A Match Made in Jade

One-line summary: After marriage, a mismatched couple goes from clashing to slowly learning to get along, then works side by side to build a paper-making business.

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Their marriage was arranged by their parents. Though Yuan Huaijin knew the fourth son of the Cao family was no good match, they had no choice.

The Cao family came from humble peddler stock, while the Yuan family had been scholars for generations. Their families were utterly mismatched. On top of that, the fourth Cao son had always been useless, and a leg ailment left him unable to walk properly. Many people felt sorry for Yuan Huaijin.

Worse, just days after Yuan Huaijin married into the family, the Cao household began arguing over dividing up the family estate. The fourth son and his wife received only a small workshop that the Cao family had stopped using years ago.

Not only did outsiders doubt the match, but even the Cao family thought the couple would end up hating each other.

No one could have imagined that the young couple would use that little workshop to build a paper-making business, step by step, taking it from obscurity to local fame and eventually producing paper for the imperial court. The fourth Cao son and Yuan Huaijin would become a loving couple everyone envied.

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What outsiders think of the fourth Cao son and Yuan Huaijin: The fourth son's wife still hasn't gotten pregnant. That cripple probably hasn't even touched his wife's hand!

The fourth Cao son and Yuan Huaijin in reality: Fourth son, y-you have to be gentler...!

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A few notes:

1. A business-building story, mainly about daily life. The romance develops slowly.

2. The male lead isn't useless. He injured his leg earlier in life, leaving him with a limp, but he'll recover later.

3. This is my first time trying to write this kind of story, hehe.

Theme: No matter how difficult the road ahead may be, as long as you're heading in the right direction, even the roughest path brings you closer to happiness than standing still.