Yun Yixuan stood inside the unfamiliar, dilapidated cowshed as icy wind poured in from every direction, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Since she was already here, she might as well make the best of it.
She silently encouraged herself, but the moment she thought about the original owner’s thoroughly “cannon fodder” fate, she couldn’t help letting out a sigh.
The original owner’s father, Yun Qian, had once been a professor at Jingbei University. He was exceptionally knowledgeable and highly respected in academic circles. Her mother, Jiang Shu, was a doctor devoted to saving lives and had helped countless patients with her excellent medical skills and compassionate heart.
However, fate had taken a sudden and cruel turn.
Yun Qian had been maliciously reported by one of his students. Almost overnight, he fell from being a highly respected university professor to someone sent away for labor and reform.
Yun Qian and Jiang Shu had always cherished their daughter dearly. Knowing how difficult and unpredictable the times were, Yun Qian racked his brain for a way to secure a stable future for her.
After much consideration, he decided that the best solution was to arrange blind dates for Yun Yixuan and have her marry, hoping she could find security and someone to rely on through marriage.
But how could the original Yun Yixuan willingly accept such an arrangement?
Her entire heart belonged to the male lead, Lu Jingyan. She dreamed endlessly of spending the rest of her life by his side.
In her eyes, Lu Jingyan was the most perfect man in the world. No other man could possibly compare to him.
Even though Lu Jingyan had clearly told her that his heart already belonged to someone else and that he had no feelings for her whatsoever, she stubbornly refused to give up. She chased after him relentlessly and constantly pestered him, eventually reducing herself to a miserable and embarrassing state.
Seeing his daughter so hopelessly obsessed, Yun Qian felt both heartbroken and helpless. He couldn’t bear to watch her sink any deeper into a hopeless relationship.
So he called in favors from everyone he knew and spent a considerable amount of money and connections before finally arranging for his daughter to be sent to Weijia Village Production Brigade in Hongqi Town, Liaocheng, Northeast China—the same place where he and his wife had been sent down.
Life in the countryside certainly wouldn’t be easy, but at least it was better than leaving their daughter alone to face whatever hardships might come her way.
Who could have imagined that only half a month after arriving at Weijia Village, Yun Yixuan would catch a cold and develop a high fever?
Her body had already been frail, and in the end, she couldn’t survive the illness.
Just like that, the original Yun Yixuan died.
And because of her death, Yun Yixuan from the year 2055 had transmigrated into her body.
Yun Yixuan quietly surveyed the cowshed, feeling both helpless and emotional.
Cold air seeped through countless cracks and holes in the walls. There was hardly a single intact section anywhere. The straw covering the roof was sparse and uneven, looking as though it might collapse at any moment.
She could already imagine what would happen whenever it rained.
While rain poured outside, water would undoubtedly drip everywhere inside, turning the entire cowshed into a miniature Water Curtain Cave.
An elderly couple in their sixties lived in the cowshed to the left. Their surname was Li.
She had heard that they were both senior researchers at the Jingbei Research Institute. They had once been influential figures in scientific research, yet now they had ended up here after being sent down, just like her family.
Yun Yixuan couldn’t help wondering what exactly they had gone through.
Living in the cowshed to the right was Zhang Hengzhi, a man in his fifties.
He had once been the director of Jingbei University Hospital. His medical skills were extraordinary, and he had been renowned throughout the medical community as one of the finest doctors of his generation.
Yun Yixuan simply couldn’t understand how someone with such exceptional medical expertise had ended up being sent down to a place like this.
Yun Yixuan’s awakening filled her mother with joy.
Mother Yun hurried to her bedside, her eyes red with emotion and her voice filled with anxiety and concern.
“Xiao Yi, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death. Do you feel any better after taking the herbal medicine?”
Looking at the worry written all over her mother’s face, warmth spread through Yun Yixuan’s heart.
In her original world, her parents had passed away when she was young, leaving her to live alone for many years.
But now, in this world, she had parents who cared deeply about her again.
The feeling was unfamiliar, yet incredibly warm.
