When her parents both died in a sudden disaster, they left behind a paralyzed grandfather, a young little brother, and a colossal debt of eight hundred yuan.
The creditors came to her door, threatening to seize the grain and smash up the house, and demanding she marry to pay off the debt.
Zhou Xiaotang gritted her teeth and vowed that her family would not fall apart!
With nowhere else to turn, she found a frail, delicate man on the back mountain. He offered to marry into her family, help pay off her debts, and support the household.
To silence the village gossip, they put their agreement in writing and entered into a fake marriage, with him marrying into her family!
She'd thought she'd taken in a sickly freeloader, but who could have guessed the man was terrifyingly clever?
He drove off bullies, found markets, set up processing, and designed packaging.
She did the work, while he did the thinking.
Starting with one packet of lotus-leaf-roasted walnut kernels, he helped the whole family escape poverty and get rich.
