Chapter 1

Qin Qingman was woken up by the cold—her entire body shivering, her teeth chattering.

As she regained consciousness, she initially thought the heating at home had broken down, that the construction company had cut corners while renovating her luxurious 500-square-meter villa!

But when she opened her beautiful peach blossom-shaped eyes, she realized how wildly wrong she had been.

Countless small, bright rays of light shone through every corner of the room.

The house was a wooden cabin with drafts on all four sides. The thick wheat straw curtains over the windows dimmed the interior, making it dark even during the day.

Qin Qingman lay in bed, shivering, trying to turn her nearly frozen brain.

She had transmigrated, transported to the resource-poor 1970s.

That alone was bad enough, but what made it even worse was that she hadn’t transmigrated into the glamorous main character.

She didn’t have a golden finger either.

Instead, she had become the malicious stepmother, one who would highlight the goodness of the white lotus Female Lead.

A malicious stepmother!

Ha…

The fate of a malicious stepmother—the original owner, under the persuasion of relatives, married a man who already had four children.

This man was a small leader at a state-owned farm, likely much older than the original owner’s father.

And this man, every day, was suspicious of the original owner, fearing she would steal from his house to support her own family. The allowance he gave her was counted down to the last cent, stingier than a miser.

The four children, with the encouragement of the man’s ex-wife’s parents, openly and secretly fought with the original owner.

Within a few years, the original owner had earned the reputation of being a malicious stepmother.

As Qin Qingman processed the plot, a faint cry, soft like the sound of a kitten, snapped her back to reality.

She didn’t lift the thin, hard blanket but instead reached out and pulled a small body close to her chest.

The crying stopped as soon as the little body was in her arms.

Qin Qingman finally felt a bit of warmth.

“Sister, I’m cold… cold…”

Five-year-old Qin Yunchu shivered as he burrowed into Qin Qingman’s embrace.

The child was really small. Even though he was five years old, his size was more like that of a four-year-old. This was also why Qin Qingman, upon understanding her situation, didn’t feel any aversion toward the child.

This body was the only relative the child had. If she didn’t take care of him, he might not survive through the winter in such a harsh northern climate.

She lowered her head, using the light filtering into the room to look at the child.

The child had good facial features and was well-kept, but his cheeks were thin and pale, indicating malnutrition.

The unexpected transmigration left Qin Qingman still in a daze, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. But out of instinct, she softly spoke to the child, “Chuchu, cover yourself with the blanket, I’ll go heat the kang.”

In the northeast, during winter, it was essential to heat the kang. If you didn’t, you could really freeze to death.

Chuchu’s nose was already red from the cold. He carefully, yet longingly, absorbed the warmth from Qin Qingman’s body, and reminded her, “Sister, we don’t have any firewood left.” As he spoke, the child’s face seemed to lose a bit of color.

“Second Uncle’s house has some.” Qin Qingman’s expression was somewhat indifferent.

After receiving all of the original owner’s memories, Qin Qingman naturally knew the current situation of this family.

It had only been a year since her parents died. The Old Qin Family, which had once had a bit of wealth, had been taken advantage of by relatives who had come knocking. The original owner’s timidity and fear of confrontation led to them being exploited. Everyone had a good excuse.

Borrow!

Borrow money, borrow food, borrow firewood.

But the borrowing never ended, and nothing was returned.

The original owner was too shy, too embarrassed to demand repayment, and the result of her desire to save face was that Qin Qingman ended up transmigrating into this body.

Qin Qingman even had the feeling that the original owner, knowing she couldn’t change anything, simply gave up on life and fell into an eternal sleep, only for a new consciousness to take her place!

“Sister, Second Aunt is so fierce.” Chuchu, who had been woken up by the cold, could no longer fall asleep.

Not only was he unable to sleep, but his stomach was growling from hunger. Normally, when he was hungry, he would drink some water and then fall back asleep.

But today, he simply couldn’t.

His stomach, long empty, now burned painfully from the acidic stomach fluids.

Hearing her little brother’s kind reminder, Qin Qingman reached out and touched the child’s slightly yellow hair, then firmly got out of bed. “Second Uncle’s house not only owes us firewood but also food. I’m going to ask for it.”

