Making a Living in an Ancient Village

A slow-burn, everyday rural story about farming, food, and making money. The heroine's circumstances: a mother who ran away, a deadbeat father, a little brother who needs a good beating, and a tough-as-nails girl.

Coming soon: After Stealing My Sister's Marriage Match and Reborn: The Betrothed Daughter. Blurbs below. If you're interested, please add them to your collection!

Wen Xiaoyun transmigrated and became a ten-year-old girl in Ku Li Village.

Her father was a thoroughly rotten man. He had broken his leg in the city, and his temper had grown even worse. He beat her mother until she ran away, leaving behind a six-year-old little brat. With no one to look after them, the father and son turned around and started picking on poor Xiaoyun.

Wen Xiaoyun woke up with a huge lump on her head. The two of them didn't even ask if she was all right. Instead, they mocked her, calling her a burden and saying they'd sell her off in a few days.

She made herself a bowl of noodles with barely any oil. After eating her fill, she gave the father and son a thorough lesson in what she called "tough love."

Though things had gone terribly wrong from the start, life still had to go on. After much persuasion, she borrowed some eggs from her uncle's family, used homemade bitter tea leaves to make tea eggs, and went around selling them.

As for the father and son, she couldn't be bothered with them.

Her lame father threatened to beat her, his unfilial daughter, to death. Wen Xiaoyun picked up a carrying pole and beat her little brother until he howled like a ghost. She beat the old man so badly that, afraid his family line would end, he started crying and begging for mercy.

When the little brat tried to slack off or steal food, Wen Xiaoyun raised her hand and slapped him. After that, he didn't dare make a sound.

In spring, eat sprouts; in summer, eat melons; in autumn, eat fruit; in winter, eat roots. Live off the mountains when you live by the mountains. Through the mountain's four seasons and the year's three meals, delicious food changes with the seasons.

Wen Xiaoyun's money kept growing, and her life kept getting better.

PS: This is not a wish-fulfillment story, and no one is perfect. The protagonist has flaws. There are good and bad people in the story, and human nature changes; people are not simply good or bad. The story leans toward realistic everyday life. If you don't like that, please don't force yourself to read it. Please don't imagine things that aren't in the story. If it's not for you, move on. Jinjiang is full of good novels. Normal suggestions are welcome; if you have abnormal suggestions, please write them yourself. Thank you!

Coming soon: After Stealing My Sister's Marriage Match

Wen Zhujun died suddenly one day and became a lowly concubine-born daughter in a marquis's household.

Her birth mother had been a courtesan, renowned for both beauty and talent, and was quite favored. But because of her background, she was looked down on, and her daughter was mocked along with her.

The marquis's principal wife was gracious and capable, a master at managing the household. Her father, the marquis, served as an imperial guard and was kind and ambitious. Most importantly, every one of her siblings was a clever little schemer.

After having a son, Wen Zhujun desperately stopped her ambitious mother from gearing up to make a big move.

Why bother fighting? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble? Wasn't it better to eat well, wait things out, lie flat, and enjoy life?

When the time came for marriage, her legitimate elder sister and concubine-born elder sister got into a quarrel. Both insisted on marrying a poor young man about to take the imperial examinations, claiming he was destined to rise to great heights and become a marquis or minister.

Meanwhile, they both despised a martial general who practiced with swords and spears. Supposedly, he was nine feet tall, had a face full of rough flesh, and could move mountains and fill seas. In short, he was a brute.

The marquis felt bad about it, and in the end, the marriage fell to Wen Zhujun.

When her beautiful mother heard the terrible news, she fainted on the spot.

Wen Zhujun, on the other hand, thought it sounded pretty good. "This is a great deal. His parents are both dead, and he has plenty of property. Once I marry him, I'll be mistress of the household. He'll be going off to war, too. If he happens to kick the bucket one day, I can bring you over to enjoy the good life..."

She packed up her things and got married.

Huo Yunxiao had loved swords and blades since childhood. He married only to fulfill his mother's dying wish. As for the bride being switched before the betrothal gifts were sent, he was displeased but didn't really care.

On their wedding night, his new wife was gentle and charming, and he was very pleased. Thinking of the bride switch, he couldn't resist kissing her and asking if she was satisfied.

His delicate bride leaned limply against him, her eyes gleaming like a wolf's. "You're about to leave for the front. The deeds to the house and shops, as well as all the gold and silver, need someone to manage them. How about me?"

Huo Yunxiao: ...

Coming soon: Reborn: The Betrothed Daughter

[Second Chance at Love]

Wen Bixiao had spent sixteen years as the legitimate daughter of a marquis's household. On the eve of marriage negotiations, she became a counterfeit heiress.

Fortunately, her adoptive parents continued to treat her as before. They even let her keep the marriage match that had originally belonged to the real heiress, allowing her to marry in grand style.

Wen Bixiao was deeply grateful and willingly married into the Duke of Ning's household.

The marquis's household needed the duke's support, and the debt of her upbringing weighed heavily on her. She could not refuse, much less afford to make a single wrong move. From the very beginning, the couple's relationship was separated by all kinds of scheming, and they ultimately grew distant. On top of that, her husband had been unruly and crude since childhood, always practicing with weapons and knowing nothing of tenderness. It was even harder for them to get along.

She worked herself to the bone until the duke's household was stable, and even the declining marquis's household began to prosper. At last, her body gave out.

At that point, her adoptive parents actually came to advise her to choose a trustworthy second husband. The widowed real heiress would be a perfect fit...

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to ten years earlier.

Her father-in-law was paralyzed, her mother-in-law was naive, her gloomy elder sister-in-law was a widow raising a son and daughter, her younger brother-in-law did nothing all day, and her younger sister-in-law was still unmarried. Then there were all the endless troubles at her birth family's marquis household...

And her husband left early and came home late every day. It was hard to even have a proper conversation with him.

Wen Bixiao felt exhausted. This time, she wanted to live a little longer.

Ning Yu thought he would be able to relax once he married. Wen Bixiao might be dull and uninteresting, but she was dignified and responsible, fit to be the mistress of the family. He was quite happy to entrust her with the management of the duke's household.

But he never imagined that as soon as her pregnancy was confirmed, Wen Bixiao would send him to the study. Before long, she stopped managing the household, too, and even started talking about getting a divorce.

Ning Yu: ???

In the middle of the night, thinking of how he would soon be leaving for the front, he tossed and turned without being able to sleep. He went to peer through the window.

"A Bi, open the door! It's me, your husband!"

Theme: Men and women are equal and should respect one another.