“Mom, I’m much better. Don’t worry.”
Yun Yixuan’s voice was still weak.
In truth, she knew perfectly well that with her stomach empty every day, there was no way her body could truly recover.
“Where’s Dad?” she asked softly.
“Your father and Director Zhang went into the mountains again to gather medicinal herbs. They should be back soon. It’s freezing out there. I don’t even know whether they managed to find anything.”
As Mother Yun spoke, she gently brushed the loose strands of hair away from Yun Yixuan’s forehead, her eyes filled with worry.
“If they can’t find the herbs, your illness might drag on and never get better.”
Yun Yixuan looked outside.
The sky was gradually darkening, and the freezing wind howled fiercely, making the cowshed door creak continuously.
She couldn’t help worrying about her father.
In mountains covered with ice and snow, failing to find medicinal herbs wouldn’t only mean that her illness couldn’t be treated. Her father would also have to endure the freezing cold and hunger outside.
She turned her gaze toward her mother.
Mother Yun was crouched beside a crude stove, cooking a pot of dark brown rice porridge.
The porridge was so watery that a person’s reflection could almost be seen on its surface. Only a few lonely grains of brown rice rolled around inside the pot.
This was probably dinner for their family of three.
A bitter ache filled Yun Yixuan’s heart.
Their life was truly miserable.
How could her body possibly recover if she continued eating like this?
Still, she understood that this was already the best dinner her parents could provide.
Their usual meals were probably even worse. There might not even be a few grains of rice in the porridge—only enough water for them to clearly see their own reflections.
While Mother Yun was distracted with cooking, Yun Yixuan secretly examined her new body.
Winter in the northeast was bitterly cold, yet the original owner hadn’t possessed any decent winter clothing. The clothes covering her body were thin, old, and worn, completely inadequate against the freezing temperatures.
Combined with years of malnutrition, her body had already become extremely weak.
It was no wonder that a simple cold had been enough to bring her down.
Sigh. This body is in terrible shape. I’ll have to nourish it properly.
Fortunately, after taking the herbal medicine, her high fever had gradually subsided.
She was simply still extremely weak, barely possessing enough strength to speak.
Just as dinner was about to be served, Yun Qian and Director Zhang finally returned to the cowshed, dragging their exhausted bodies inside.
Fatigue was written all over their faces. Their clothes had been torn in several places by branches, while bits of leaves and grass clung to their hair.
The moment Yun Qian entered, he saw that Yun Yixuan was awake.
His previously dull eyes instantly brightened, and a rare smile appeared on his exhausted face.
“Xiao Yi, you’re finally awake. Are you feeling better?”
As he spoke, he reached out and placed his hand against Yun Yixuan’s forehead.
His rough palm carried the biting chill of the mountains, yet Yun Yixuan felt nothing but the deep love of a father through his touch.
Looking at Yun Qian’s face—one that was exactly identical to her father’s face in her original world—Yun Yixuan suddenly fell into a daze.
For a moment, she couldn’t help wondering whether she had truly transmigrated into a novel…
Or was she somehow still living in her original world?
Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke with a slight tremble in her voice.
“Dad, I’m already much better. It’s all thanks to the medicinal herbs you and Grandpa Zhang gathered.”
Yun Qian looked at his daughter with relief. His own eyes grew slightly red as he gently stroked her head.
“As long as you’re better, Xiao Yi. That’s all that matters.”
Yun Yixuan turned toward Director Zhang.
The once-renowned doctor now looked thin and sallow from hunger and hardship, yet he was smiling warmly at her.
Yun Yixuan gave him a sweet smile.
“Thank you for working so hard, Grandpa Zhang.”
Director Zhang looked at her and laughed heartily.
“It’s nothing. Your parents feed me, after all.”
Looking at this straightforward and kindhearted old man, Yun Yixuan still couldn’t understand why someone like him had been sent down.
In this era, who knew how many capable and talented people like Director Zhang had been buried, overlooked, and destroyed by circumstances beyond their control?
It was truly a pity.