Jiang Ran lay on the bed, eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling.
The beams above were draped with spider webs, where spiders occasionally crawled back and forth.
Turning her head slightly, she could see the wall.
Old newspapers were pasted on the wall, already yellowed with a layer of dust, making it impossible to read what was written on them.
In some places, the newspaper was torn and fallen, revealing the earth-yellow wall underneath.
Just by looking at it, Jiang Ran knew that it would crumble with the slightest touch.
Jiang Ran had just regained consciousness when she received a memory.
Even after fully digesting the memory, looking at everything before her still felt unbelievable.
She, Jiang Ran, was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine, and although she wasn't passionate about it, she had been influenced since childhood.
As she grew a little older, she started memorizing thick medical books.
After studying for so many years, she had some achievements in Chinese medicine and had even developed new medicines, winning several awards.
But compared to traditional Chinese medicine, Jiang Ran preferred culinary arts.
Fortunately, her family wasn't stuck in their ways; as long as she excelled in Chinese medicine, she could study whatever else she wanted in her free time.
After years of dedicated study, Jiang Ran achieved significant accomplishments in culinary arts, even if they couldn't quite match her success in medicine.
Jiang Ran remembered clearly that before she fainted, she had just won the national culinary competition's grand prize.
At that time, she was elated and exhilarated, hugging the trophy and jumping up and down.
And then...
And then she knew nothing else.
When she regained consciousness again, she found herself lying on this bed, becoming this Jiang Ran with the same name.
When she first woke up, Jiang Ran received the original owner's memories.
It was precisely because she received these memories that Jiang Ran realized she had transmigrated into a novel.
This was a novel she had read to pass the time.
The name of the novel was long forgotten, but she still remembered the general content.
The story mainly focused on the male protagonist, Pei Huai, who was born into poverty, studied diligently, and was passionate about research, eventually becoming a research heavyweight and meeting the female protagonist, a strong woman in the business world.
The two were evenly matched, falling in love at first sight and becoming inseparable, supporting each other through life.
The original owner, on the other hand, was a child bride that the male lead married in the countryside.
Yes, a child bride.
The original owner was adopted by the Pei Family at the age of six or seven.
Rather than saying "adopted," it was more like "bought."
The man who handed the original owner over to the Pei Family was not her family but someone who had abducted her.
After arriving at the Pei Family, the original owner attended elementary school with the male protagonist.
At that time, elementary schools in the commune didn't charge tuition, so every household in the village sent their children to school.
They didn't expect the children to learn much, just wanted someone to look after them for free, so adults could work in the fields without worrying about the children's safety.
The original owner had pretty good grades in elementary school and later attended middle school with the male protagonist.
But middle school was different from elementary school; it was in the county, too far from the village to go home daily, so she had to board.
Boarding required payment for accommodation, food, tuition, and books.
Altogether, it was quite an expense.
The Pei Family was an ordinary rural family, earning work points by laboring all year round, barely making a living, and earning little money.
Pei Huai was the eldest in the family, studied well, and was eager to learn; since he was admitted, Mr. and Mrs. Pei, of course, allowed him to attend.
But it was different for the original owner.