Chapter 2 – Transmigration

Wen Qinghe always felt a heaviness pressing on her chest, as if she could hardly breathe at any moment.

“Tsk~”

She really couldn’t drink alcohol anymore…

She’d have to ask Grandpa Butler to seal up the wine cabinet later. This stuff was untouchable—the aftereffects were unbearable…

She rubbed her head and sat up, only to feel that something was particularly wrong today: her chest was tight, and her whole body was weak.

But when she saw the scene before her eyes, her mind nearly exploded in shock…

Where was this?

The carriage was packed full of people, all dressed in shabby clothes, their faces smudged with dust.

Had she been kidnapped?

Kidnapped into a refugee camp? Laos? Myanmar?

And the next step—was it to sell her organs?

No, that couldn’t be right. The security at the villa was always tight. To guard against anyone harboring ill intent, Grandpa had arranged for many international mercenaries to patrol around the villa while he was alive.

Just for some organs? She really didn’t think anyone would dare take that risk.

For money then?

Just as she remained calm, wanting to see what these people’s motives were, the girl sitting opposite her—skin slightly yellow but with delicate features—smiled sweetly and said:

“Comrade, are you also a zhiqing being sent down to the Hongxing Brigade?”

Wen Qinghe: ???

Her face was full of question marks. What the heck was a Hongxing Brigade? And were there still zhiqing in this day and age?

Wasn’t that only in the period dramas she’d watched…?

A period drama? Don’t tell her… she had transmigrated?!!

No way, she couldn’t be this unlucky!!!

She pinched herself hard.

“Ow!”

The sting on her skin was real. This wasn’t a dream!

Regardless of whether this was kidnapping or not, she only wanted to confirm one thing right now.

“You… Miss, what year is it now?”

“’75, comrade, are you that muddle-headed?”

“…19…75?”

Wen Qinghe could barely speak, nearly biting her tongue.

“That’s right!”

Hearing this, her heart turned half cold…

Thinking of those novels where people died suddenly and transmigrated by accident—

“Did I just drink too much and keel over? Wuwuwu…”

That had to be it. After all, her family’s villa was secure and sound. How could an accident happen?

Other people might stumble into a romance when drunk. Her drinking, however, had landed her in a fatal adventure…

She had no family left, and few friends. The only one who cared about her was Grandpa Butler.

She didn’t know if Grandpa Butler would grieve after finding out she’d died…

He had buried his old master years ago, and now he would have to bury her too—white hair sending off black hair again…

And there were still hundreds of millions of assets left to her that she hadn’t even managed yet…

Looking at this land of toil, where people supposedly couldn’t even get enough to eat, she only needed to glance at the weary spirits around her to know it was true.

Sallow faces, coarse hemp clothes. Even the outfit on her own body felt prickly and uncomfortable.

She didn’t know what identity this body had, but when she rose earlier she noticed the military satchel pressed under her. It probably belonged to this body’s original owner…

Carrying the satchel, she made her way to the carriage’s toilet, ignoring the filth and stench, as well as the stifling pain in her chest.

Brushing aside her bangs and the hair on her cheeks, the mirror reflected a face all too familiar.

A palm-sized face, skin pale with illness, delicate brows lightly furrowed, long lashes shading a pair of watery eyes, a petite nose, lips faintly pink with a touch of pallor.

It looked exactly like her own face, even the tiny mole on her nose was in the same spot. But this version looked younger—more tender.

Yet this frail, Xi Shi-like visage was unmistakably that of someone who had been sick for a long time.

On her body was a gray hemp jacket, with black coarse pants underneath.

Inside the jacket, however, was a snug, soft cotton undershirt.

But when she lifted her hair, she saw that all the skin in contact with the hemp fabric was covered with a dense rash…

Compared to the cold pallor of her skin, it looked utterly ghastly.

How could she still be wearing this?

She opened the satchel and found an ID card and a certificate approving her for the down-to-the-countryside program.

Her name was also Wen Qinghe???

The papers confirmed she was indeed sent to the Hongxing Brigade, and like her, she was a native of the capital city.

Could this really be a coincidence?

The satchel also contained several sets of comfortable cotton clothing, some money and ration coupons, and a small bottle whose contents she didn’t recognize.

She roughly counted it—aside from twenty-six big unity bills, there were also some mao notes. Just looking at the messy pile gave her a headache, so she didn’t bother to finish counting.

She put the money away. The clothes in the satchel, though soft, she dared not put on just yet.

Clearly, the original owner had her reasons for not changing. At this time, everyone wore coarse cloth, and nothing was harder to predict than the human heart.

Looking at the frail beauty in the mirror, she seemed like she might collapse with a single gust of wind.

Just that small act of rummaging earlier had left beads of sweat forming at her nose and brow, and her chest felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down, suffocating her.

Feeling the abnormal thumping in her left chest, her brows knitted tightly. The original owner had heart disease?

Thinking of the little bottle, she pulled it out. On the label it said: “One pill daily.”

She quickly swallowed one, and after a while the frantic heartbeat eased, though the heaviness in her chest lingered.

After tidying herself and the satchel, she slowly returned to her seat to think about her future.

From examining the satchel, it was clear the original owner came from a well-off family.

Her skin was tender and fair, likely pampered since childhood.

But why had she insisted on coming down to the countryside? With such a frail body, just joining a commune was torment enough—let alone enduring the high-intensity farm labor.

And now that she was here… where had the original owner gone?

As she pondered, a voice seemed to call her name, drifting closer and closer.

Before she knew it, in her daze, she had fallen asleep again.

But this time it was both a dream and not a dream.

Through the fog, a black dot slowly grew larger. Just as it was about to reach her—

Her eyes flew wide open.