A Farmer's Widower Raises a Child [Farming]

After transmigrating, Meng Yilin found himself in the body of a man who had married into a farming family as a groom brought in to ward off misfortune.

Half a year into the marriage, he was already a widower, and the ritual hadn't even worked...

In a remote mountain village, in a thatched hut with drafts coming in from every side, his only "inheritance" was two pale, scrawny children.

Meng Yilin: What was that noise? Oh, right. We're so poor we can hear the wind whistling through our empty pockets.

One timid "Big Brother" was all it took for Meng Yilin's heart to melt. He became both father and mother to the children, raising the two little ones with all his might.

He reclaimed wasteland, farmed, and traded to make a living...

Little by little, the thatched hut became a brick house, and the wasteland in the backyard turned into a garden blessed with good fortune. There were vegetables aplenty, fruit trees laden with produce, birdsong and flowers, and shade beneath the trees.

His once scrawny little sister grew more and more graceful and lovely, while the young brat who used to oppose him grew taller by the day. Before long, he had become a handsome young man, dashing and bold, with sharp brows and bright eyes.

Meng Yilin was overjoyed, but there was one problem: the brat followed him around all day, calling him "Big Brother" this and "Big Brother" that, while looking at him in an increasingly strange way.

*

After recovering from a serious illness, the lazy man who had married into the family suddenly changed his ways.

Not only had he recovered, he had become hardworking, eagerly pitching in with the chores, swinging a hoe like a whirlwind, and even making strange foods to sell for money.

They'd agreed to stand together against outsiders, but Pei Xinyi gradually succumbed to the allure of good food. "Second Brother, I think our male in-law is pretty great. He's strong and full of ideas. Why don't you marry one too?"

Pei Mingye scoffed. "Hmph, I don't want a man! You let a little food buy you off? A leopard can't change its spots. Have you forgotten how he used to treat us?"

Later...

One morning, Pei Xinyi rushed over to Pei Mingye, gasping for breath. "Second Brother! Everyone in the village is saying that Big Brother is going to marry Sister Liu from the neighboring village! If Big Brother marries a wife... does that mean he doesn't want us anymore?"

"What nonsense. Don't listen to them."

Pei Mingye raised an eyebrow. His dark gaze brimmed with amusement. "He'll always be your big brother, even if he isn't the eldest brother anymore."

Pei Xinyi didn't understand and tilted his head. "W-what do you mean?"

Pei Mingye smiled. "He can be your second sister-in-law, too."

Reading guide:

1. Everyday country life, building a life from nothing. No court intrigue.

2. No male pregnancy, and the protagonist is not a male wife by birth.

3. Brother-in-law romance, both are each other's first.

4. An alternate world with no real historical basis, a hodgepodge of dynasties.

5. The author's writing is like a grade-schooler's: plain and simple, not historically styled.

Theme: Build a life from scratch, starting with nothing