Getting out of bed in a drafty wooden house required great courage.

Qin Qingman had already prepared herself mentally, but when her body was exposed to the cold air, it still felt like she had fallen into an ice-cold river.

The cold air seeped into every pore, and for a brief moment, Qin Qingman wanted to crawl back into the bed that still had a bit of warmth.

But she knew she couldn’t. If she didn’t light the kang soon, not only would her body not withstand it, but Chuchu might fall ill or even sleep through the winter without waking up.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Qin Qingman quickly put on the military coat that was no longer very warm, then quickly got out of bed. She didn’t even have time to put on shoes. She hurried to adjust Chuchu’s blanket, making sure the little warmth inside didn’t escape.

“Sister.”

Chuchu, completely buried under the blanket, propped himself up on the kang edge and looked at Qin Qingman with wide, bright eyes full of hope.

He felt that something about his sister was different today.

He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he simply felt that what his sister said made him believe her.

He even had the sense that today, not only would they manage to light the kang, but they might also have hot food to eat.

Looking into Chuchu’s hopeful eyes, Qin Qingman suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

Such a well-behaved child was impossible not to pity.

“Cover yourself up and don’t move. I’m going to Second Uncle’s house to get the firewood.”

After saying this, Qin Qingman opened the door. Beyond the bedroom door was not only the living room but also the kitchen, and the stove had long since run out of firewood, leaving only thick ash.

Stamping her cold feet on the thick wooden floor, Qin Qingman wrapped herself up even more tightly and then opened the door.

When the door opened, the first thing that came into view was the bright blue sky, followed by the endless white snow.

The half-foot-thick snow was piled up on the fence and roof, and even icicles, long and crystalline, hung down from the eaves.

The icicles were large and thick, each one reflecting a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.

Qin Qingman breathed in the cold air, almost coughing out loud.

The air was so cold that it not only froze her nostrils but also her windpipe and lungs.

The scenery in front of her was incredibly beautiful.

Had this been the old Qin Qingman, she would have admired the purity of this world with awe. But in her current state, she had no such mood.

Because she was cold and hungry!

The harsh reality snapped her back to her senses, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief in her heart—thankfully, it hadn’t snowed heavily last night. Otherwise, there would have been no way she could have easily opened the door today.

She didn’t know what the winter of the 1970s in the northeast was like, but she was familiar with the winters of the northeastern regions in later years.

The frost period could last for half a year!

In such a place, the first thing you did every morning was clear the snow outside the door and windows, or else the snow could block the door and windows shut.

Shivering, her hands already red from the cold, Qin Qingman shoved them into her sleeves, enduring the chill as she made her way to Second Uncle’s house not far away.

The sound of knocking echoed through the village of Kaoshan, which had just started to see smoke rising from chimneys.

But in such frigid weather, no one was willing to open the door. Even at Qin Lei’s house, no one answered the door.

The entire village of Kaoshan was eerily silent, as if Qin Qingman were the only living person.

Looking at the smoke rising from the chimney of Second Uncle’s house, Qin Qingman knocked a few times on the door with her foot, then stopped. She didn’t wait for anyone to answer; instead, she briskly pushed open the yard gate and walked straight toward the woodpile.

This Second Uncle of Qin’s really had a heart of stone. Not only had he not returned the firewood they had borrowed, but he had also borrowed a whole year’s worth of firewood from the original owner’s family.

Well, she wouldn’t feel bad about taking it back.

The firewood at Qin Lei’s house was stacked along the wall near the window. The large, neatly split pieces of wood were organized in tidy piles. Qin Qingman picked up some firewood through a gap.

She didn’t take much, just five or six pieces.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to take more, but her body couldn’t handle it. Perhaps due to being constantly hungry, though her height wasn’t short, she had little strength. Carrying just five or six pieces of wood left her out of breath.

Back at Qin’s house, Chuchu couldn’t lie down at all after Qin Qingman left.

The kang had long since lost its warmth, and the more he lay down, the colder he became. He simply shivered and got up, wrapping himself in his worn-out cotton coat and blanket, then went to the living room to wait.

The child’s clear eyes stared intently at the door.

The windows in the living room weren’t covered with straw curtains, so the light had already filtered in, making the room bright, though the brightness was cold.

