The Lazy Couple of the 1970s

Cheng Baozhu, a twenty-year-old photography student from the modern era, finds herself transmigrated into the body of a girl with the same name in November 1975. The original Cheng Baozhu had died of fright after a system, No. 0818, bound itself to her. In a panic to escape the system, the original soul fled to another world, only for Cheng Baozhu to arrive moments later and take her place. The system, unable to detach due to insufficient energy and the risk of losing performance metrics if a host died again, was forced to bind to the new arrival. Cheng Baozhu wakes up in a hospital ward, married to Xu Chuan, a man known as a loafer in Laokeng Village. The marriage was arranged hastily because the original Cheng Baozhu was considered a burden by her own family, despite being the cherished daughter of a family that had recently suffered a tragedy.

The backstory reveals that Cheng Baozhu’s parents died in a rockslide while volunteering to help dig a reservoir. They were killed shielding a cadre, who was later recognized as a martyr. The family received a significant compensation payment of two thousand yuan, which became the source of intense conflict among Cheng Baozhu’s three brothers and their wives. The brothers, greedy and contentious, argued over the division of the inheritance for weeks. Eventually, the family granduncle intervened, beating the brothers into submission and dividing the assets equally. However, the brothers withheld the one hundred and eighty yuan betrothal gift that Xu Chuan’s family had paid for Cheng Baozhu, viewing her as a liability they were eager to offload. Xu Chuan, equally notorious for his laziness, was seen as a perfect match for the so-called "Old Phoenix," a nickname derived from rumors that she ate two eggs daily and never worked.

Upon arriving at her new home, a dilapidated house at the edge of the village, Cheng Baozhu is initially despairing. She misses her modern life and despises the primitive living conditions. However, her attitude shifts when the system reveals it is a "Chef God System" capable of teaching culinary skills and agricultural knowledge. Although Cheng Baozhu is initially reluctant to learn, she realizes the system can be used to benefit her husband. She discovers that Xu Chuan has a latent talent for hunting and outdoor survival. In a calculated move, she allows the system to enter Xu Chuan’s consciousness while they sleep together, forcing him to undergo rigorous training in literacy and cooking through a virtual space that subjects him to electric shocks for refusal.

The turning point occurs on their wedding night and the following days. Xu Chuan wakes up with no memory of the training but finds he can now read and write fluently. He initially believes he encountered a ghost, but Cheng Baozhu convinces him it is "alien technology" and encourages him to embrace the lessons. Meanwhile, Cheng Baozhu begins to navigate the complex family dynamics. She visits her mother-in-law, Jiang Yulan, and uses her natural charm and flattery to win favor, securing better treatment and food. She also retrieves her hidden dowry, including a small gold brick and a thermos, which her brothers-in-law had tried to withhold. The narrative follows the couple’s adjustment to rural life, with Xu Chuan starting to use his hunting skills to provide game, while Cheng Baozhu manages the household finances and prepares to build a better life for them both.

The story direction establishes a partnership between the two protagonists. Xu Chuan, though still lazy, begins to rely on Cheng Baozhu’s guidance and the system’s training. Cheng Baozhu, initially passive, takes charge of their future, planning to use the culinary skills and knowledge she gains to improve their economic status. The couple faces external pressures from the greedy Cheng family and internal tensions within the Xu family, particularly with the elder sister-in-law, Li Cuifen. However, their shared goal of survival and comfort begins to bind them together. The narrative sets the stage for their gradual rise from poverty, leveraging the system’s resources and Xu Chuan’s hidden talents to overcome the hardships of 1970s rural China.