[Period farming + portable space + raising kids and harvesting the sea + marriage before love]
On Qingnian Island in the 1970s, orphan Jiang Ruan opens her eyes and finds herself in the worst possible predicament: her aunt and uncle want to trade her for a bride price, and plan to hand off the two toddlers left behind by her late brother.
At the ancestral hall, she publicly exposes their embezzlement of the compensation money, throws down the engagement sweets, and would rather leave with nothing than remain tied to them. She takes the children and sets up a household of her own.
Fortunately, she has a miraculous spring in her arms. Its water can speed up growth, raise seafood, and keep goods fresh, but she can explain the results away as the product of “good skills and hard work.”
She builds a fortune by gathering seafood, trading meals for grain, and opening a workshop that brings prosperity to the whole village. Step by step, she turns a dilapidated house into the island's finest home.
She never expected that after accidentally entering a restricted beach, the stern regiment commander Huo Shiyan would take an interest in her.
Even more unexpected, the old silver hairpin left by her mother leads to a long-buried case in the capital. A suspicious string of offshore buoys bears coded signals, and slowly the two mysteries become entangled in the same web...
She'll keep the cooking fire burning and build a home. This sea is hers to protect.
She'll see who gets the last laugh.
