1972, winter.
November.
Even in a small southern mountain village, this season was already bitterly cold and desolate.
In the second team of the Qianjin Production Brigade, inside a run-down courtyard next to the Qin family.
From Xiao Yuan’s room came waves of suppressed coughing, followed by a dull thud as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.
Su Yun woke up at that moment.
A sharp headache made her gasp the moment she opened her eyes.
“It hurts…”
She reached up and touched her forehead, only to feel something wet—blood?
Was this from when she was swept away by floodwaters and hit something?
No, that wasn’t right.
Besides her forehead, her neck also hurt badly.
She gently touched her neck, and even the slightest pressure made her wince in pain.
What was going on?
Su Yun struggled to sit up.
She realized she was in an old, dilapidated room.
Mud-brick walls, a straw roof covered in spider webs…
The empty room was filled with a strange, unpleasant smell.
She withdrew her gaze and looked down at the stiff, tattered blanket covering her body.
This…
Was she still alive? Still in the human world?
Just as the thought arose, a sudden stab of pain shot through her head.
Countless memories flooded in.
She clutched her head tightly with both hands.
Piercing insults echoed in her ears.
“Su Yun, you vile woman, how dare you compare yourself with Zhenzhen?”
“So what if I married you? I’m telling you, I’m going to marry Zhenzhen. No one can stop me.”
“Look at you—skin and bones. You think you deserve me?”
“Get lost!”
Along with the voice came images of a weak woman being grabbed by the hair and slammed against a wall, her throat being choked by a man.
The sharp voices and memories crashed into her mind together.
Her vision spun violently, and she almost blacked out.
She clutched the stiff blanket tightly, her face pale, cold sweat dripping down her forehead.
Biting her teeth hard, she forced herself not to faint.
After the dizziness slowly passed, she finally understood her situation.
She had transmigrated.
On her way to provide medical assistance in the countryside, she encountered a flood—and ended up in a period novel, becoming a short-lived, miserable woman.
The original host was also from the Qianjin Production Brigade.
But she belonged to the fifth team.
In the Su family of the fifth team, there were two daughters and one son.
Su Yun was the elder daughter, and she had a younger sister—Su Zhen.
Yesterday, Su Yun had just married into the Qin family, to Qin Xiao.
But what awaited her was not a warm newlywed night, but brutal beating and curses.
Qin Xiao, that beast, had changed his mind on the wedding day and decided he wanted to marry Su Zhen instead.
Not only did he beat Su Yun nearly to death, he even cruelly carried the dying original host to the room of his disabled half-brother next door, then loudly claimed to outsiders that Su Yun was shameless—she had climbed into her brother-in-law’s bed on her wedding night.
He said she betrayed him, and that was why he chose Su Zhen instead…
Su Yun quickly matched the current situation with the plot in the book.
According to the storyline, Qin Xiao and Su Zhen should now be at the commune registering their marriage.
“Qin Xiao… Su Zhen…”
A cold smile appeared on Su Yun’s lips.
A domestic abuser, plus a reborn woman—they teamed up to kill the original host!
She would settle this debt properly.
Before she could think further, the low door was pushed open from outside.
Xiao Yuan walked in on crutches, carrying a bowl of medicine.
Seeing Su Yun sitting up, shock appeared on his thin, deep-set face.
“You… you… you’re awake…”
His hoarse voice carried a hint of nervousness.
It was clear he was uncomfortable.
His tall frame had become hunched after his leg injury.
His once sharp and resolute gaze was long gone.
Su Yun recalled his description in the novel.
He had once been an energetic battalion commander, but during a mission, he was injured in an explosion while saving his comrades and superiors, and was forced to retire due to disability.
The stepfather and brothers who had once treated him decently immediately turned their backs when they realized he could no longer earn money for them from the army.
They drove him out of the spacious brick house of the Qin family into this old, broken hut.
Even his biological mother “reluctantly” sided with her husband and other children, no longer caring about Xiao Yuan.
Even when Qin Xiao brought the barely breathing original host to his place last night, she did not say a single word of objection.
Not a single word for her own son…
While Su Yun was still thinking, Xiao Yuan had already limped over with difficulty and placed the medicine beside the bed.
“Su… Su comrade… drink… drink the medicine…”
Su Yun snapped back to reality and looked at his thin, bony hands.
He had been ill and weak for too long.
If properly taken care of, he could still recover into a decent condition.
Thinking of his tragic ending in the book—dying alone in this dilapidated courtyard—she felt a pang in her heart.
A hero should not end up like this.
But this was not the time to worry about him.
Su Yun looked up and smiled at him, taking the bowl.
“Thank you.”
She brought the bowl to her nose and sniffed it—a strong herbal scent of Chuanxiong.
This medicine would not help her injury much.
But it wouldn’t harm her either.
She drank it in one gulp.
After finishing, she set the bowl aside and pulled back the blanket, preparing to get out of bed.
“Su… Su comrade… you… your injuries… haven’t… haven’t healed yet…”
Xiao Yuan quickly tried to stop her.
In his haste, he lost balance on his crutches and nearly fell.
Su Yun reacted quickly and grabbed his arm.
But although he was thin, he still weighed around fifty kilograms.
She couldn’t hold him steady, and he fell onto the bed, his body pressing down on hers.
Their heads collided.
Su Yun, already injured on the head, felt as if the situation had worsened.
Her mind buzzed.
Tears of pain filled her eyes uncontrollably.
It hurt—everything hurt.
Not only her head, but even her bones felt crushed.
“Su… su… comrade…”
Xiao Yuan panicked.
Flustered, he tried to push himself off her.
“Elder sister! Elder sister!”
At that moment, the old wooden door was suddenly pushed open.
Su Zhen, dressed neatly and brightly, stood at the doorway with a group of people.
She glanced inside, her eyes carrying both satisfaction and disdain.
“Elder sister, you… you really… really did something like this with Brother Xiao Yuan…”
“Elder sister, how could you be so foolish!”
“Even if you don’t want to marry Qin Xiao, you can’t sneak out on your wedding night and be with Xiao Yuan!”
“This is immoral, elder sister! You’ll be paraded through the streets for this!”
“Wuwu… elder sister, what are we supposed to do now?”