A Young Factory Worker in the 1990s

In 1996, graduates were no longer assigned jobs. Xia Haiyan, a vocational school graduate, left the countryside with 30 yuan in her pocket and a humble wish: to improve her family’s life, put her younger siblings through school, and eventually settle down in the city. She boarded a green train bound for Liaodong and became one of tens of millions of young women working in factories.

At a time when the children of state-owned factory employees were no longer allowed to inherit their parents’ jobs, Zhang Jindong, the son of a factory worker, also joined the same factory as Haiyan. His old factory was on the brink of collapse, and he carried the hope of learning advanced management methods from developed regions.

In an unfamiliar city, on the assembly line that ran day and night, young people just starting out faced the blood and cruelty of primitive capital accumulation. Their sweat and tears, their friendships and romances, their having nothing and repeatedly trying to change their fate, and the fact that they finally came to have it all: the effort and sacrifice they each made became the best part of their youth.

[People growing up wild in an ever-changing era]

[A working girl’s triumphant rise from poverty to becoming a glamorous businesswoman]

[A serious-minded red-rose heroine VS a calculating, practical hero]

[The leads admire each other, strive together, and fall in love over time]

[Career-focused plot, with a small ensemble cast. The male lead appears in Chapter 16]

[Neither lead transmigrates or is reborn]

[The everyday life of an impoverished couple sharing hardship and striving side by side~]

Check out my upcoming novel: Transmigrating to the Sixties with a Pocket Dimension

In 1958, Xia Zhang’s mother ran off with someone else. Her father lost heart and spent all day sprawled on the couch. No matter how much the production team tried to motivate him, nothing worked, so they had no choice but to introduce him to a formidable widow.

The widow had a son the same age as Xia Zhang, a head shorter than her, timid and cowering, afraid to even speak up.

Xia Zhang had just transmigrated. As soon as she heard the year, she knew they were about to face hunger. Her father earned so few work points that they could barely eat even in a good harvest year. There wasn’t a scrap of spare grain in the rice jar, and yet he still dared to take a wife, who was bringing along another extra mouth to feed.

Her new little brother might be scrawny and small, but he ate like a starving ghost, enough for two people.

Xia Zhang began to worry. She was only six, and there was nothing else she could do. She had to go into the city and beg for food right away, stockpile some provisions, and give them a chance of surviving the years of famine.

On the day she planned to leave, the widow happened to complain about her father’s laziness, and they got into a fight. The widow wanted to take her son and leave. Xia Zhang was delighted, but then the silly little wretch suddenly stepped forward and said, “If you want to go, go by yourself. You two can get divorced. I’m staying with my big sister!”

Xia Zhang stumbled. “W-who’s your big sister?!”

From then on, she had a little shadow trailing behind her.

Their begging party had grown.

Then a System suddenly chimed in her mind: [The Dragon Conquers the World and Rules All System is officially activated. Congratulations, Host, on gaining a loyal little brother who would lay down his life for you. He will live, die, and fight for you for the rest of his life.]

Xia Zhang skipped over the first part and immediately opened the new Host starter pack:

Storage space: 1 cubic meter

Feng shui paradise: 1 square meter

And an unopened Frozen Spring?

&

Xia Zhang’s eyes lit up as she rubbed her hands together. “If that’s how we’re playing, then I’m not afraid of famine years anymore~~~”

[Period novel, lighthearted, satisfying] If you like it, please check it out and add it to your collection~~

Check out my completed novel, Marriage Scam: a short love story contrasting a calculating woman and a scheming man with the romance of an honest man. A modern setting, with a very realistic tone~

After the Princess Consort Is Reborn: a love story between a princess sent to marry for peace and a rugged, impulsive man. An alternate ancient setting, with a touch of subtle political intrigue~

Check out my upcoming novels: Transmigrating to the Sixties with a Pocket Dimension, The Interstellar Worker at the Breaking Point, and The Pact of the Immortal Maiden [The blurbs may change when the novels are officially launched]

Theme: A happy life is built with your own two hands