Shen Weiwan is a ten-year-old girl residing in the Evening Sunshine Court of the Yongning Marquis Manor in the capital of the Great Jing Dynasty. Although she appears to be an ordinary child of the concubine branch, she possesses the soul of a mature adult from thousands of years in the future. Her father, Shen Jingzhi, is a minor seventh-rank official with no real power, and her mother, Madam Liu, is a gentle woman who lacks the strength to resist the household's internal politics. For ten years, Shen Weiwan has concealed her intelligence, enduring humiliation and observing the cold dynamics of the manor. She secretly saves money, trading pastries and gifts for copper coins, burying her savings beneath an old locust tree. Her goal is not to inherit the family title or wealth, but to achieve complete independence and freedom for her family.
The central conflict arises with the death of the Old Marquis. His passing removes the only restraint on the legitimate matriarch, Madam Xu, who rules with absolute authority and favors only the legitimate branch. Madam Xu immediately moves to purge the household, targeting the powerless concubine branch first. She summons Shen Jingzhi and informs him that he must establish a separate household. The terms are harsh: the family is to be expelled from the manor with no property, no silver, and no support. They are given only a dilapidated estate in the remote northern outskirts, consisting of poor farmland and six crumbling rooms. Madam Xu explicitly states that the family is severed from the manor and must fend for themselves, treating them with open contempt and disdain.
While her parents and brother despair, Shen Weiwan remains calm and resolute. She reveals her secret savings of eighty-seven taels and eight mace of silver, which she had accumulated over a decade. This money becomes their lifeline. She takes charge, directing her father to repair the house and return to work, her mother to clean and prepare the home, and her brother to clear the fields. The family leaves the manor, walking out with their heads held high, leaving behind the prosperity and cruelty of the marquis residence.
Upon arriving at the northern estate, they find a desolate property with barren fields and a leaking roof. Shen Weiwan surveys the land, identifying three types of soil: gravelly dry land, cold-soaked paddy fields, and a barren hillside. She devises a detailed agricultural plan to reclaim the land. She instructs her brother to dig drainage ditches in the paddy fields and prepare a nursery bed for seedlings. She uses salt water to select the best rice seeds, a technique unknown to the locals, ensuring higher yields. She plans to plant fast-growing leafy vegetables on the dry land for immediate food and income, while reserving the hillside for drought-resistant crops like sweet potatoes and fruit trees. The family works together, transforming their despair into purposeful action. Shen Weiwan also addresses her brother's ambition to pass the imperial examinations, promising to support his education. The story concludes with the family beginning their new life, relying solely on their own efforts to build a future free from the oppression they once endured.
