Transmigration: Abandoned on the Road of Famine? Then Don’t Drool When I’m Eating Meat

Jiang Li was a twenty-three-year-old survivor of a zombie apocalypse who possessed a spatial storage ability. Her life ended in betrayal when her boyfriend and best friend, driven by greed for her supplies, lured her out of a safe zone and threw her into a horde of zombies. Instead of dying, she transmigrated into the body of a seventeen-year-old woman named Jiang Li in the Great Qi Dynasty. This new host was a refugee fleeing a severe drought in Biyao County. She had been married off at fifteen to Xu Dali, a widowed cripple seven years her senior, in exchange for half a dou of wheat. The original Jiang Li was despised by her community for her infidelity; she constantly attempted to return to her maiden home to meet her secret lover, ignoring her duties to her husband and his children.

Upon waking in the body, Jiang Li found herself surrounded by hostile refugees who had just stoned her for trying to run away again. Memories of the original owner flooded her mind, revealing a life of abuse and poor judgment. The original Jiang Li had been naive, believing her lover’s inappropriate advances were signs of affection, yet she had stubbornly refused to lose her virginity before marriage. This refusal had frustrated her lover, who ultimately abandoned his pursuit. Jiang Li, now inhabiting this body, assessed her situation with the cold pragmatism of an apocalypse survivor. She identified her enemies, including a gossiping woman named Cao Qin who had led the stoning, and vowed to remember every face present for future retribution. Her immediate priority was survival and healing her severe injuries.

She rejoined the refugee caravan, where she encountered Xu Dali and his four children: his own son and daughter, and his late brother’s two children. The children were malnourished and terrified of her, having suffered abuse at the hands of the original Jiang Li. Xu Dali, though physically crippled and emotionally detached, showed a flicker of concern when he saw her bloodied state. He instructed his son to fetch a towel for her wound, a rare act of protection. Jiang Li cleaned her forehead injury using the last remaining water supply, a resource the children feared she would waste. Her stoic endurance of pain surprised Xu Dali, who was accustomed to her tantrums and cruelty. He defended her against his mother, Cheng Hongyue, and sister, Xu Qing, arguing that she needed to heal to care for him.

The family dynamics were fraught with tension. Cheng Hongyue, Xu Dali’s stepmother, had orchestrated the marriage to ensure someone would care for her crippled son. She was cruel and manipulative, often inciting others to beat Jiang Li. Xu Qing, her younger daughter, was equally vicious and materialistic. When Jiang Li tore a piece of Xu Qing’s only clean clothing to use as a bandage, Xu Qing demanded compensation. The family pressured Xu Dali to give up his silver hairpin, the only keepsake from his deceased mother, to pay for the ruined garment. Jiang Li recognized the hairpin’s sentimental value and refused to let them take it. She promised to compensate Xu Qing once she had money, asserting her independence and challenging the family’s attempt to exploit Xu Dali’s most cherished possession.

Jiang Li’s transformation was evident in her demeanor. She no longer reacted with emotional outbursts but with calculated indifference. She observed the family’s greed and cruelty with clear eyes, understanding that her position was precarious. The original owner’s reputation for shamelessness had isolated her, but Jiang Li’s apocalyptic experiences had hardened her resolve. She planned to navigate the hostile environment, protect her new family’s limited resources, and exact revenge on those who had harmed her. The journey ahead was dangerous, with drought, starvation, and hostile refugees posing constant threats. Jiang Li intended to use her wits and any remaining advantages to survive and reclaim her agency in this unfamiliar world.

As the caravan moved forward, Jiang Li kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. She noted the enhanced physical abilities she had retained from her previous life, which gave her an edge in this harsh environment. The blue sky and clean air were stark contrasts to the gray, toxic world she had left behind, but the reality of famine and displacement was just as brutal. She resolved to secure her place in the Xu family not through submission, but through strength and strategic alliances. The path to redemption or revenge would require her to confront the past sins of the woman whose body she now inhabited, while also dealing with the immediate threats posed by her cruel in-laws and the unforgiving landscape.