Chapter 1: Transmigrated into a Book

“Mom~ don’t go, Dahu and Erhu are very obedient~ wuwuwu~”

“Mom~ please don’t go! Wuwuwuwu…”

Chen Manman suddenly sat up in bed.

Huff… A dream? It felt so real—she could still hear the two boys crying and begging her in her head. What was that about?

Just over a month ago, she was a recent graduate working a nine-to-six job in the city.

One evening, after work, she stopped by the convenience store downstairs to buy snacks, grabbed a lottery ticket on a whim—and ended up winning 20 million yuan.

Without hesitation, Chen Manman quit her job and returned to her hometown with the huge sum. Her parents had died in an accident two years ago, and she’d been alone ever since. She moved into her family’s self-built countryside home and had been living there since.

She shook her head, brushing away her thoughts, and got up from bed to quickly freshen up and head out for breakfast.

“Ah!”
A scream pierced the quiet morning.

“Someone got hit!”

Lying in a pool of blood, Chen Manman could hear all sorts of panicked voices around her. One thought flashed through her mind:

She hadn’t even had the chance to spend her 20 million yuan yet!

“What?! How could this mistake happen?”

“King Yama, I acknowledge my error. What do we do now?”

Chen Manman saw two figures—one dressed in black, one in white—kneeling and trembling before a demonic-looking man in the grand hall. She vaguely remembered being hit by a car… Was this the afterlife?

Her 20 million! She was furious. She had just become a rich woman, only to die immediately. Could anyone be more unlucky?

Help! This is heartbreaking…

“You clearly can’t go back now! Black and White Impermanence, no bonuses for you this month!” King Yama barked at the trembling duo.

Then he looked at her. “Chen Manman, your death was truly accidental. Since your modern body is gone, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll let you live another life. You may make one reasonable request. How about it?”

An accident? Seriously?! How unlucky can I be?

“Can I return to the modern world?” she asked.

King Yama flipped through his Book of Life and Death and replied, “Your karmic ties there are over. But you will be reborn as Chen Manman in the 1970s. Her family is well-off. You’ll live a comfortable life. What do you say?”

“…Fine.” There was no changing fate now anyway.

“Since you agree, go ahead and state your request.”

Request? The 1970s were probably a time of material scarcity, so…

“I want to bring along my parents’ countryside courtyard house, and I want it to be portable and invisible to others. Also, I had nearly 20 million in savings that I converted into supplies. I want to store all that in the courtyard. That’s not excessive, right?” she asked.

Her parents had retired and lived in that rural house, which had been newly renovated two years ago. It was practically as nice as a villa, complete with her own garden full of fresh fruits and vegetables. No way she was leaving that behind.

“Not excessive,” King Yama agreed without hesitation. He just wanted to get her out of his hall ASAP.

As soon as he waved his hand, Chen Manman fell unconscious.

—-

“Is Mom still asleep?”

“Shhh~ quiet. Mom is sick. Let’s go get Grandma.”

She vaguely heard the voices of two young boys outside the room.

Who knew how long had passed when she slowly opened her eyes and saw wooden beams above and yellow earthen walls.

Wait—this is the 1970s?!

Chen Manman sat up suddenly. “My courtyard!”

Just thinking about it transported her instantly to the familiar courtyard. Everything was exactly as it had been before she left.

She carefully looked around—huh? A new warehouse?

Must be the supplies!

She ran toward it, opened the door, and saw shelves stocked to the brim: grains, rice, flour, oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts, all kinds of meat, seasonings, clothes, daily necessities…

It looked like a mini supermarket covering hundreds of square meters. Everything was neatly organized, and Chen Manman couldn’t stop smiling.

Wow! Even books! So many novels too—King Yama really got her tastes right.

She picked up a rebirth novel placed prominently and flipped through it casually. Huh? The supporting female character had the same name as her?

She read more carefully, getting increasingly shocked.

Wait… is this the identity King Yama gave me?!

What happened to the “comfortable life” he promised?

In the book, Chen Manman’s husband was the male lead, but she wasn’t the female lead!

She quickly read on. In the story, the original Chen Manman was the spoiled only daughter of village chief Chen Hua, with two older brothers—one of whom was in the military. In 1971, when urban youths were sent to the countryside, she fell for a young man named Lin Shuhe, the male lead, and chased after him fiercely.

Eventually, she used some underhanded tricks to marry him. Shortly after, she got pregnant and gave birth to twin boys—Dahu and Erhu.

Lin Shuhe’s family background was politically unfavorable, and his parents had been exiled. He was determined to return to Beijing and restore his status.

After the wedding, he treated Chen Manman coldly. When college entrance exams resumed in 1977, he passed and left for Beijing without hesitation.

Chen Manman became depressed and sometimes even took her frustrations out on the children. Pressured by her parents, she traveled to Beijing to look for her husband, but on the train, she encountered human traffickers and died tragically.

The real female lead was a reborn urban youth named Fang Shuyao, who would come to the countryside the next year and start a golden life using her future knowledge. She later went to Beijing, where she and the male lead fell in love and began their legendary life together.

Chen Manman’s twin sons eventually grew into villains who constantly made trouble for the main couple and even nearly killed the female lead’s child. When she found out, she had them set up—and they disappeared from the story afterward.

Slam! Chen Manman closed the book hard.

What kind of dog-blood drama is this?!

Already married? With two kids? And she dies tragically?

She suddenly remembered the dream—those two pitiful little boys begging her not to leave.

No way it’s that coincidental… right?

Trying to recall more, she found a few blurry fragments of memories from this time.

Whew! At least she still had her courtyard and supplies—more than enough to raise two kids in the 1970s.

She thought about the timeline. Fang Shuyao’s arrival was still a while away. As for Lin Shuhe—he could do whatever he wanted!

—-

Back in the house, Chen Manman pulled out the original owner’s clothes and put on a light-colored cotton shirt and flared pants. She tucked in the shirt, looked in the mirror inside the space, and nodded in approval.

She had a tall, slender figure with a delicate oval face, fair skin, and bright red lips. She tied her hair into a messy bun, exposing her graceful neckline.

Not bad at all! What a little beauty!

Taking a deep breath, she thought: Since I’m here, I’ll live well!

She had always gone with the flow in life.

70s era, here I come!

She opened the door and looked out at the familiar courtyard—wooden beams, blue tiles, earthen walls. Yup, no doubt about it. This was the 1970s.

The Chen family was one of the wealthiest in the village, and the five mud-brick houses in front of her proved that.

“Mom~ you’re awake!”

“Mom~”

Two little boys, about three or four years old, ran toward her.

They hugged her legs on either side, looking up at her with wide, pitiful eyes. Chen Manman recalled their tragic fate in the book and felt a wave of sorrow.

The year was 1975, and Dahu and Erhu were three years old. Though they were skinny, they weren’t malnourished.

Chen Manman knelt down and gently patted their heads. “Good boys. Have you eaten?”

Dahu replied in a sweet voice, “Mom, Erhu and I already ate. You were sleeping for a long time. Grandma left food for you in the kitchen. You should go eat now.”

Chen Manman’s heart melted. “Good boys. How about you come eat with me?”

“Okay~”

“Mhm~”