Late-Blooming Magnolia

[Over 250,000 words written ahead. Updates daily until completion, with no hiatuses, so read with confidence. Thank you for your support! ❤️] The day the main branch of the family drove us out, my lame father led the whole family to a leaky, ramshackle hut at the west end of the village. We were so poor that all we could have for every meal was rice gruel. Plenty of villagers were waiting to see us make fools of ourselves, but I focused on earning money to support my family. I gathered wild greens, wove bamboo baskets, pickled vegetables, rented a paddy field, and opened a shop. Later, after saving up some money, I bought a failing embroidery workshop and focused on helping the embroiderers hone their skills and market their work. Their pieces became famous throughout Linzhou, drawing countless officials’ wives, noble young ladies, scholars, and writers, all eager to buy them. Then one day, I discovered that the traveling poet who had befriended me and stopped by for meals every few days was actually the heir to the Prince of Changning’s estate. [Reading guide] *A slow-paced farming story that takes its time. *A story about an ordinary person slowly building a life, without a golden finger. *Set in a fictional world, with most details inspired by the Northern Song dynasty. *The romance develops very, very slowly. There are two male leads, one after the other. The heroine won’t keep them both, and she’ll make her own choice. *Told from the heroine’s perspective. Theme: An ordinary country girl works steadily to help her whole family build a better life