In the 1950s, I Thrived by Teaching People to Read

Dual male leads, golden finger, shou protagonist, younger love interest, sweet romance, period setting, food, family life, and teaching people to read.

Song Xu is sent by his boss to teach literacy in a famously illiterate village.

His family gives him some advice:

Get the toughest local guy under control.

Win over the toughest local guy.

Bribe the toughest local guy.

The toughest local guy: "Good. You've got guts~"

Later on: The toughest local guy keeps trying to bribe and win him over. "Teacher Song, I love learning. Make me behave again!"

The serious blurb:

At eighteen, Song Xu awakens memories of modern life and learns that he was a victim of a temporal mix-up. Eighteen years later, the Time Bureau shows up to compensate him with a golden finger, but he has to earn it by teaching and educating others.

Song Xu really wants to refuse, but earning student achievement points lets him draw loads of prizes.

Tear-off tissues, unavailable in this era, can drop.

Milk tea and other drinks that won't be available for decades can drop.

Deep-sea king crabs, impossible to buy inland, can drop.

Conveniences requiring electricity, internet, or modern technology can drop.

And he can even exploit loopholes in the system!

Song Xu says: Actually, I personally love this line of work~