The year was 1975, and the cicadas sang endlessly of summer.
In Qin Family Village, the village gossips gathered beneath the shade of a giant banyan tree, chatting as they stitched soles onto cloth shoes.
“That girl from Gu Family Village really lucked out, being able to marry into our village.”
“Exactly! If something hadn’t happened to that boy from the Qin family, it never would’ve been her turn.”
“Hah, that’s not what you said at first. Old Qin even approached your daughter, but you were afraid that boy wouldn’t pull through and that she’d end up a widow after marrying him.”
“Now that he’s recovered, you’re regretting it, aren’t you?”
“Pah! Whether this lucky wedding still counts or not remains to be seen.”
The women exchanged knowing glances and smiled without saying another word.
Sitting in the courtyard, listening excitedly to the gossip, was none other than the “lucky girl” they were talking about, Gu Panpan.
The discussion outside abruptly stopped, followed by bursts of snickering.
Disappointment immediately appeared on her delicate, fair face.
She hadn’t heard enough yet. Why had they stopped talking already?
Still, based on the information she’d gathered, she could confirm that she had transmigrated into a novel called The Story of the Troupe’s Star Performer and Her Ninety-Nine Admirers, a fake heiress novel, and had become one of its cannon fodder supporting female characters.
There were only two cannon fodder female characters in the story, and she had taken one of the slots.
A fifty percent hit rate.
How fortunate.
She was actually looking forward to meeting the other cannon fodder female character, the real heiress. After all, she was another unlucky soul just like her.
According to the novel’s setting, the men belonging to the two cannon fodder female characters were both among the original female lead’s ninety-nine admirers.
As for the two supporting female characters, one would be dragged through the streets for public humiliation and beaten to death during a struggle session, while the other would lose her sanity and be sent to a mental institution.
“Panpan, we’ll be heading to the county town soon to catch the bus. Have you packed everything yet?”
A loud voice rang out from the main house. It belonged to Li Cuihua, the mother of Qin Dazhu.
After a brief pause, she raised her voice even higher.
“And hurry over here and take a good look at what your Brother Dazhu looks like. Don’t get to the army base and fail to recognize your own husband, making a fool of yourself.”
Gu Panpan’s pretty face instantly fell.
“Mom, I’ve already packed everything.”
Sending her to Qin Dazhu’s side was practically pushing her toward her death.
After all, she was the cannon fodder female character who offended the original female lead and ended up being paraded through the streets and beaten to death.
Qin Dazhu was the Qin family’s only son. He had enlisted in the army at sixteen and was now in his eighth year of service. Politically spotless and from a good background, he was also the man she had married in a lucky wedding.
The village women were right. If Qin Dazhu hadn’t been seriously injured during a mission, with the military hospital issuing several critical condition notices, someone like Gu Panpan, whose father didn’t care about her and whose stepmother mistreated her, would never have had the chance.
In their desperation, Qin Dazhu’s parents came up with the idea of a lucky wedding.
Only Gu Panpan’s father and stepmother readily agreed, accepting a bride price of two hundred yuan.
After hastily packing a few clothes, they delivered her to the Qin family that very night, where she completed the wedding ceremony with a rooster standing in for the groom.
The next day, Qin Dazhu miraculously recovered.
His parents firmly believed that their son’s recovery was entirely due to Gu Panpan.
To them, she was the lucky star of the Qin family.
That was why they were now preparing to send her to the army base, hoping she would give the Qin family a plump grandson.
Qin Dazhu’s injury had frightened them badly.
They wanted their daughter-in-law reunited with their son as soon as possible. If anything happened again, at least the Qin family line would not end with him.
It was amidst this emotional roller coaster of joy and despair that Gu Panpan had transmigrated into the story.
Just moments before, she had been staying up late with her best friend, furiously responding to negative reviews left by readers.
The two of them had been arguing with commenters with great enthusiasm when, in the blink of an eye, she found herself inside this female lead novel that had topped the rankings but had been mocked countless times by her and her best friend.
Even more absurd was the fact that the two cannon fodder female characters shared the exact same names as her and her best friend, Gu Li.
The two of them ate together, drank together, slept together, lived together, and had grown up side by side in an orphanage. Until the moment she transmigrated into the novel, they had never spent time apart.
Transmigrating into a novel wasn’t the scary part.
The truly terrifying thing was figuring out how she was supposed to survive without her best friend feeding her.
In this era of shortages, she could only rely on the Qin family for now, survive the next couple of years, and wait until circumstances improved before venturing out on her own.
Thinking of this, Gu Panpan sighed and reluctantly accepted reality as she reached out to take the yellowed photograph Li Cuihua handed her.
“Panpan, it’s not that I’m bragging, but my Dazhu is exceptionally handsome. The girls who wanted to marry him could line up all the way from Qin Family Village to Gu Family Village.”
Mentioning the son she was so proud of, Li Cuihua unconsciously puffed out her chest, the impressive swell nearly bumping into Gu Panpan’s nose.
Gu Panpan instinctively touched her straight little nose.
Fortunately, her delicate nose had escaped the attack.
Lowering her gaze to the faded photograph, she saw two young men standing side by side in crisp military uniforms.
She automatically skipped over the one with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a cold, handsome face that carried an aloof elegance.
Although his height and appearance fit perfectly within her preferences, this was the 1970s. She certainly didn’t dare fool around. If someone accused her of having an improper relationship, she’d be in serious trouble.
She should hurry and find her Brother Dazhu.
Her eyes landed on the other man.
His skin was dark, his thick lips gave him an honest appearance, and his eyes were filled with simple sincerity.
An unmistakable rustic charm radiated from him.
That’s right.
This had to be Qin Dazhu.
Just one of the minor male supporting characters briefly mentioned in the original novel.
As expected, every mother praised her own child.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Mm-hmm, Brother Dazhu really is handsome! No wonder the girls wanting to marry him could line up from Qin Family Village to Gu Family Village. I really did luck out.”
Gu Panpan nodded repeatedly, lying through her teeth without the slightest hesitation.
Li Cuihua carefully examined the little pig who had rooted up her family’s precious cabbage.
Ah, no… this girl.
Her handsome son had really been wasted on this girl.
Still, the girl was sweet and pretty, her fresh, lively appearance matching her son perfectly. Any children they had would surely be beautiful.
It was just a pity that her family background was somewhat lacking.
Sigh. She was a pitiful child, too.
Still, that didn’t matter.
No matter what, she was the lucky star who had saved her son’s life.
And judging by those rounded, shapely hips, she looked like someone who would have no trouble bearing children. Perhaps Li Cuihua will become a grandmother by next year.
Still worried, Li Cuihua reminded her once more.
“Don’t forget anything. Check everything carefully.”
As she spoke, she stuffed another jar of homemade chili sauce into the bundle.
“Dazhu loves this stuff. Whenever he’s home, he has to eat my chili sauce with every meal.”
She sighed.
“When Dazhu was injured, his father and I couldn’t even go see him…”
Before she could finish speaking, her eyes reddened, and tears began to gather.
Gu Panpan couldn’t stand seeing people cry in front of her.
She quickly grabbed several more jars of chili sauce and stuffed them into the bundle.
“Mom, should we pack a few more jars?”
Li Cuihua was amused by her cautious expression and burst out laughing.
“You silly girl. If the bundle gets any heavier, how are you supposed to carry it?”
…
While the Qin family was filled with warmth and harmony, another household in Gu Family Village was far less peaceful.
A white bandage was wrapped around Gu Li’s forehead as she lounged on a crude wooden bed, leisurely swinging one leg over the other.