### Chapter 1: The Control Group

### Chapter 1: The Control Group

On March 6, 1973, the Dragon Head-Raising Day coincided with the Awakening of Insects.

Crisp spring thunder cracked through the heavy leaden clouds hanging low in the sky, lightning flashing within their dense layers.

The mountain mist surged with the wind, drifting into Tangjia Village at the foot of the mountain and into the window of Old Tang's house.

On the kang lay a girl around sixteen or seventeen years old, her hair wet and her cheeks burning hot, muttering incoherently.

An old woman in her sixties was wiping her head and face with a dirty rag, pulling a heavily patched quilt over her, then wringing out her dripping wet cotton jacket and pants, and lighting a fire pot to dry them.

As she did this, she grumbled, "You weigh ninety jin, but eighty of it is rebelliousness, and the other ten is that stubborn head of yours! As an older sister, you don't know how to give way to your younger sister, always fighting. You get into fights and end up falling into the river, then come back and act crazy with me. How can you be so troublesome? You're truly a little ungrateful wolf."

Tang Yuan slowly opened her eyes, feeling a burning heat all over, as if she had been thrown into a furnace like Sun Wukong.

Though her vision was blurry, she immediately sensed something was wrong and instantly became fully alert.

What she saw was a narrow, cramped old house, with smoke-stained walls adorned by a nearly indiscernible poster, faintly revealing the figure of a great leader.

The kang was covered with a worn mat, and she was under a quilt so patched it was hard to tell its original color. Shredded white paper fluttered on the wooden window frames, and the mud-smeared windowsill was pitted, holding a cracked mirror.

The only thing bright in the room was the "Joyful Greeting" poster on the wall above the kang.

This was a living environment worse than anything she had experienced in her rural upbringing or during her eight years of poverty alleviation work.

Where was this place? Which poor household was this?

Wasn't she in the hospital???

After graduating from university, she had become an agricultural technician working in rural areas, accumulating rich experience and achieving notable success over eight years.

Unfortunately, just as she was about to be promoted, her old illness flared up, and she ended up in the hospital.

Why wasn't she in the hospital?

Crack!

Several thunderclaps echoed outside.

Her head throbbed intensely, and a flood of information rushed in.

For a moment, Tang Yuan held her dizzy head, overwhelmed by immense confusion.

She had actually transmigrated into a book!!!

Unbelievable!

She had transmigrated into a novel called "Adored Village Flower of the Seventies."

The protagonist, Tang Xiang, was a high school graduate in modern times, pampered by her parents since childhood, never having washed her own underwear or socks.

When she transmigrated into a peasant girl, she was stunned because she knew nothing beyond reading, chasing stars, watching dramas, and listening to music, and had no skills for household chores or farming.

Fortunately, she was born cute and fair-skinned, and her parents and siblings doted on her, never asking her to do chores or farm even as she grew older.

Even Grandma Tang, who favored boys over girls, was charmed by her and showed her special affection.

Although she wanted to lead her family to prosperity, the policies of the era were strict, and speculation could lead to imprisonment, so she decided to lie low until 1977 to take the college entrance exam.

The plot before the exam mainly revolved around her relationship with the male lead, a sent-down youth.

His biological mother was a wealthy lady who died young, and his father remarried.

He was constantly schemed against by his sweet-faced but bitter-hearted stepmother, and his father grew to dislike him, leading to his isolated and love-starved personality.

After being sent down, he met the lively and kind Tang Xiang, irresistibly drawn to her.

With his handsome appearance, tall stature, and gentle yet melancholic demeanor, he deeply appealed to Tang Xiang.

Naturally, such a smooth and simple plot wouldn't do; there had to be several annoying characters between the protagonists.

The original character was one of the most troublesome antagonists.

She was the protagonist's cousin, both beautiful girls. Tang Xiang was smart and clever, excelled academically, and was filial to her elders, even winning the favor of the harsh Grandma Tang. Tang Yuan, however, was rebellious and temperamental, disliking studies, and constantly fought with her cousin and argued with Grandma Tang, earning her the label of selfish and cold-hearted.

Jealous of Tang Xiang dating a sent-down youth, she also found one, only to be abandoned.

When Tang Xiang advised her to focus on her studies, she scoffed, saying that sent-down youths worked in the fields, so what was the point of going to college? Then she married someone else.

After marriage, she despised her husband for being weak, refused to settle down, and always sought to make quick money through illegal means, often getting caught or harassed by thugs, resulting in beatings and disdain from her in-laws.

Failing to make money illegally, she ventured into the mountains to dig for herbs, only to be bitten by snakes or attacked by wild boars, suffering greatly.

Her misfortunes dragged her parents into poverty and hardship. Kind-hearted Tang Xiang went to support her with her elder brother, but she remained ungrateful, harboring resentment and cursing them.

Tang Xiang then stopped helping her.

After Tang Xiang took the college entrance exam, the main scenes shifted to the capital, and the antagonistic female character became a classmate.

Only occasional mentions in letters or during holidays would refer to Tang Yuan, usually about her losing money, getting beaten, or having miscarriages.

In the end, she even ran away with a man!

Leaving her husband and child behind, she went south to start a business, only to be deceived and sold into a brothel.

