Meng Suihuan wasn’t sure when she had fallen unconscious again. When she woke up, it was to the sound of an incredibly loud rumble.

At first, she lay there wondering what the noise was. Then, a second later, the sound rang out again. This time, it was crystal clear. She froze for two seconds before turning toward the source of the noise—her own stomach.

Meng Suihuan: “!”

She had been woken up by the growling of her own stomach! Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.

On second thought, though, it made sense. This body hadn’t eaten anything since dawn.

She pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the bed, glancing out at the sky. Only a faint trace of the evening glow remained; the rest had been swallowed by nightfall. It was already evening. No wonder her stomach was protesting.

She got out of bed, intending to find something to eat. However, the moment her feet touched the ground, instead of the soft surface she was used to, she felt something uneven and a bit rough.

Only then did she remember—she had transmigrated into a novel, specifically to Lu Family Village, a poor and underdeveloped mountain village in 1997.

There were no tiles or soft carpets on the ground here. The room was narrow and cramped, with poor lighting and even worse soundproofing. Right now, she could clearly hear the barking of dogs at the village entrance.

Oh, and her clothes—they were rough in both fabric and craftsmanship, with loose threads sticking out in several places. The material chafed her skin.

“….”

On her first day here, nothing felt right.

Earn money!

She had to earn money! She had to improve her living conditions as soon as possible. Otherwise, she might just lose her mind.

With renewed determination, Meng Suihuan stepped outside.

Her room was connected to the main hall. As she was about to leave, she overheard the Lu family seemingly discussing something. Initially, she intended to walk away, but then she heard her name.

Her foot, which was about to step out, froze in place, and the conversation drifted into her ears.

“We definitely need to have the checkup done, but I just looked at the money we have left at home. To go to the county hospital, we’re still short by about 400 yuan.”

The voice was low and occasionally interrupted by coughs. It belonged to Lu Linshen’s father, Lu Jinyuan.

“That money is for your medicine; we can’t use it for anything else,” Lu’s mother hesitated, rejecting the idea.

“I’ve had this condition for years. Skipping a month or two won’t make a difference. Cough, cough. But Meng girl hurt her head. If something happens to her… cough, cough… it’ll be hard to explain to the Meng family.”

“It’s not just that. If it affects Linshen’s future… that would be terrible.”

At first, Lu’s mother was reluctant, but upon hearing that it might impact her son’s prospects, she reluctantly agreed.

“Fine. I’ll go back to my family tomorrow and see if I can borrow some—”

But before she could finish, Lu Jinyuan interrupted her.

“No need. We already owe your family 2,000 yuan. Cough, cough. Let’s not trouble them again. I’ll figure something out myself.”

“What can you possibly do—” Lu’s mother reflexively started to argue, but halfway through her sentence, her expression shifted as if she’d realized something.

“You’re not thinking of going to Lu Hongyuan, are you?”

She stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Lu Jinyuan quickly tried to calm her down. “Lower your voice. Don’t wake Meng girl up.”

“There’s no way I’ll agree to this. I’d rather go to my family than ask that heartless man for help!”

“…”

Lu Hongyuan?

The name sounded familiar.

Meng Suihuan quickly recalled that Lu Hongyuan was Lu Jinyuan’s half-brother. He had two houses in the county and seemed to have some money.

Unfortunately, it was all a façade. His money was long gone to gambling, and he was drowning in debt. When Lu Jinyuan sought him out, not only did he not lend any money, but he tricked him into losing several hundred yuan instead.

Lu Jinyuan fell seriously ill from the stress, and his health deteriorated rapidly. Even when Lu Linshen later became successful, his father’s condition couldn’t be fully cured.

Somehow, this incident got twisted into being the original owner’s fault. She was branded a bringer of bad luck.

Meng Suihuan: “…”

She wasn’t taking the blame for this one.

As she silently fumed, her stomach growled again.

Meng Suihuan: “…”

So unreliable. She used to mock TV shows where people eavesdropping always got discovered—how convenient. Yet here she was, in a situation more absurd than any drama.

Since she was already found out, Meng Suihuan decided to brazenly step out.

Before anyone could question her, she spoke first to take control of the situation.

“I heard everything you just said, but there’s really no need for that.”

“Because—”

“My memory has returned.”

—

Although Meng Suihuan used various means to prove that her memory had indeed returned, the bruises and scars on her head were still visible. Because of this, Lu’s mother spent the following days constantly making nutritious meals for her, like fish soup and stewed pig’s trotters.

In just a few days, Meng Suihuan could feel her weight creeping up.

Her least favorite part was the daily herbal medicine she had to drink. It was a dark, bitter concoction that felt like torture every time she drank it.

When a young girl teased her about it, she didn’t let it slide. She always managed to subtly turn the tables and irritate the girl until she puffed up like an angry kitten.

Life was quite amusing.

Aside from teasing kids, Meng Suihuan often strolled around the village to adapt to this world and see if there were any opportunities to make money.

However, every time she went out, she became the center of gossip.

The villagers’ comments were repetitive, and she was tired of hearing them.

“The Lu family didn’t marry a daughter-in-law; they married a little ancestor! Look at her—she doesn’t do any work and just wanders around. If my daughter-in-law acted like that, I’d have kicked her out long ago!”

“What do you expect? She’s Meng Weidong’s daughter. With the Meng family’s lazy and greedy ways, what kind of good daughter could they raise?”

“Exactly. If she were a proper girl, would she have ruined her reputation and slandered others?”

Meng Suihuan simply smiled and ignored the gossip. She had no time to meddle in trivial matters.

Her top priority was making money.

That day, as usual, she arrived at the village entrance, but she wasn’t there to listen to idle chatter. She wanted to gather information.

She had been visiting regularly, and several elderly villagers were now familiar with her.

Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, she asked, “Granny, I see you selling vegetables here every day, but you don’t seem to sell much. Why do you keep at it?”

One of the elderly women, dressed in a floral blouse, gave her a glance. Recognizing her, the woman slowly replied, “These vegetables would rot at home anyway. Selling them here means we can occasionally make a bit of money. It’s better than letting them spoil.”

Meng Suihuan nodded thoughtfully and asked the question lingering in her mind.

“Doesn’t anyone come here specifically to buy the vegetables in bulk?”

At this, the old woman looked at her as if she were out of her mind.

“These vegetables aren’t rare. Every household in the village grows them. Who would bother collecting them?”

Meng Suihuan: “…”

Why did she feel subtly insulted?

But instead of feeling discouraged, she saw an opportunity. If the villagers undervalued their vegetables, she could buy them at low prices and resell them in town.

The more she thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed.

Taking the chance, she continued, “Granny, how much do you sell these vegetables for?”

To avoid suspicion, she added sincerely, “Don’t worry, Granny. I’m asking because my family also has a lot of vegetables. It feels like such a waste to let them spoil at home. I’m thinking of selling some too.”

Most villagers shared this mindset, and since the prices were no secret, the old woman readily shared them.

“About 0.2 yuan per pound.”

… 0.2 yuan?!

Meng Suihuan felt her breath quicken. At modern prices, 0.2 yuan could buy nothing! Everything was priced in whole yuan.

Seeing her expression, the old woman added, “If you can’t sell them, you can lower the price even more.”

Meng Suihuan: “…”

Wasn’t that practically giving them away?!

Right then and there, she made a decision—she was going to buy up vegetables!

It was time to be the first to eat the proverbial crab.^[1]brave and enterprising individuals.