A Life of Farming and Government in Ancient Times

Blurb One:

Xing Yue's plane crashed. When he woke up, he was being exiled, holding his dying little brother in his arms, with nothing but endless yellow sand stretching as far as the eye could see.

His family had been convicted of treason and sentenced to exile on the border.

In this remote, harsh land, with a criminal's name hanging over them, the nobles in the capital were waiting for the Xing family's legitimate sons and grandsons to sell themselves into servitude and survive in disgrace.

Xing Yue was in unfamiliar territory, and had already prepared himself to grin and bear it, no matter what.

He didn't expect that as soon as he reached the border town, a ragged little tyrant would say nothing and simply "kidnap" him home.

As soon as they arrived, the other man brought out a nursing baby, narrowed his eyes, and proudly announced, "I had this baby for you." Xing Yue: "..."

"This is the house I prepared for you." The little tyrant pointed at a thatched hut with holes in every wall, brimming with pride. Xing Yue: "..."

"And this is the food I prepared for you." The little tyrant held the nursing baby in his arms and carried Xing Yue's little brother, who was sucking on his fingers, on his back. He swallowed his drool and made a grand, generous gesture.

Xing Yue looked at the bowl of coarse rice, then at the six bright, expectant eyes...

A punch landed right in his heart!

I'm all in!

Only later did Xing Yue discover that Qing Heng wasn't really a "little tyrant."

He was just a farmer with a sharp tongue and a talent for talking people into things.

When they weren't close, Xing Yue would keep his head down and let Qing Heng run his mouth and sweet-talk him.

Once they got close, he feared nothing, and the two of them bickered every day!

As they bickered, they made it through the hardest times.

Xing Yue thought this would be his whole life: farming, building canals, improving grain varieties, and setting up schools in the borderlands... making a good life with Qing Heng.

But they did too well, and an imperial edict arrived.

His family was exonerated, he was appointed to office, and his old betrothal was brought up again.

He would be sent to the southwest, while Qing Heng stayed in Xizhou, thousands of miles away.

Standing in that shabby courtyard, he suddenly realized he didn't even have the right to ask Qing Heng to leave with him.

But he wanted to take a chance, to bet that the sharp-tongued softie had a place for him in his heart too.

Blurb Two:

Qing Heng is an ordinary fellow from the borderlands of Xizhou, with a bit of a sharp tongue and a knack for talking people into things.

After his benefactor dies, he takes in the two young men the man has left behind.

At first, all he wants is to keep them alive, but as they spend time together, he realizes that the elder, Xing Yue, is a bit strange.

He can sew, but he can't ride a horse.

He can write, but he doesn't understand the local dialect.

He even needs Qing Heng to teach him how to brush his teeth, step by step...

Yet the "profound opinions" he spouts come one after another, making people want to beat him up. Of course, Qing Heng doesn't, because he worries that if the elder goes out, the villagers will.

Still, the more time he spends with this impractical man, the more fond he grows of him.

Just as he's figuring out how to confess, an imperial edict clears his benefactor's name and appoints the elder to an official post.

Along with it comes the revival of the elder's old, annulled betrothal.

Qing Heng figures there can't be many people in the world with thicker skin than him.

After hesitating for a moment, he climbs onto his old horse, brings the baby along, and decides to go after him!

To try and win him over!

Reading Guide:

1. The top and bottom spoil each other. The bottom gives birth. The baby in the blurb is not their child. Both leads are each other's first. A slice-of-life story set in ancient times.

2. Neither lead is perfect.

3. "An official who doesn't work for the people might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes." So, just look at the title: the top won't be someone who minds only his own business. There will be poverty alleviation.

4. Please don't attack anyone personally. Let's discuss the story in a civil manner.

Please check out my completed novels:

Marrying the Marquis's Legitimate Son

Marrying a Transmigrated Farmer

A Blind Date with a Wealthy Mogul

Theme: Those who love others are loved in return.