"Aaah!"

"Mother, be careful not to take a life, hers has only just passed, there's a crowd watching."

"I know, I barely even touched her, she just fell easily."

"Mother! She's bleeding! Is she going to die?"

"Absolutely not! Come quickly, while no one's around. Carry her inside, we'll go back out later to avoid suspicions."

......

A piercing pain in the back of the head forces Jian Dan to open her eyes abruptly. Instinctively she attempts to sit up, only to find her body disobeying her.

"Who the hell drugged me?"

All around her is quiet, and Jian Dan realizes something is amiss.

The surroundings, the table, the decorations, the trinkets, and even the clothing she's wearing, everything screams poverty. It's in stark contrast to her usual extravagant lifestyle.

Most surprising is the striking resemblance this place bears to her grandparents' room back home.

Even more shocking is the sight of the slender, fair hand peeping out from under her sleeve. It's not her hand.

This sudden shock knocks her out.

Jian Dan's body seems to have adapted to shocks well, as she revives quite quickly, but is left befuddled.

Though she enjoys reading novels with such dramatic plots happening to others, having it happen to her is a whole different story. Who can endure this?

She was born into a prominent mafia family, but after a violent shootout, she found herself thrown into another world. Who was there to turn to for an explanation?

"Sigh."

A deep sigh escaped from her. The character, Jian Dan, had no choice but to accept her fate.

She browsed through the inherited memories of Jian Dan's past and found a sliver of good fortune; although their wealth wasn't public, the family was financially well-off. This meant she didn't have to worry about living from hand to mouth as soon as she arrived.

The original character, Jian Dan, was a fifteen-year-old high school student. Both her paternal and maternal families were wealthy for generations. With their wise elders, they donated all their public wealth to the government years ago, ensuring peace in their lives.

The societal setting was Beijing of 1959, a city on the edge of a tumultuous decade according to historical records. Whether or not the alternate world followed the same path was unknown, but signs of unrest were already there. School didn't seem as spirited as before, misfits roamed the streets, and neighbors walked on eggshells when speaking to one another.

This timing frustrated Jian Dan greatly. Why did she end up here?

Post donation, her father joined the military and her mother took up factory work.

Then, the elders began to pass away one after another.

News of her father's martyrdom reached them, and her fragile mother, unable to cope, also ended her own life.

Her current timeline indicated that her mother just passed away and the family of the man she was engaged to, as arranged by the elders, had come to break off the engagement. During the argument, the mother of the man pushed her, dragging her back to the room and, without a second glance, left her behind!

Then, Jian Dan arrived.

"Hiss!"

Lost in her thoughts, her hand accidentally brushed against her aching posterior skull, confirming the presence of dried blood.

"No wonder I feel so weak."

Staggering against the kitchen wall, she found a thoroughly cold cornbread. Without any other consideration, she nonchalantly devoured it. Along with cold water, two pieces of cornbread filled her stomach finally.

"Whew, I never imagined that I could ever be this pathetic."

Just as she was about to lay down and rest, there was a knock on the door accompanied by loud shouts. The Jian Family was currently living in a pipe rack building assigned by the textile factory where Jian's mother worked. The building was not soundproof, so just a few shouts invoked several heads to pop out from neighboring rooms.

"What's going on here?"

"Jian Dan, are you home? Aunt Wang came to see you."

Then a low male voice followed,

"Mum, do you think she's dead?"

Jian Dan sneered internally; they were putting on quite a show indeed.

Languidly, she opened the door with a noticeably weak body, supporting herself on the door frame,

"Auntie, Brother Jian She,"

The blood stains still visible on her pale little face gave Lin Jian She and his mother quite the scare. Their original plan of having a quiet talk inside the house was now out of the window. They wanted a quick resolution.

Wang Hong Mei rapidly organized her language,

"Dan Dan, let me be honest with you. Our family is in a hurry for Jian She to get married and have a child. You're still too young, so let's call off this engagement! Here, this is the jade pendant your mother originally brought for the engagement. If you give this token back, we can consider the engagement between our two families as over."

The blood was all over her head, and they didn't even bother to pretend to care. So quick to ask for an annulment, it seemed like they were just eager to climb up the social ladder.

Jian Dan, with her head still spinning, had no intention of arguing with them. After all, this annulment was what she had wished for.

"However, from the original host's memories, the Lin family had taken quite a bit of advantage out of their matrimonial alliance. The surreptitious eavesdropping from upstairs and downstairs was beyond obvious. As she thought about it, the young miss could not help but be vexed.

She casually tossed the jade pendant, which the former host had treasured, that was in the pocket of her dress.

"Aunt Wang, logically speaking, this marriage agreement should only be fulfilled if both parties are willing. Now that you have your plans, I should respect your wishes, especially considering I am nothing more than a lone, helpless young girl. Since Brother Jian is a formal worker in the steel factory, I should be aware of my own situation."

On hearing this, Aunt Wang’s facial expression relaxed significantly. After glancing briefly, she switched the topic.

"I remember, isn't it true that both Brother Jian and uncle's jobs were arranged by my grandfather?"

Wang Hongmei stiffened,

"What do you mean? Are you trying to stir up trouble?"

"What are you talking about, aunt?" she simply lay against the wall, taking a deep breath, and thought to herself, 'This body is really not good at all.'

"How could I stir up trouble in my state? You're overthinking. However, if I remember correctly, the precondition of my grandfather’s help was to not let the gravy train go elsewhere, right?

I know that both Uncle Lin and Aunt Wang are people who care about face. Given the present circumstance between our two families, surely you wouldn’t want to shamelessly hold onto these jobs, right?"

Wang Hongmei suddenly froze, disregarding her volume,

"Jian, what do you mean? That job was given to us by your grandfather. How is it that a youngster like you wants to act rogue and take back what's given away? Let me tell you, you can dream on, what is given to Lin family is the Lin family's."

With a menacing intent, she added,

"You can have it back, if you can get it back from whoever gave it."

Jian couldn't care less, she merely chuckled lightly,"

"Fine, whatever you say,"

Looking at the half-inch gap in the door across,

"Aunt Cong, could you please help me find Uncle Chen from the steel factory? I remember he was the one who provided the certificate, wasn't he?"

The person across the door didn't feel awkward, and readily agreed,

"No trouble at all, I'm on it."

Wang Hongmei certainly knew about the certificate issued to her by the factory manager, and she also knew that the manager had a good relationship with her father. That's why she had secretly come to get a divorce, but who would have thought she would figure things out now?

However, for now, she had to calm her down. If the factory manager came, it would be a big scandal.

Lin Jianshe saw that things were going south and quickly blocked the door,

"Aunty, don't bother, don't bother. Dan Dan, what are you doing? My mom is just discussing with you, right?"

Dan Dan was feeling dizzy, she could barely stand even with the support of the wall. She slid down and sat at the doorway, her face was so pale that she couldn't hide it.

Since the lady across the door had opened it, she didn't plan to close it. Eloquently, she just kept observing. The residents upstairs and downstairs started gathering quietly.

In this considerably rural place, everyone knew that Dan Dan was the only daughter left in the Jian family, and the neighbors were all taking care of her unconsciously.

"Jian girl, what's wrong with you?"

Dan Dan glanced at Wang Hongmei, she tried to say something but hesitated.