Transmigrated as a Troublesome Old Lady, While Others Flee Famine, I Reclaim Wasteland

Jiang Zhi, a modern woman working in a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, transmigrates into a male-oriented web novel set in the Da Yan Dynasty during a catastrophic famine. She inhabits the body of an old, vicious matron known as the villainous aunt, who is destined to be killed by the story's male protagonist, Nie Fantian, while fleeing the chaos. The novel's plot begins with widespread panic as rebel forces led by Zhou Wang advance through the southwest, prompting rumors of cannibalism and massacre. While the villagers of Xu Family Village scramble to flee, Jiang Zhi's host body stubbornly refuses to leave, leading to a physical altercation where she falls and loses consciousness, triggering her transmigration.

Upon waking, Jiang Zhi immediately recognizes her perilous position as a minor villain in a story where the male lead thrives on conflict and survival. Determined to avoid her scripted death, she devises a plan to separate herself from Nie Fantian. She persuades the village chief to take the fifteen-year-old orphan with him, effectively removing the protagonist from her immediate vicinity. Jiang Zhi believes that staying far away from the male lead's path of greatness is the only way to survive the coming turmoil. She decides to hide in a remote charcoal shed in the nearby mountains with her son, Xu Errui, and her pregnant daughter-in-law, Qiaoyun, rather than joining the mass exodus of refugees.

As the group ascends the treacherous mountain paths, they encounter other villagers who also chose to stay behind, including Xu Xiaoman and his family. Jiang Zhi uses her modern knowledge and background in herbal medicine to secure their survival. She identifies Cyclobalanopsis acorns, known locally as poisonous green fruits, as a viable food source after learning how to leach out their tannins. She transforms the crude charcoal shed into a habitable shelter, building stone walls and repairing the roof with tree bark. Her leadership shifts the family dynamic, ensuring that food is distributed equally and that Qiaoyun receives proper nutrition during her pregnancy.

Below the mountain, the village is consumed by fire as refugees, driven by desperation, loot and clash with the remaining stubborn villagers. Jiang Zhi observes the chaos from a distance, noting how the refugees, once peaceful farmers, turn into violent raiders when stripped of their societal constraints. She witnesses Xu Youcai and his relatives extorting and robbing the weary refugees, highlighting the moral decay of the era. Jiang Zhi realizes that the true danger is not just the rebel army but the collapse of social order itself.

The story follows Jiang Zhi's efforts to establish a sustainable life in the mountains. She collaborates with Xiaoman's grandfather, who helps her secure the mountain path by blocking it off to keep outsiders out. This alliance provides her family with a sense of community and protection. Jiang Zhi continues to forage for wild edibles and prepares for the long winter, relying on her knowledge of traditional medicine and survival techniques. Her primary goal remains unchanged: to survive the famine and the ensuing war without intersecting with Nie Fantian's rise to power, hoping that completing the novel's timeline will allow her to return to her original world.