Transmigrated into a ’70s Novel: Delicate Educated Youth Tames the Big Boss in the Countryside

Nan Qiao is a nineteen-year-old woman in 21st-century Shanghai who has just been accepted into Tsinghua University. Despite her academic success, she is plagued by vivid, recurring dreams of transmigration into a novel set in 1974. In these dreams, she inhabits the body of a spoiled, beautiful educated youth from a wealthy family whose father is a factory director and whose mother is a chief physician. The original Nan Qiao in the dream secretly signed up to be sent to the countryside in Qinghe Province solely because of a boy named Su Mu, defying her loving but worried parents. On the night of her nineteenth birthday, August 24, the dream becomes reality. Nan Qiao wakes up in a mysterious dimensional space containing a traditional courtyard, farmland, and modern amenities like Wi-Fi and electricity. Realizing she is about to transmigrate, she acts quickly to prepare. She rents a large warehouse and uses her inheritance money to stockpile an enormous amount of supplies, including food, clothing, medicine, and tools, which she stores in her space. She also acquires vintage items like watches, radios, and bicycles to use as currency in the past.

Nan Qiao transmigrates into the body of the original Nan Qiao, who is lying in a hospital bed after a confrontation with her former classmates. She overhears her former "friends," including the manipulative Dong Jiayan and her sycophants Qin Fang and Wang Yuman, plotting to exploit her wealth. Nan Qiao confronts them coldly, rejecting their fake affection and asserting her independence. She returns home for one final day with her loving parents and older brother, Nan Bo, who give her money, ration coupons, and martial arts advice before she departs. On the train to Qinghe, she meets Shen Nian, a gentle girl from a similar background, and they form an immediate bond. Nan Qiao also encounters Sheng Yanchuan, a rugged and capable local man who drives a tractor and shows subtle interest in her. She distances herself from Su Mu and Dong Jiayan, realizing the original host’s infatuation was foolish.

Upon arriving at Hongqi Commune, the group faces housing shortages. While the others argue, Nan Qiao and Shen Nian choose to stay with Auntie Xiumei, the village’s women’s director, in a clean, spare room. Nan Qiao navigates village dynamics with caution, recognizing the gossip and potential dangers of rural life in the 1970s. She befriends Auntie Xiumei’s family, particularly the young Taozhu, and accepts Sheng Yanchuan’s offer to drive them to town. In town, Nan Qiao visits the supply and marketing cooperative, observing the scarcity of goods and the harsh realities of the era. She learns about local hunting practices and the dangers posed by criminals and snitches, such as the despised Er Gouzi. She begins to plan how to use her hidden supplies and future hunting opportunities to support her family back in Shanghai while maintaining a low profile in the village.

The story follows Nan Qiao as she adapts to her new life, balancing her modern knowledge with the constraints of the past. She uses her space to maintain her health and comfort, hiding her advantages from suspicious villagers. Her relationship with Sheng Yanchuan develops as he protects her from village hostility, while she gains respect through her competence and kindness. Meanwhile, Dong Jiayan and her followers struggle with the harsh conditions, their false friendship crumbling under pressure. Nan Qiao remains focused on survival and building a secure future, leveraging her family’s connections and her own resourcefulness to navigate the political and social landscape of the countryside.