The Daily Farming Life of a Poor Couple

[First-draft blurb. It may change, but the central premise will stay the same]

After fleeing Jiangnan to stay with relatives in Ruanzhou, Lin Qingyue worked diligently, ate as little as he could, and got up before dawn to work, all so he could have a place to call home.

Even so, he overheard his relatives planning to sell him to an old man in the neighboring village as a second wife.

So Lin Qingyue packed his things and fled in the middle of the night.

But he collapsed from hunger right outside the village chief's home.

After hearing what had happened to him, the village chief offered him some advice. "There's an orphan about your age on the hillside east of the village. He's kind-hearted and handsome, and he can read and write. He has a house and land. If you don't mind, why not go live with him and make a life together?"

Between a half-century-old man and a young adult, Lin Qingyue knew which to choose. And so, carrying the few belongings he had, he married a man he'd never met.

The man was kind, but there was one thing Lin Qingyue couldn't understand.

Why did he let the fields go to waste, eat meals without a trace of meat or oil, never work the land, and devote himself entirely to writing poetry?

Lin Qingyue thought he was simply lazy. He figured that if he worked hard enough, they could still get by.

But little by little, the man stopped writing poetry and became more hardworking than the oxen in their yard...

-

After both his parents passed away, Lu Chenhe spent a long time wasting away at home, until he realized that writing poetry could help him escape his pain for a little while...

That afternoon, the village chief kicked open his door. "Xiao Lu, do you want a husband? If you do, I'll send one over."

Lu Chenhe didn't believe him at all. In a hurry to head out and write poetry, he tossed out, "Sure, send him over," and left.

Only after he returned that evening from wandering the hills and writing poetry did he see the lit candles, a table full of delicious food, and a sweet, lovely... husband? sitting on the kang.

Only then did he realize: it was... actually true?

-

To Lu Chenhe, the marriage was a misunderstanding. He thought Lin Qingyue would leave after a while.

Instead, the house gradually became neat and warm. Chickens filled the coop, pigs filled the pen, a wall rose around the yard, fresh thatch covered the roof, and new seedlings sprouted in the fields...

Though Lin Qingyue couldn't read a word, he carefully gathered up Lu Chenhe's poems and always praised them.

Lu Chenhe wondered, how could it be the same no matter who you spent your life with?

-

Reading Guide:

1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, both leads inexperienced, devoted to each other

2. A slow-paced slice-of-life story about family matters, farming, a marriage before love, putting difficult relatives in their place, and the everyday business of making ends meet. No court factional struggles, just a poor couple making their life better and better.

3. No children

4. The changes to the household mentioned in the third paragraph aren't all Lin Qingyue's doing. Lu Chenhe helps too. He didn't want to at first, but Lin Qingyue asks him, and he's so good-looking that Lu Chenhe goes soft the moment he sees his face and can't refuse any of his requests. So he rolls up his sleeves and gets to work in no time.

5. To be continued...

Theme: Love.