Everyday Life in the Northern Song Dynasty

Main story complete. Coming soon: The Lover. Please add it to your favorites. A second-chance romance + an ancient-style shared-rental story + a touch of coercive love Ji Ning transmigrated to the Northern Song dynasty and became a member of a family of nine. The family had both old and young, and worked all year round just to make ends meet. They could afford food, but meat was a luxury. Their clothes were coarse hemp, patched over and over. As a poor rural family, they could see their entire future stretching out before them. Ji Ning wasn't willing to accept that. She rolled up her sleeves, determined to defy fate with her own two hands. She made toys, worked as a peddler, and sold clothes. After saving up some money, she grew restless and, after much thought, opened a small eatery in town for the family to run as a little business. Her elder brother did well and passed the provincial examination, preparing to head to Bianjing. Ji Ning thought about how her family had no connections or background. Could her brother really pass the examinations in the capital? Never mind. She'd work harder and invent movable-type printing too! No matter how high the heavens of the Northern Song rose, she'd take her family and give it a shot! * Xie Luan's parents died young. His uncle's family schemed to seize his property and planned to find him a wife they could easily control. Who could have guessed that the man who used to be as meek as a steamed bun would suddenly change his tune? He cursed at the neighbors, fought his uncle's family, and even declared that he would become a live-in son-in-law for someone else. Most surprising of all... He really did pack his bags and show up at the Ji family's door. Standing beneath the eaves, he quietly asked Ji Ning, "Every loan must have a corresponding deposit, and every debit must equal its credit. Are you in need of a live-in son-in-law?" Looking at the handsome Xie Luan, who smiled with an innocent, harmless air, Ji Ning agreed. She absolutely wasn't doing it for his grand house and thousand strings of coins as a dowry! Reader's Guide: ① An ensemble cast, a slow-paced food story that gradually expands from a small village to the city of Bianjing. ② Loosely researched historical details in a semi-fictional setting. The timeline is around the Qingli Reforms, and the romance comes later. ③ A practical couple. The male lead transmigrated here and is a genuine live-in son-in-law. The live-in son-in-law business was thriving in the Song dynasty (?). Coming soon: The Lover [Second-chance romance + an ancient-style shared-rental story] Huo Shu was abandoned in the countryside as a child. She ate spoiled food, slept in a makeshift shack, and was treated like a donkey, made to work all day long. Her one consolation was her stunning face, which she could use to attach herself to powerful people. But beauty alone was a dead end. Those men coveted her looks and her body, but refused to give her a secure future. At the slightest sign of defiance, they'd abandon her. With money always tight, she had no choice but to share a dilapidated little temple with others and struggle to get by. A down-on-his-luck illegitimate son lived next door. He spoke constantly of benevolence and righteousness, while scheming away inside. He mocked her for having poor taste, and she called him a hypocrite. They wanted nothing more than to grind each other into the dirt. But amid all those days of mutual disdain, they ended up in bed together. Their hatred gave way to a little sympathy, a bitter, gritted-teeth kind of tenderness born of shared misfortune. Later, Huo Shu transformed into a young lady of a marquis's household. Though she coveted his good looks and lusted after his strength, she still left him without hesitation. A man like him was only fit to be a lover. She thought, So I'm no different from those men after all. * Zhao Yun had seen Huo Shu at her most wretched and miserable, and witnessed her cold-hearted cruelty. He thought he hated her. He hated that she didn't love him enough. * Reader's Guide: ① Imperfect male and female leads. ② A second-chance romance + an ancient-style shared-rental story. Their hostility is real. Theme: Turn the tables in the face of adversity