Li Yinshuang’s Busy Road to Fortune

[Farming + locals + building wealth + no golden finger + slow pace] [Resilient, cheerful Li Yinshuang + ruthless, domineering Lu Cheng] [Li Yinshuang × Lu Cheng] For two generations, the Lu family had been known as a family of honest, hardworking people. When the Lus worked for others, they often didn't get paid, and couldn't collect what they were owed. They couldn't refuse when neighbors asked to borrow money, and whenever the village needed labor, the Lus were the first to be roped in. They were the village's biggest pushovers. The second son, Lu Wenzhao, was on the verge of making something of himself, only to die just after passing the imperial examinations. For the sake of five taels of silver, the Li family still married Li Yinshuang into the Lu family. She was notorious for being rebellious, stealing meat pies and eggs from her own brother and cleaning out her parents' home before the wedding. Everyone said the Lu family had just lost a son and now had a wicked daughter-in-law. Things couldn't get any worse. But then the real show began, and everyone watched the Lu family's fortunes improve. As soon as Li Yinshuang moved in, she helped the Lus collect a debt and got them a sheep. With that as her starting capital, she sold sheep's milk and milk cakes, made elm-seed buns, fixed up the house, and brought white flour into the family kitchen. Collecting debts was like anything else: the first time was hard, the second easier, and by the third, it was like visiting relatives. Li Yinshuang kicked down doors all over the village to collect debts. From renting land to buying it, she planted carrots, potatoes, and chili peppers, leading the Lu family to a prosperous life. Li Yinshuang thought she might as well spend the rest of her life as a widow, clutching her money pouch. But Lu Cheng, just back from a trip, wasn't having it. “You said in Dunhuang that you'd repay me, but as soon as you got home, you turned around and married someone else?”