Rural Huaibei, 1975.
When Su Nianhe opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a thin coffin.
Outside, drums and gongs blared as a suona played a celebratory tune for a ghost marriage.
She was an emergency room doctor from the 21st century, transmigrated into the body of a village girl whose own parents had sold her off to be married to a dead man.
"The deceased is Li Weiguo, the Li family's only son. He was a soldier and died in the line of duty."
"His own mother arranged the ghost marriage and offered two hundred yuan."
Just as the coffin was nailed shut, the voice of a young man suddenly rang out in Su Nianhe's mind:
"My name is Li Weiguo. I don't want this marriage. Pass on a message for me: My mother broke the law. Tell her to turn herself in."
Su Nianhe: ???
Right after that, the sound of military boots striking the ground came from outside.
"Everyone, stop!"
The coffin was pried open, and Su Nianhe saw a man in uniform standing against the light.
His name was Gu Changlin. He was Li Weiguo's comrade-in-arms, and the only person named in his will to handle things if his family did anything out of line:
"If my family does anything inappropriate, give Gu Changlin full authority to handle it."
Su Nianhe brushed the ashes of paper money from her clothes and looked at Gu Changlin. "Your friend asked me to tell you that he was firmly against feudal superstition. Also, your friend's mother is suspected of buying and selling a corpse and desecrating a corpse. You should report her to the police."
Gu Changlin was silent for three seconds, then turned to the people behind him and said:
"Go get the police."
Later, this man named Gu Changlin showed up at her house with a letter of introduction from his military unit and knocked on the door.
"The organization has approved it. Would you be willing to come with me to my post?"
Su Nianhe looked at the letter with its large red official seal and thought:
This military marriage is utterly absurd.
