War-Torn Years, A Beauty in Bloom

He carries a cold steel gun, a steadfast guardian in a land torn by chaos. In her palm, she holds a spinning shuttle, a spark of the unquenchable dream of saving the nation through industry. One chance encounter binds two utterly different lives together forever. He is Mei Zheng, courtesy name Huaicheng, an iron-blooded brigade commander who returned from studying with the Nanyang New Army. She is Sheng Qingping, the sixteen-year-old young mistress of the Shengji Cloth Shop in Yangzhou. To save her family’s business, she boldly enters the treacherous military-supply bidding world. One tender forges a connection between her and the cold-faced officer who once saved her, making him her biggest client and her most dangerous ally. Everyone says it’s a battle she can only lose, but they are determined to join forces and carve out a way to survive in this chaotic age! And the schemes have only just begun: a warlord’s revenge, a coded telegram from Beiping, and a siege by foreign merchants all close in. He slides his bloodstained pistol toward her. “Sheng Qingping, dare to wager on something bigger with me?” She picks up her shuttle, her gaze clear as snow. “Mei Huaicheng, my battlefield has never been limited to the loom.” [Reader’s Guide] 1. Two strong leads devoted to each other, meeting at the top: She won’t be his caged songbird. She’ll be the eagle flying beside him. 2. Business at the heart of the story, with hard-hitting commercial battles: The heroine truly saves the nation through industry, advancing step by step from technical improvements and commercial maneuvering to capital operations. The hero’s military and political strategy runs alongside her story, with a sweeping scope. 3. History at its core, with meticulous attention to detail: The history of industry in Republican-era China, military organization, clothing, and etiquette are all grounded in research, bringing the atmosphere of a chaotic age vividly to life.