Just as Chuchu’s legs were going numb from squatting, he heard footsteps outside the door.

“Sister.” With eager hope, Chuchu dropped his blanket and rushed to open the door. Outside stood Qin Qingman, holding the firewood.

Qin Qingman hadn’t expected Chuchu to have gotten up.

But after thinking about the temperature of the kang, Qin Qingman immediately understood the child’s decision.

She bypassed the small, weak child and placed the firewood by the stove. After pausing to recollect, she gave an instruction: “Chuchu, you get the fire going. I’ll go bring more wood back.”

Five or six pieces of firewood wouldn’t last long; she hadn’t intended to take just that much.

“Okay.”

Chuchu’s face flushed bright red with excitement at the sight of the firewood Qin Qingman had brought back, making him seem incredibly lively.

The sun was out, and there was no wind, so it wasn’t as cold as Qin Qingman had expected while she carried the firewood. After she placed it down, she turned and went back to Second Uncle’s house.

She continued going back and forth, transporting firewood.

By the time she brought the firewood for the third time, Chuchu had already gotten the fire going. With the stove now burning, the temperature in the house quickly rose. Chuchu, with both hands holding a steaming bowl of water, brought it to Qin Qingman.

“Sister, drink some water.” The child looked at her with sparkling eyes full of admiration.

“Okay.” With her hands numb from the cold, Qin Qingman carefully took the hot water and took a sip. The warmth spread from her mouth down her throat and into her stomach, which had been empty except for stomach acids. That single sip of hot water made her entire body warm up.

“Wait for me. I’ll bring more firewood, and then we can make something to eat.”

Looking at the well-behaved child, a hint of a smile flashed in Qin Qingman’s eyes.

Losing something in one place, but gaining in another—perhaps this child was her biggest gain from this transmigration.

“Mm.”

Chuchu nodded vigorously. He no longer talked about the lack of food at home. From the fact that Qin Qingman had been able to bring firewood from Second Uncle’s house, he now believed they would definitely have hot food today.

Qin Qingman went to Second Uncle’s house a few more times, and after bringing enough firewood to last a week, she clapped the wood chips off her clothes. She then rummaged through the empty rice barrel, found a cloth bag, and once again headed toward Second Uncle’s house.

Before she could even step inside, a thunderous voice rang out from Qin Lei’s yard.

“Who the hell dares to steal my firewood? Get out here, I’ll chop you into pieces!”

Zhu Hongxia’s voice was sharp and harsh, cutting through the tranquility of Kaoshan Village. It not only disturbed the peace but also triggered the villagers’ curiosity. Those who lived nearby quickly tucked their hands into their sleeves, hunched their shoulders, and eagerly ran out of their homes.

When they saw Qin Qingman standing at the gate of Qin Lei’s yard, many villagers were suddenly struck by the realization that they hadn’t seen this girl in quite some time.

In the time since they last saw her, Qin Qingman’s complexion had become even paler, and her body seemed even thinner.

“Did you steal my firewood?” Zhu Hongxia also noticed Qin Qingman standing outside the yard. Remembering the knocking on her door earlier, her expression immediately darkened, and her words grew more unpleasant. “Girl, of all things to learn, why would you learn to steal?”

A cold light flashed in Qin Qingman’s eyes as she stood up straight. “Second Aunt, I knocked on your door. You just didn’t answer.”

“Just because no one answered means you can steal?” Zhu Hongxia retorted, her gaze fiery as she looked at Qin Qingman.

“Second Aunt, wasn’t it the same when your family took our firewood? I remember coming back and finding half a stack of wood already in your house. You took it without asking, so why can’t I take what’s mine today? Your family already owes us so much firewood.” Qin Qingman replied logically, her rebuttal firm.

Upon hearing Qin Qingman’s words, not only was Zhu Hongxia left speechless, but even the villagers who had gathered to watch were stunned.

Was this still the Qin Qingman they knew?

The Qin Qingman they remembered had always been shy and timid, blushing easily in front of others, even avoiding eye contact when speaking. But today, this Qin Qingman was different.

Not only had she raised her head, but her beautiful face now caught everyone’s attention.

Seeing her face, the villagers suddenly realized just how beautiful Qin Qingman was.