“Mom knows you have high ambitions and want to marry into an official’s family, but we rural folks who dig in the soil for a living don’t have those connections.”
The smell of disinfectant was strong, and a middle-aged woman’s nagging voice rang in her ears.
“You girl, you’re really not worry-free. You’re running a high fever, and you still insisted on going to the military compound!”
Qin Man closed her eyes and thought. The remaining consciousness in her body told her that the situation she was in now was somewhat complicated.
Too annoyed to keep listening, Qin Man pushed herself up from the iron hospital bed and said expressionlessly, “I want to go to the bathroom.”
The middle-aged woman’s expression changed instantly.
She lifted her eyelids and hesitated for a moment before reaching out to help Qin Man.
Qin Man dodged aside, smoothly avoiding her.
“Girl, are you still mad at your mom?”
The woman looked wronged, and if one looked closely, a trace of coldness flashed in her eyes.
Qin Man grew even more irritated.
Because the woman in front of her was not her mother at all, but a human trafficker—Chen Fengying!
And she herself was not the original host.
Before opening her eyes, Qin Man had just been performing an important surgery.
Right after announcing the operation was successful, she collapsed from exhaustion.
Who would have thought that when she opened her eyes again, she had been transported to 1975.
Not only that, she had also entered a male-oriented novel called The Flying Era.
The male lead, Zhou Huaimin, was precisely Qin Man’s fiancé.
Years ago, Qin Man’s grandfather once saved Zhou Huaimin from an ice hole, sacrificing his own life in the process.
In gratitude, Zhou Grandpa arranged a childhood engagement between Zhou Huaimin and Qin Man.
Recently, Qin Man’s parents had an accident.
On their deathbed, they instructed her to go to the provincial city to find the Zhou family and fulfill the engagement.
For this reason, they sent a telegram in advance.
When Zhou Huaimin received the news, he was greatly shocked.
He originally thought the Qin family understood the situation and had already seen the Zhou family’s cold attitude, so they would have arranged another marriage for Qin Man.
Who would have thought that seeing the Zhou family living well—with family members holding formal jobs—they would come knocking instead.
By calculation, Qin Man’s arrival in the provincial city happened to coincide with the wedding date of Zhou Huaimin and the regiment commander’s sister.
After discussion, the Zhou family found relatives and planned to delay her arrival first.
Who would have thought that the original host had rarely left her village, let alone gone to the provincial city.
She happened to meet a human trafficker pretending to be Zhou Huaimin’s relative, and the original host believed her.
When she realized something was wrong, she tried everything to escape.
Before she could even rush into the military compound to seek help, she was hit by a military jeep.
Everything that happened was seen by Zhou family relatives.
Not only did they stand by and watch, they even breathed a sigh of relief.
According to the original plot, the host would be sold to a remote mountainous area.
There, she would be chained up and kept like a dog.
After giving birth to seven or eight children, she finally could not endure it anymore.
She broke free from her chains and jumped into a river, ending her tragic life.
Meanwhile, the ungrateful scumbag Zhou Huaimin rose through the ranks relying on connections.
After the reform and opening-up period, he went into business and rose all the way, becoming extremely wealthy.
Right now, everything was at a critical turning point.
Just as Qin Man got off the bed, the door suddenly opened.
A young doctor wearing glasses walked in front, glanced at the medical record, and said, “Now that you’re awake, that’s good. If you’re not dizzy or nauseous, you can be discharged tomorrow morning.”
“Dr. Song, sorry for the trouble.”
Chen Fengying nodded repeatedly, her manner thoroughly displaying rural “honesty and simplicity.”
Dr. Song nodded. “Serve the people.”
Just as he was about to leave, he saw Qin Man getting off the bed and reminded, “Auntie, if your daughter needs to go to the bathroom, you can go to the nurse station and ask for help.”
Last night, the original host had woken up once.
She tried to escape at night and caused chaos in the hospital.
Behind Dr. Song, a young nurse muttered, “What kind of people are there nowadays? A hen trying to become a phoenix!”
Qin Man was speechless.
She had to admit Chen Fengying was quite skilled.
To prevent the original host from escaping, she spread rumors and defamation.
She falsely claimed the girl was ambitious, dreaming of marrying into a military compound family.
Coming to the city this time was supposedly a delusion—vain and materialistic.
People always have preconceived notions.
At this point, even if Qin Man explained the truth, no one would believe her.
Because the original host had already tried—and only made things worse.
Moreover, Chen Fengying still had accomplices lurking in the hospital.
“Girl, mom will help you to the bathroom.”
After waiting a while and seeing Qin Man not moving, Chen Fengying quickly grabbed her arm.
Leaning in, in a place unseen by others in the room, she gave a sinister smile and lowered her voice:
“I advise you to be sensible. Your introduction letter and tickets are in my hands. Even if you run, who would dare take you in?”
Qin Man blinked. What the trafficker said was true.
In this era, household registration control was extremely strict—without an introduction letter, one had no identity.
You couldn’t stay in a guesthouse, nor even survive wandering outside.
If reported, you would be treated as a vagrant.
Escaping was extremely difficult.
It was already noon. The family of the patient in the next bed came to visit with a lunchbox.
Inside were two slices of oily, fatty pork.
Qin Man swallowed. She was very hungry now.
Only by eating enough would she have the strength to escape this trap.
Chen Fengying was a dangerous trafficker.
In the original story, she was only mentioned briefly—she was not caught until after the year 2000.
She had trafficked over a hundred women and children!
Facing a tough opponent wasn’t a problem. Qin Man intended to take Chen Fengying and her accomplices down in one sweep!
Thinking of this, Qin Man simply climbed back onto the iron bed and lay down.
“I’m not going to the bathroom anymore. I’m hungry. I want pork dumplings!”
“You girl, pork dumplings? You have to go to the state-run restaurant for that.”
Chen Fengying froze, grinding her teeth in anger.
Was this girl giving up completely?
A plate of pork dumplings at the state-run restaurant cost 80 cents, plus half a jin of grain coupons and two taels of meat coupons.
Rural people usually considered a bowl of plain noodles a luxury.
Qin Man remained calm and firm: “I want pork dumplings.”
The trafficker had already labeled her as a vain, lazy, greedy woman—she might as well lean into the role.
Under the disapproving glare of the neighbor, Qin Man stared back.
“You…”
Just as Chen Fengying was about to explode, the door creaked slightly.
She quickly put on a flattering smile: “Mom will go see if she can exchange some meat coupons.”
As soon as Chen Fengying left, the neighboring aunt couldn’t hold back.
She sneered, “Greedy, lazy, and full of pride. What a troublemaker!”
“None of your business. Did I eat your rice?”
Qin Man shot back immediately.
Some people hear rumors and believe them, thinking they stand on moral high ground.
If this had been before, Qin Man wouldn’t have bothered.
In her work, she had dealt with all kinds of difficult people.
But now was different—this aunt was an important part of her escape plan.
From the original host’s memories, before she fainted, she saw a young man in a leather coat getting out of a jeep.
He didn’t wear any insignia, but his eyes were deep and imposing, carrying a strong pressure.
Anyone who could drive a jeep in this era was probably not ordinary.
If she wanted to send the traffickers to prison, she would need external help.