Lin Dahe, a graduate student at a modern agricultural college, transmigrates to the sixth year of the Chongzhen reign. When he wakes, he finds moldy brown rice and a ridiculous task from the System: grow food within three days, or bray like a donkey for three days. To survive, he puts his modern knowledge to use and turns a chamber pot into a drip-irrigation device. The villagers think he has a “chamber pot obsession,” and rumors spread. Meanwhile, Zhou, the village grain tax collector, has his eye on Lin’s bag of drought-resistant potato seeds.
Guided by the System, Lin discovers that the poisonous weeds the villagers fear are actually potatoes. He tries to prove they are edible, but everyone takes him for a beggar. New System tasks keep coming: improve composting techniques, build a mouse trap, and more. As he tackles them, he must also deal with Zhou’s harassment. Then an accident reveals Zhou’s connection to a grain-relief embezzlement case from fifteen years earlier. Around the same time, Auntie Ma appears, making the situation even more mysterious.
As the story unfolds, Lin uses his wit and courage to overcome one crisis after another. He applies modern agricultural knowledge to improve the soil, uncovers underground waterways, and deals with a locust invasion. Even when the government troops conscript able-bodied men, he finds a clever way out. His relationship with Cui Xiaoman gradually grows closer as they face hardships together, but Auntie Ma’s mysterious identity and the conspiracy behind her remain an ever-present threat.
After completing the ultimate task, Lin thinks he can finally live in peace. But the System suddenly displays a cryptic message: “The true enemy has yet to appear.” Just then, Cui Xiaoman hands him an old, battered notebook containing an ancient and dangerous prophecy that seems closely tied to the village’s future. Lin realizes that this adventure across time is far from over...
