Wang Li, a fifty-three-year-old widow and former primary school teacher, spent her life sacrificing for her son. After her husband died in a car accident, she raised her son alone, selling her parents' house and her own rental property to fund his education, wedding, and purchase of a home in Shanghai. Once her son married and had a child, he and his daughter-in-law forced Wang Li to move in with them, treating her as a domestic servant. She worked long hours washing dishes at a restaurant during the day and doing laundry and cooking at night, while being denied adequate food and financial independence. Her son confiscated her bank card, claiming he was saving it for her retirement, leaving her with no control over her own earnings.
The breaking point came when Wang Li collapsed from exhaustion and hunger at her dishwashing job. Realizing she had been exploited and unappreciated, she confronted her son and daughter-in-law, demanding her salary card back. After a heated argument, her daughter-in-law threw the card at her. Wang Li immediately resigned from her job, used her remaining funds to buy new clothes and get her hair done, and returned to her ancestral village. There, she discovered a mysterious rosewood box containing a small button left by her parents. When she accidentally cut her finger on the button, her blood activated a spatial dimension.
Wang Li began stockpiling supplies in her space, purchasing vast quantities of food, clothing, medicine, and tools from wholesale markets. She took out loans to maximize her purchases, preparing for potential disasters. As she prepared to settle into her new life, she suddenly transmigrated into the body of another Wang Li, a second wife in a wealthy landlord's household during the 1930s in rural China. The original host had been forced into the marriage due to poverty. Wang Li quickly adapted, learning the layout of the estate and discovering hidden caches of gold bars and silver coins.
Soon after her arrival, bandits raided the village, killing many residents, including the landlord's eldest son. Wang Li organized the surviving servants and tenant farmers, burning the dead and preparing to flee. She sold the family's extensive land holdings to a neighboring landlord, converting the property into portable silver and gold. During the journey to the provincial capital, they encountered Japanese soldiers and bandits. Wang Li used a pistol she had found to kill a thief who broke into their home and later eliminated Japanese soldiers who had attacked an abandoned temple, taking their weapons and horses into her space.
The group traveled through dangerous territory, facing starvation, extreme heat, and the constant threat of violence. They were forced to walk long distances, hiding in forests and abandoned villages to avoid detection. At one point, Japanese soldiers forced them to pose for photographs as a form of humiliation. Wang Li maintained control over her small group, distributing food and giving strategic instructions to ensure their survival. As they continued their journey toward the provincial capital, they faced further dangers, including gunfire from hillside attackers, forcing them to seek refuge in a dense forest. The story follows Wang Li's transformation from an exploited mother in modern China to a resilient survivor navigating the chaos of wartime China, using her spatial ability and modern knowledge to protect herself and her companions.
