu Meng as a child in exchange for grain and money left by her biological parents, but now demanded she work to fund her cousin Xu Dawei’s expensive college education. When Granny Xue physically assaults Feng Yanwen and demands Xu Meng leave school, Xu Meng snaps. She confronts her grandmother, wielding a knife not to harm, but to assert dominance, and demands to settle the accounts of the past support with the government. Fearing legal trouble, the family relents. Xu Meng and Feng Yanwen pack their meager belongings and leave the home they had lived in for years.

With only twelve yuan between them, the mother and daughter seek refuge with Xu Meng’s childhood friend, Chang Xi. They stay in a small utility room at Chang Xi’s home while Xu Meng plans their next steps. Remembering the lucrative watermelon sales of her past, she decides to start a small business. She approaches Zhang Guifen, a childhood friend of her mother, to buy watermelons on credit. At the busy train station square, Xu Meng innovates by selling pre-cut slices for fifty cents each, offering hygiene and convenience to thirsty travelers. The business is an immediate success, generating enough profit to cover their living expenses and build a small capital.

During this period, Xu Meng also reconnects with the Han family. Han Jiming, a man she knew from childhood, and his niece Han Lingling encounter her while she is struggling to carry heavy watermelons. Han Jiming helps her, and this reconnection marks the beginning of a new relationship. Meanwhile, Xu Meng uses her knowledge of future events to help Chang Xi improve her English scores, aiming to ensure she gets into university and avoids the disastrous marriage she suffered in her previous life. Xu Meng’s primary goal is to secure financial independence for herself and her mother, escape the toxic family dynamics, and rewrite the tragic outcomes that defined her past existence.

The story follows Xu Meng’s transition from a victim of family abuse to an independent entrepreneur. She navigates the social landscape of 1990s Beijing, balancing her small business with her studies and personal relationships. The core conflict remains her struggle against the Xu family’s oppression and her determination to prevent the tragedies that befell her and her loved ones in the previous timeline. As she builds her wealth and influence, she also confronts the lingering mysteries of her past, including the true nature of her cousin Xu Jia’s success and the secrets hidden within her family history. The narrative explores themes of rebirth, female solidarity, and the pursuit of self-determination in a changing society.