Just before dawn, the sound of chattering voices mixed with the choking smell of coal residue from the coal stove drifted into the narrow little room on the far left side of the courtyard.
Cheng Rong, lying on a small wooden bed under the window, rubbed her nose uncomfortably and instinctively stretched. The bed creaked loudly beneath her.
That sound instantly woke her up completely. She realized that what she was lying on was not her expensive solid wood bed, but a makeshift wooden cot assembled from a few planks.
Although she had already accepted the fact that she had traveled from the modern world—rich in resources and advanced in technology—to the impoverished 1970s, she still felt a bit disoriented at this moment.
In her modern life, she was an orphan who had no parents. Through relentless hard work, she went from washing vegetables in a five-star hotel kitchen to finally buying a second-hand apartment in a third-tier city when she was nearly forty. After renovating it and moving in for less than half a year, she tragically died in a car accident while commuting home from a night shift.
Last night, when she woke up, she discovered she had transmigrated into a little girl who shared the same name as her—turning from a nearly forty-year-old woman into an eighteen-year-old girl.
After absorbing part of the original owner’s memories, Cheng Rong spent quite some time mentally preparing herself before deciding to live properly in this era.
Fully awake now, she did not immediately get out of bed. Instead, she sat against the window, rubbed her still aching head, and reorganized the original owner’s family situation.
The original owner’s father, Cheng Dazhi, was a fitter at the Hongxing Steel Plant. Her mother, Li Chunxia, did not have a job. She usually did housework at home and made matchboxes to earn a little extra income.
The couple had four children—three sons and one daughter. The two older sons were already married with children. The eldest son Cheng Jianshe was married to Wang Cuihong and had two daughters and a son. The second son Cheng Jianjun had just married Jin Dahua and already had a son. Cheng Rong was the third child, only five months older than her eldest nephew’s daughter, Cheng Fenfang. The youngest son, Cheng Jianhua, was only ten years old and still in primary school, second grade.
The original owner had just turned eighteen this year. Last week, she received notice from the neighborhood office that she would soon be joining the wave of unemployed youth going down to the countryside to support rural construction.
Cheng Dazhi and his wife truly loved their youngest daughter. Although they knew that after graduating middle school and staying unemployed at home she would most likely have to go down to the countryside anyway, when the official notice arrived, their hearts still ached terribly.
They knew very well how hard rural life was. There were already sent-down youths in their alley and courtyard. When these young people came home for New Year visits, they were all dark, thin, and lifeless in their eyes—clearly having suffered greatly. It was heartbreaking to see.
Moreover, Cheng Rong and the others were not part of the first batch of educated youth sent down, so the government subsidy policies no longer existed. Once sent down, they would have to work desperately to earn work points in exchange for food just to survive.
Their daughter, with her thin arms and legs, had never been made to do heavy labor at home. They worried whether she could even survive there.
The most troubling thing was that she was already eighteen. Once her household registration was transferred to the countryside, she would likely have to marry there. After that, seeing her again would not be easy at all. Just thinking about it made them anxious.
But this was policy—they couldn’t stop her from going down to the countryside. All they could do was try to prepare as much money and food ration coupons as possible for their daughter.
However, Cheng Dazhi, as a fitter, only earned 26.5 yuan a month. The eldest son had only managed to get a temporary job at the factory last year through connections, earning 15 yuan. The second son had no stable job and only did occasional carpentry work, contributing little income.
Over the years, the two sons’ marriages had nearly drained the family savings, and they were still in debt. After covering daily expenses for such a large family and repaying debts each month, there was almost nothing left.
Just as the couple was trying to figure out how to prepare money and ration tickets for Cheng Rong, she started making trouble at home.
It turned out she had heard that her eldest niece, Cheng Fenfang, had helped save an elderly father of a factory leader and was therefore arranged a temporary job in the propaganda department of the steel plant.
This made the original Cheng Rong, who was unwilling to go down to the countryside, green with jealousy. She went home and argued with her parents, demanding to take over her niece’s job so she wouldn’t have to go down.
However, Cheng Fenfang, who had always been obedient, firmly refused to give up the position. In a fit of rage, Cheng Rong tried to attack her niece—but before she could even touch her, she was pushed back, hit her head, and that was how the modern Cheng Rong ended up transmigrating into her body.
Gurgle, gurgle—the sudden loud growling of hunger interrupted her thoughts.
So hungry. Cheng Rong suddenly missed all the delicious food of the modern world, and her spacious kitchen in her new apartment—the one she had specially designed for her food livestreaming career.
That kitchen wasn’t just large; it was equipped with all kinds of utensils, a huge storage cabinet, and a double-door refrigerator.
As she thought about the pantry and the abundant ingredients in the fridge, Cheng Rong was shocked to find herself suddenly standing inside her modern kitchen.
In the corner were two studio lights set up for her cooking livestreams, and all the modern kitchen tools were neatly arranged.
After staring blankly for about twenty seconds, Cheng Rong became wildly excited and jumped in place. It seemed the standard “golden finger” for transmigrators had arrived—her modern kitchen had come with her, functioning as a portable space.
Although it wasn’t like other transmigrators who had vast farming space or spiritual springs for strengthening the body, she was satisfied—having something was better than nothing.
She turned on the faucet and watched the water run, then quickly turned it off. She tried the gas stove—it worked. She plugged in the rice cooker—it worked too. It seemed water, electricity, and gas all functioned normally. Cooking was completely possible. It was almost absurdly powerful.
Then she quickly opened the storage cabinet. All her seasonings were still there, along with rice, flour, grains, and cooking oil. The double-door fridge was also fully stocked with fresh ingredients.
