"Sang Zhi, you really are something else."
In the medical room at Pingcheng Station, a man stared greedily at the woman who had just regained consciousness.
"What good is being pretty if you’re just a brainless idiot? Be mine, and I’ll make you a bride every single night, heh heh..."
His gaze drifted upward, meeting a pair of clear, piercing eyes.
Oh, so she was awake.
Even though he had seen her many times, he was stunned all over again. Her face was small and oval, her features delicate, with a fair complexion and a straight, elegant nose. Her ruby-red lips looked just like a pair of plump cherries. Her eyes were dark and bright, and when she looked at you, there was an indescribable, captivating charm to them.
Wang Daqing reached out to touch her, obsessed, but was met with a resounding slap across the face.
The man’s eyes blazed with fury. "You little bitch, how dare you hit me?"
"Smack! Smack!" Two more crisp, clean slaps followed.
She knocked him straight to the floor.
She not only dared to hit him, she dared to hit him again.
Ignoring his curses, the new Sang Zhi rubbed her wrists and surveyed her surroundings. A calendar sat on the uneven wooden table: October 1974. Beside a metal thermos was a mirror, inscribed with the red slogan: "The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history."
The girl in the mirror had two dark, glossy braids resting on her shoulders and a badge of the Leader pinned to her chest. She looked ninety percent like her, only younger and far more vibrant.
She had arrived in a strange era.
If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have boarded that plane. Now look at her—the plane had crashed, and her life had ended with it. Fortunately, she had been a loner with no attachments. If she was in a strange new time, the worst-case scenario was simply starting over.
Wang Daqing swallowed his vitriol, deciding not to press the issue of the slaps for now, and lowered his voice to a threat. "Sang Zhi, I went through so much trouble to find out that Sang Bei is in Dawu Village. If you go too late and he’s gone, don't blame me when you regret it..."
Sang Zhi had waited for a long time, but no memories of the original owner had surfaced. However, hearing the names Sang Zhi, Sang Bei, and Dawu Village, she realized the truth.
She had transmigrated into a book!
Specifically, the period romance *The Fertile Wife of the Seventies* that she had skimmed to kill time the night before. She had become the villainous, minor female character who shared her name.
In the book, her cousin Sang Yun was the female lead—innocent, kind-hearted, and pure. She, on the other hand, was deep and scheming, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Both had studied medicine; one was diligent and eager to learn, eventually marrying into a prominent family, raising a family, and succeeding in her career. As for her, she served as a stark foil: a good-for-nothing who went against the heroine at every turn and nearly caused a death by prescribing the wrong medicine. As a cannon fodder character, she met a miserable end, being abducted into the mountains to suffer for two years before bowing out of the story early.
She had arrived at this exact critical juncture.
Sang Zhi realized something was wrong. If the original owner had truly been so vicious and selfish, she could have ignored her missing younger brother. Why would she have let herself be tricked into leaving with this excuse?
Furthermore, ever since her cousin’s family had come to the city to rely on them, the original owner’s parents had died, her older brother had been imprisoned, and her younger brother had gone missing. Even she could no longer live in the home where she had grown up, cast out like a dirty rag to fend for herself in the countryside. If it hadn't been for Granny Cai, a widowed elder in the village who saw how pitiful the child was, taught her medicine, and lived alongside her, the original owner would have been dead long ago.
Before the old woman passed away, knowing that her striking beauty made her unsafe, she had made arrangements for her to seek out her younger brother. But the moment she arrived in the city, her aunt and uncle had held her back, while her cousin used her token to seek out their great-uncle in the government compound.
It could be said that the heroine’s family had only become prosperous and successful by occupying the resources of the original owner’s family, using them as stepping stones.
Could there really be so many coincidences in this world? She didn't think so.
Things were getting interesting.
As she mused, an old-fashioned green-skinned train rumbled into the station. Fearful that his plans would go awry, Wang Daqing decided to take decisive action, preparing to drug her and drag her away.
He hadn't even gotten close when a sharp, agonizing pain struck his groin. His forehead veins popped instantly—the death-wishing girl had dared to kick him right in the privates! Before he could retaliate, he met her gaze, which was filled with a murderous glint. Terror-stricken, he scrambled away on his hands and knees.