Many years later, Tang Xiang and the male lead traveled south for a conference and accidentally saw Tang Yuan.

She kindly offered to help, but not only did Tang Yuan show no gratitude, she even tried to infect Tang Xiang with a dirty disease.

The male lead was furious and, heartbroken, blamed Tang Xiang for being too kind. He forcibly took her away, forbidding her from getting involved any further.

The original owner died in despair, looking utterly detestable.

After recalling the original owner's fate, Tang Yuan: "……"

If the vicious supporting female character were lazy, greedy, and unproductive, it would be understandable for her to suffer.

But she was so diligent and capable!

People like her, who become stronger with each setback, are precisely what social workers should aim for.

The key is that the original owner shared the same name as her, while Tang Xiang shared the same father but different mother with her.

This damned coincidence was truly toxic.

Tang Yuan closed her eyes to calm down for a moment and reviewed the original owner's memories.

The original plot only focused on how the female lead was truly good and virtuous, while the original owner was portrayed as an extreme troublemaker, concealing many details of the original owner's suffering.

The original owner's grandparents had six children, but due to famine, war, and influenza, only her Uncle Tang and Dad survived.

Later, a breach in the Yellow River embankment on the southern shore caused flooding in many villages. Many people, with their children in tow, begged and fled the disaster. Grandma Tang exchanged two scoops of cornmeal for a daughter-in-law for her eldest son.

Uncle Tang disliked her coarse hands and feet and her quiet nature, refusing to accept her.

Grandma Tang then gave her to her second son as a wife.

The second son and his wife were both honest and hardworking. They got along well after marriage and never quarreled, but something always went wrong, causing her to miscarry each pregnancy.

She miscarried four times before finally carrying one to term.

The child was born with a round head and big, bright eyes. Grandma Tang thought it was a boy, but upon seeing it was a girl, she cursed, calling her a "single girl."

Fearing that this girl might harm her future siblings, she wanted to give her away, but Dad Tang and Mother Tang pleaded desperately to keep the daughter.

Grandma Tang named other grandchildren with elegant names like Wenwu and Fenfang, but disdained the original owner's round head, naming her Tang Yuan. When the original owner was young, she called her granddaughter "Big Head Yuan" or "Big Brained Yuan."

Later, when Tang Yuan's parents didn't have any more children, Grandma Tang became even more disdainful of the original owner. Not only did she treat her coldly, but she even blamed her for Grandpa's death.

Grandpa had developed a chronic illness from working on water channels during the winter, and when the original owner was eight, he fell seriously ill and passed away that winter.

Grandma Tang blamed the original owner for not closing the door, letting cold air in and worsening Grandpa's condition, leading to his death.

The original owner was furious because it was clearly the pampered cousin who didn't close the door.

Although the cousin was also a girl, she was favored due to her mother, Auntie Tang.

Auntie Tang was chosen by Uncle Tang himself. She had fair skin, a gentle personality, and was smart and sweet-talking.

He insisted his parents spend a lot of dowry money to marry her, treating her like a precious gem.

In Grandma Tang's eyes, a daughter-in-law bought with a large dowry was naturally superior to one exchanged for two scoops of cornmeal.

Moreover, Auntie Tang was skilled at pleasing her in-laws, unlike the original owner's mother, who worked silently without speaking up. Key to this was that Auntie Tang bore several children—two boys and three girls—and considered herself a great contributor to the Tang family. Grandma Tang doted on her.

Auntie Tang loved her youngest daughter, praising her for being fragrant at birth and naming her Tang Xiang.

She said the little girl resembled her, being fair, tender, sweet, and lively, destined to marry into a city family.

Though Grandma Tang preferred boys over girls, Uncle Tang and Auntie Tang doted on Tang Xiang, and her siblings also spoiled her. Thus, Grandma Tang favored her even more.

Especially with the rebellious Tang Yuan around, Grandma Tang increasingly favored the little granddaughter over Tang Yuan.

She praised Tang Xiang for being fair and likable, while cursing Tang Yuan for being dark and repulsive.

She praised Tang Xiang for being clever and excelling in school, while cursing Tang Yuan for being dull and unworthy of education.

She praised Tang Xiang for being filial and understanding, while cursing Tang Yuan for being selfish and ungrateful.

Tang Xiang was only two months younger than Tang Yuan, yet she received treatment as if she were much younger.

When there was something good to eat, it was "You're the older sister; let your sister have some." When there was work to do, it was "You're the older sister; do more." When the younger sister made mistakes, it was "How could you let this happen as the older sister?"

Over time, Tang Xiang's mistakes were attributed to Tang Yuan.

If Tang Yuan expressed dissatisfaction, Grandma Tang would curse her as a "single girl, deserving no brothers" and a "selfish girl."

The original owner naturally felt indignant and fought back.

Though the original owner was despised by her grandparents, her parents loved her dearly, so she was not at all inferior and was quite stubborn.

Especially after Grandpa's passing, Grandma Tang became even more domineering, demanding absolute obedience.

The original owner grew more defiant, challenging her authority daily.

Grandma Tang cursed her as a "rebellious girl with a thorny head," and the original owner retaliated by calling her a "feudal old woman with a biased mind."