Because of her lifestyle and career, she had always preferred keeping plenty of food at home for security. As a food blogger, she often received product samples from sponsors as well.
So her shelves were packed with snacks, drinks, and kitchen supplies.
Seeing all these supplies, she felt even more convinced that hoarding food was a wise decision—having grain at home truly brings peace of mind.
She took out a loaf of bread and a carton of milk from the fridge. After a quick wash-up, she devoured them hungrily.
The fresh food filled her stomach, and the earlier anxiety of arriving in an unfamiliar world gradually disappeared.
After eating, she didn’t dare stay in the modern kitchen for too long, afraid her family would notice her absence. She quickly returned to the creaky wooden bed.
Not long after she lay down, the tattered cloth curtain of her room was lifted.
“Daughter, how’s your head? Does it still hurt? Mom brought you some porridge.”
It was Li Chunxia, the original owner’s mother, a woman in her forties with a thick braid, a round face, and a somewhat dark complexion but a very capable and straightforward appearance.
Seeing her daughter sitting on the bed, Li Chunxia smiled warmly, her affection overflowing from her wrinkled face. Cheng Rong felt a strange, unfamiliar warmth in her heart.
“Mom… I… my head doesn’t hurt anymore. Just leave the porridge there, I’ll drink it later.”
“Alright, I’ll put it on the chair. After you eat, just rest properly.”
Li Chunxia placed the bowl down, carefully checked the bandaged wound on her daughter’s head, and felt relieved that it hadn’t become infected. The previous day’s injury had nearly scared her to death.
She gently touched her daughter’s face with her rough hand, and anger immediately appeared in her expression.
“My girl, don’t worry. That damn Fenfang actually dared to push you—I’m going to make her give up that job no matter what. She’s gone too far.”
Cheng Rong thought about how she had come into this body and felt that the original owner had indeed been in the wrong. It wasn’t right to take someone else’s opportunity. Although going down to the countryside would be hard, she now had a cheat ability and believed she could survive. Besides, staying at home might expose her differences too easily—going down might actually give her a better excuse for change.
She also didn’t plan to stay in the countryside forever. After all, it would still be several years before the college entrance exam was reinstated, and she would need to find a way back to the city later.
Thinking this through, Cheng Rong imitated the original owner’s tone and said disdainfully:
“Mom, I don’t want that damn girl’s job anymore. Big deal, I’ll just go down to the countryside. I’m not interested in her stuff anyway.”
“Girl, don’t say that out of anger. How can the countryside compare to staying with your parents? I’ll talk to your sister-in-law later and ask Fenfang to give you the job, and your dad will figure out another job for her.”
Li Chunxia thought her daughter was just speaking in anger and refusing out of spite.
Before Cheng Rong could respond, a sudden scream came from the courtyard outside:
“Fenfang, my dear girl! How could you think of doing something like this? If anything happens to you, your mother won’t live either!”
The sharp voice interrupted their conversation. Li Chunxia frowned and went out to see what was happening.
The Cheng family lived in a courtyard near the Hongxing Steel Plant, mostly occupied by factory workers. At this time, most people were already at work, but the commotion drew the attention of the remaining family members.
A crowd had already gathered in the courtyard. When Li Chunxia came out, she pushed through the crowd and saw her eldest daughter-in-law Wang Cuihong and granddaughter Cheng Fenfang sitting on the ground, crying loudly.
Seeing this, Li Chunxia was furious.
“What are you doing, Wang Cuihong?!”
Wang Cuihong, upon seeing her mother-in-law’s dark expression, not only didn’t stop crying but cried even harder, looking deeply wronged.
“Mother! You insisted that Fenfang give her aunt’s steel plant temporary job to the little aunt, and this girl couldn’t take it anymore—she tried to hang herself! If I hadn’t found her in time, she’d be dead already!”
The crowd immediately began whispering after hearing this. Most people criticized the Cheng parents for spoiling their daughter too much and pushing their granddaughter to the edge.
As for Cheng Rong, they said she was always domineering and liked to take whatever she wanted. A girl like that would make a terrible daughter-in-law.
Behind Wang Cuihong, Cheng Fenfang’s eyes flashed with a trace of malice. She thought to herself that she would never give up the job she had worked so hard to get—not even to Cheng Rong, that doomed wretch.
As a reborn person, Cheng Fenfang had taken the opportunity to save a factory leader’s father ahead of time, seizing the job that originally should have belonged to Cheng Rong.
Hearing her daughter-in-law expose family matters in public, Li Chunxia was furious.
This daughter-in-law, though seemingly gentle, was deeply calculating. She had often set traps in their conflicts.
“Stop crying! Fenfang pushed her aunt and nearly killed her by hitting her head. Now you’re acting like this over a job? Wang Cuihong, who are you putting on a show for?”
At this moment, Cheng Fenfang weakly spoke up:
“Grandma… I… I didn’t… Aunt… Aunt tried to hit me, I just blocked her… then she… slipped…”
The neighbors in the crowd immediately became more convinced that Li Chunxia was biased, favoring her daughter over her granddaughter.
“Comrade Cheng’s mother-in-law, Fenfang is your own granddaughter. You can’t be so biased.”
“Exactly, Sister Li. Don’t break the family apart over this.”
“Going down to the countryside is glorious work—Cheng Rong should improve her attitude.”
The crowd’s words quickly turned against Cheng Rong, making Li Chunxia panic.
These accusations were serious. If reported upward, they could bring trouble for her daughter.
Just as Li Chunxia was furious enough to want to kick her daughter-in-law and granddaughter out, a loud bang echoed—the sound of a stone hitting the ground interrupted the noisy scene.