The County Magistrate's Money-Grubbing Little Husband

[Advance notices at the very bottom. Chapter comments are open, please leave a rating!]

Jiang Ning woke up to find he had become a widowed husband whose spouse had died on their wedding night. There was also a sixteen-year-old younger brother-in-law at home, along with five- or six-year-old twin brother and sister-in-law.

Looking at the dirt house with nothing in it and his starving younger siblings, Jiang Ning rolled up his sleeves and did some work. It wore him out, so while recovering from his illness, he started thinking about a small business.

Who would have thought his younger brother-in-law had secretly dropped out of school to support the family? Jiang Ning tried persuading him again and again and finally managed to change the stubborn boy's mind. If they had money to spare, he could go back to school and study hard when spring came next year.

They raised chickens and ducks, grew potatoes, sold snacks, and set up a little street stall. Day by day, life got better, and the money jar grew fuller. Jiang Ning was very satisfied.

In just one short year, Wei Changyun had grown a little taller and become sturdier. He obediently went to school, and every day when he came home, Jiang Ning would think that a prosperous household was the best dowry a man could bring.

From setting up a stall in a small village to opening a restaurant in the capital, from a poor student to placing third in the palace examination, Jiang Ning and Wei Changyun understood one another without a word and worked together in perfect harmony.

Everyone at the county office knew that the new County Magistrate Wei had a younger brother and sister, as well as a husband who was handsome and good at business.

After hearing that, Wei Changyun said goodbye to his colleagues, opened his umbrella, and walked to the restaurant entrance. With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he asked, "Shall we go home?"

Jiang Ning stepped beneath the umbrella and looked up at him. "Let's go!"

-

The first half of Wei Changyun's life was simple. His parents died early, and his elder brother held the family together for him and his younger siblings.

Later, his elder brother died of illness. Though he was still too short to be much help, Wei Changyun thought that he had to support the family.

Unexpectedly, his newly arrived sister-in-law said, "Don't worry. You still have me."

Wei Changyun looked at Jiang Ning and secretly resolved to treat him well for the rest of his life.

Later, he did exactly that.

He truly cherished Jiang Ning with all his heart for a lifetime.

[Content warnings]

1. There is childbirth. This is a sweet, slow-paced story, with one true pairing and a happy ending.

2. This is a slice-of-life story about making a living. There is little about the imperial examinations.

3. The setting is an alternate world combining elements of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, featuring Guizhou snacks and local customs.

[Advance notice 1: "Building Infrastructure in the Stone Age," with a size difference]

The day after college student Xie Ruyu received his diploma, he accidentally traveled back to the Paleolithic era, bringing along a space containing the Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration and Natural Crafts.

A house? A cave.

Farmland? There was none.

Fire? A gift from nature.

Even the clothes were primitive.

Sitting in a pile of grass, Xie Ruyu found himself questioning his life. "From the start, all I have is a bowl?"

To get a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, and enough food to eat, Xie Ruyu had no choice but to begin a massive infrastructure project.

Step one: If you want to get rich, build houses and roads.

Step two: Put China's farming instincts to work and grow all kinds of crops.

Step three: There must be entertainment, and people's inner lives must be enriched.

Our goal is the stars and the sea: to build a civilized tribe.

-

The Nest Tribe's leader was named Chao. He was tall, lean, and handsome, and the bravest and most battle-hardened leader among the surrounding tribes. His mission was to fight for his tribe.

That was until he found Xie Ruyu, a petite human.

He watched Xie Ruyu lead the tribe in farming, raising livestock, firing pottery, building houses, and weaving. He even taught everyone a kind of writing they had never seen before.

Little by little, the tribe's people stopped wandering from place to place, and everyone had a "home."

"You can call me Little Fish."

"You're hurt? Does it hurt?"

"Chao, you're amazing!"

Chao fell for Xie Ruyu. He wanted to hold hands, hug him, and sleep with him.

"Little Fish, will you be my mate?"

"Sure!"

[Advance notice 2: "The Frail Minister Has Seen the Light [Reborn]," blurb below]

Gu Zhiwei was a treacherous minister whom everyone wanted dead in his previous life.

He killed everyone who stood in his way, all to put the Crown Prince on the throne.

Yet when the new emperor ascended the throne, Gu Zhiwei was thrown into prison overnight and died a miserable death there.

Reborn, Gu Zhiwei had seen the light. He decided to live as a wealthy idler and simply be the young master of the Minister of Revenue's household.

But the Crown Prince kept closing in on him, leaving him no choice but to "kill with a borrowed knife" and ally himself with the Third Prince, who had guarded the northern frontier for many years.

Zhao Qi: "Young Master Gu, you have a gift for predicting things. I am impressed."

Gu Zhiwei: "...I was just guessing."

-

Zhao Qi had never been favored from birth. To secure a path to survival, he deliberately injured himself as a child, leaving a faint scar along his jaw. After that, he went to the frontier and stayed away from court for years.

But the Crown Prince's faction was wary of him at every turn and forced him to return to the capital, intending to take his life.

Zhao Qi thought, I want the throne too.

On the day he returned to the capital, he was forced to spend the night at Yanyun Tower with Young Master Gu, a favorite of the emperor whom everyone tried to curry favor with.

Young Master Gu was delicate and frail, and had very little tolerance for alcohol. He snuggled into someone's arms and slept through the night. The next morning, he woke in fright and hid at home for three days without seeing anyone, until he was summoned to the palace and ran straight into his "enemy."

In a corner.

Zhao Qi looked at Gu Zhiwei and spoke in a low voice. "Young Master, you still have something of yours with me. Would you like it back?"

Gu Zhiwei glanced all around and stammered, "What?"

Zhao Qi chuckled. "Your belt."

-

The world says I was born rebellious and spent my life doing the work of a wicked minister.

I say the conflicts of this world are merely a matter of differing sides. Now my rebellious bones have become loyal ones. I only wish for peace throughout the land and an end to war.

[Advance notice 2: "The Hated One Was Taken In by a Powerful Man," a pretty young adopted son from a wealthy family as the shou, with an older, fatherly powerful man as the gong]

Theme: A little life of hard work and growing prosperous