Sang Zhi didn't give him a chance; she chased him down and delivered two more fatal kicks.
"You, you..."
Wang Daqing wailed and rolled on the ground, clutching his crotch. Sang Zhi had just crushed his testicles. She hadn't missed his earlier obscenities, and besides, he was the one responsible for the original owner inhaling an overdose of sedatives, which had cost her her life. To such a wicked, dangerous person, having his manhood crushed was getting off easy.
The train was about to depart. Wang Daqing’s accomplices were pacing anxiously on the platform. Fearing his howling would attract them, Sang Zhi used the sedative prepared for her on the man instead.
Just as she was about to leave, the sound of chaotic footsteps approached from afar. A rough, tear-choked male voice rang out: "Station Master Xu, our leader was injured protecting your local property! You cannot just stand by and do nothing!"
Feng Xiangdong, covered in mud, was panting as he carried a stretcher. The middle-aged Station Master was just as frantic, promising repeatedly, "Comrade Feng, don't worry, we will do everything in our power!"
His superiors had given a strict order: save the man on the stretcher at any cost.
The two men rushed into the medical room, neither noticing the person hiding in the back room.
"Doctor! Where is the doctor?" Seeing his comrade on the verge of death and finding no doctor, Feng Xiangdong grabbed the Station Master by the collar and shouted.
During these unique times, the railway provided medical rooms at certain large stations and for specific train lines. The doctors on duty were from the railway hospital. But because they were on loan, if the hospital was busy, the doctors would prioritize their primary post—after all, a station might go a whole day without seeing a single patient. Today, they were unlucky; the doctor was away.
Seeing the gray-blue tint on the comrade’s face, Station Master Xu had a sudden idea. "Comrade Feng, the railway hospital isn't far. Take my bicycle and go get a doctor. I'll go make an announcement on the station speaker to see if any passengers are doctors. We'll try both paths—hurry, go!"
The two came and went in a rush.
When the room fell silent again, Sang Zhi emerged from the back room. She examined the man; he had a handsome, upright appearance, his profile illuminated by the light, carrying a faint sense of cold authority.
In this situation, she should get as far away from the trouble as possible. But when her eyes fell on the man, she hesitated.
Although she had been an orphan in her past life, she had been fortunate enough to be adopted and taught by a master of traditional Chinese medicine, mastering a great many skills. Even if many people whispered behind her back that she was greedy and cunning, they had to admit her medical skills were impeccable. The number of wealthy people who had begged her for treatment was countless.
Wang Daqing’s accomplices could discover her at any moment. Saving him carried too much risk. But leaving him to die felt wrong.
Her lingering professional ethics got the better of her, and Sang Zhi stayed. He was lucky; the original owner’s bag contained the tools of her trade.
She undid the man’s tunic collar to check his chest injury. Others might think his external injuries were fatal, but that wasn't the case. Judging by the faint, nearly stalled pulse, the tongue coating, the cold limbs, and the cold sweat that hadn't yet faded, the man was suffering from chest bi-syndrome and heart pain.
In such a case, the standard procedure would be oxygen, heart-saving pills, and intravenous injections of danshen, but those options weren't available here. She applied several silver needles, fed him a pill to clear turbidity and alleviate pain, and seeing he couldn't swallow on his own, blew air into his mouth. Once sure the pill was down, she began CPR.
Minutes ticked by. The station loudspeaker droned on with its announcements, but the patient showed no response. Outside the medical room, an infuriated male voice was calling for Wang Daqing, calling for Sang Zhi, over and over...
Several times, if he had just leaned his head into the window, he would have discovered Sang Zhi saving the man. If caught, she would be in trouble. But if she walked away now, the soldier wouldn't wake up, and he would die just the same.
Time was running out. Sang Zhi resorted to another method.
She pried his mouth open and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. In TCM theory, this act could stimulate cardiopulmonary function. She didn't know if the medicine had finally taken effect or if the external stimulation had worked, but as the metallic taste of blood mingled between their lips, the man’s brows furrowed ever so slightly.