My Husband Hauls Cargo at the Docks

* Everyday life among ordinary folk · modest households · marriage first, love later [At first: a spoiled young master who loves chasing cats and dogs; later: a taciturn, sensitive, insecure dock laborer × At first: a romantic, flamboyant, radiant young lady; later: a down-to-earth matchmaker who fiercely stands up for her own] 1. Wealthy merchant family the Wei family of Jinning County had fallen on hard times. Overnight, they became a family everyone called penniless, saddled with a mountain of debt and shunned by all. Even the Jiang family, who were about to become their in-laws, rushed to call off the marriage. Just as everyone fled from the Wei family like birds and beasts, Matchmaker Liu of Baihua Town, who was determined to marry her daughter off to the county seat, eagerly hurried her daughter into the marriage. She didn't think she'd lost out at all; in fact, she was sure she'd gotten a bargain. Ye Xier, who had just transmigrated here: “...” Thanks a lot! As the son of a wealthy family, Wei Ziqian used to ride through the streets, play with cats and dogs, and hang out with his friends. Then his family fell into ruin. Their property was sold off for next to nothing, their ancestral home was mortgaged, and they were buried in debt. The spoiled young master became a taciturn, sensitive, insecure laborer hauling cargo at the docks. Faced with hired thugs who kept showing up to demand repayment, Ye Xier, who had just transmigrated here: “...” 2. Ye Xier had studied Korean, which gave her no advantage in ancient times. Worried about how to make a living, she inexplicably became bound to the Matchmaker System and was forced to take up matchmaking. Armed with a list of unmarried men and women from hundreds of miles around, Ye Xier used birth charts, zodiac signs, Chinese animal signs, her experience shipping couples, and even statistical tables to diligently find every single person the most compatible partner. As the youngest matchmaker of the new era, Ye Xier was determined to set an industry standard. No hiding things, no endless lies, and no blind, arranged marriages. Who would have thought that the radiant beauty who once strode across her university campus in delicate high heels, her long curls swaying, would now be riding a little donkey through every village in the area, bringing couples together? 3. That famous old maid in Jinning County finally got married this year, and she married into a good family! Who arranged the match? They say it was the county's youngest matchmaker, Little Ye! “Little Matchmaker Ye, I want to move to the prefectural city and become a concubine.” “Sorry, I don't take that kind of job. Please leave!” - “Little Matchmaker Ye, I've been widowed for many years. I want to find a kind, caring companion.” “Huh? Sure, leave it to me.” - “Little Matchmaker Ye, I'm sickly and won't live long. Is there still a chance I can find a wife?” “Just wait. I'll find you someone blessed with good fortune. I guarantee you'll grow old together.” - “Little Matchmaker Ye, I'm cursed by fate. My closest relatives have all died because of me, so I don't dare marry in this life.” “Who told you that? I know someone with a strong fate. You two are a perfect match.” - “Little Matchmaker Ye...” “Wait, I have to go to the docks to meet my husband when he gets off work.” 4. At night, a single lamp glowed like a tiny bean, its flame flickering. Ye Xier bent over her desk, writing furiously as she worked on her matchmaking charts. Wei Ziqian lay sprawled on the bed, his skin pale as snow and lips red. His eyes tilted up at the corners, his long lashes curled. After glancing toward the desk several times, he finally spoke up. “Ahem, I think my shoulder's swollen and red.” Ye Xier set down her brush and looked up. “That's because you haven't carried enough heavy bundles, dear husband. You need more exercise.” Wei Ziqian, whose back had nearly broken after a full day of grueling labor: “...” Coming soon: Mustard Medicine * A scoundrel's sincere love is the most lethal thing of all 1. Jiang Jie was a bad man. Everyone in the neighborhood knew it. Some people were rotten on the surface, while others were rotten to the core. Jiang Jie was rotten through and through. He'd been taken to the station eight times in a year, for a different reason each time, and he often beat his own father badly enough to put him in the hospital. He had no scruples about what he ate or whom he slept with. He acted recklessly, had no principles, and loved making money. * Jiang Jie was busy. How busy? He could spend a single night going between three women's rooms. Plenty of women were obsessed with the wicked, wild, aggressive streak about him. When someone approached him first, dropping suggestive hints, he'd smile readily. “Sure.” “How much? Name your price.” The other person would freeze in astonishment, clearly taken aback. He raised an eyebrow, impatient. “What? You didn't bother asking around?” “I don't come free.” 2. Shen Liyue had been dependent on medicine since birth. She was frail and slow by nature, and never took part in sports at school. Like everyone else in the neighborhood, she heard all the outrageous stories about Jiang Jie and kept her distance. But she couldn't help wondering why she ran into Jiang Jie every time she went to the piano room. 3. Jiang Jie was ruthless and vicious, corroded like rusted metal. But when Shen Liyue was lying in the hospital, Jiang Jie was the one who paid her enormous surgery bill with money he'd squeezed out of the local crime boss. Afterward, the crime boss hounded him relentlessly, refusing to let him go. Every time Jiang Jie visited her in the hospital, he was in a hurry and looked wretched. 4. All the money Jiang Jie had made through every imaginable means over the first twenty years of his life was exchanged for a heart, which was placed in Shen Liyue's body. He said, “Money is dirty. A heart is clean.” 5. His biological father told him, “Jiang Jie, you were born bad.” He'd named him Jiang Jie, meaning a life as insignificant as grass. His life was as fragile, fleeting, and worthless as a dried weed by the roadside. Shen Liyue thought for a moment, then asked him, “Jiang Jie, have you ever tried mustard?” Its taste is slightly bitter, often with a spicy fragrance. It intensely stimulates the taste buds, yet is utterly unique. Mustard powder gives off a special aroma when moistened. Some people can't stand the smell, while others love it. - Jiang Jie was a bad man, but he had a sincere heart for Shen Liyue alone. Born bad × fragile gardenia - * One-on-one romance, happy ending, first love for both (there's more to the blurb than meets the eye) - * I want to write a male lead who is vivid and distinctive, tenaciously alive, morally questionable, and struggling alone. He is black from head to toe, with one patch of white: the gardenia in his heart that never withers. That one patch of white is what keeps him from being purely and utterly bad. 1. The blurb was screenshotted on December 7, 2022. 2. See my completed novel, Crossing Over to Become a Slave: a straightforward, sweet-donut girl × a gloomy, ruthless, sugar-starved pitiful slave. Theme: Reject blind, arranged marriages