Transmigrated into the 1950s as a Stepmother

Jiang Xiaoyu, a kindergarten teacher from the twenty-first century, dies from overwork and transmigrates into the body of an eighteen-year-old girl in 1958 China. She finds herself in a hostile family environment where her grandmother, Old Lady Wu, favors the eldest branch of the family while despising Jiang Xiaoyu, labeling her a jinx after a pig died during her infancy. To secure a bride price of eighty-eight yuan for the eldest branch’s daughter, Baozhu, Old Lady Wu attempts to force Jiang Xiaoyu into a marriage with Mu Chengfeng, a widowed military doctor nearly thirty years her senior who is raising three children alone. Jiang Xiaoyu’s parents, He Xiulian and Jiang Baomin, are powerless against the matriarch until Baomin reveals that He Xiulian is pregnant and that he is not Old Lady Wu’s biological son. This revelation forces a family split, but Old Lady Wu conditions the separation on Jiang Xiaoyu’s agreement to the marriage.

Understanding the era’s hardships and viewing the marriage as a stable employment opportunity, Jiang Xiaoyu agrees to the match on her own terms. She refuses to let her grandmother control the bride price and insists on traveling to the island where Mu Chengfeng works to negotiate directly. Upon arrival, she bypasses her cousin and Mu Chengfeng’s stepmother, Yu Jinfeng, who intended to introduce a difficult woman to disrupt the doctor’s household. Jiang Xiaoyu presents herself with the professionalism of a job applicant, submitting a detailed plan addressing Mu Chengfeng’s concerns about raising three children and his need for a stable home life. Her confidence and practicality impress the hospital director and his wife, who advocate for the match.

During their private meeting, Mu Chengfeng reveals that the three children are not his biological offspring but orphans adopted by his late contractual wife. Jiang Xiaoyu, who has no desire to bear children due to fear of childbirth, finds this revelation liberating. She proposes a marriage arrangement where she receives a monthly salary of thirty yuan for her labor as a homemaker and stepmother, with the remaining funds covering household expenses. Mu Chengfeng, who also desires a child-free life, accepts her terms. They register their marriage immediately, with Jiang Xiaoyu securing the eighty-eight yuan bride price for herself rather than letting it go to her grandmother.

Jiang Xiaoyu then confronts Yu Jinfeng to retrieve the children. Yu Jinfeng initially refuses, hoping to continue collecting child support payments from Mu Chengfeng. Jiang Xiaoyu counters by threatening to cut off the funds and suggesting that Yu Jinfeng’s own daughter-in-law, a nurse, cover any medical costs if the stepmother feigns illness. She also negotiates a written agreement stating she will not have biological children until the three adopted children are grown, a condition Yu Jinfeng eagerly accepts, believing Jiang Xiaoyu will eventually become pregnant and send the children back. With the agreement signed and the children secured, Jiang Xiaoyu moves into the family housing provided by the hospital.

As she settles in, Jiang Xiaoyu navigates workplace politics and neighborhood dynamics. She befriends her neighbors, the Hua family, and uses her culinary skills to win over the children and her new husband. Meanwhile, Mu Chengfeng’s colleagues, particularly the ambitious Vice Director Gao and her sister, harbor resentment because Mu Chengfeng had previously rejected their marriage proposals. Gao accuses Jiang Xiaoyu of deception, claiming the agreement to delay having children is a ploy to eventually discard the orphans. Mu Chengfeng firmly defends his wife, silencing the critics. The story follows Jiang Xiaoyu as she establishes her role in the family, manages her household with modern sensibilities, and builds a life with Mu Chengfeng and the three children, all while maintaining her independence and professional approach to her new family duties.