From Market Life to Farming and the Imperial Exams

[Completed, fully revised. The edited version differs greatly from pirated copies, and many bugs have been fixed. I am not responsible for errors in pirated copies.]

[My next book, Anonymous Affection, is a sweet campus romance. It’s already underway! My dear angels’ collections are my biggest motivation, so please support me~~]

Blurb:

[An ancient era of famine and chaos, and the everyday life of ordinary townsfolk striving to make a living.]

[The dynasty is in its final years, beset by turmoil and frequent disasters. Drought, frost, floods, epidemics, rebel armies... one calamity after another.]

Daoxiang Village lies in a corner of Jiangnan, surrounded by mountains and blessed with springlike weather all year round. But it is almost cut off from the world: even the nearest town is a two-hour walk over mountain roads.

The Song family is large. The eldest brother is shrewd and devoted to his family, and his sister-in-law is meek and virtuous. The second brother’s family is greedy, gluttonous, and always looking to take advantage of others.

There is also a third brother, studying for the imperial examinations. The whole family is counting on him to bring honor to their name. His three little nephews are at the age when they’re always playing and getting into mischief...

The family is so poor they wish they could split each copper coin in two.

What else can they do? Eleven mouths in the family need feeding. They can’t just sit around and wait to starve!

Luckily, everyone in the family has their wits about them, and they work together to build a better life. In spring, they sow crops and gather mountain produce; in summer, they catch fish and pick wild fruit; in autumn, they harvest and roast chestnuts; in winter, they gather around the stove to roast taro.

Song Mingyu becomes the village’s beloved little lucky star.

The villagers watch as the Song family’s fortunes grow. They can even afford to send four people to school, and they’re about to rent a shop in town to earn an income. Everyone is envious.

But the good times don’t last long. Disasters strike one after another, and the family stockpiles food and goods. They have barely enjoyed a few peaceful days when the feudal lords rebel and warfare breaks out everywhere.

The family has no choice but to abandon their business in town and return to the village. To keep refugees from entering, they dig up the only road leading out of the village. The villagers band together, doing whatever it takes to survive in this chaotic world.

Beyond the mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see, war rages and corpses litter the land.

In Daoxiang Village, the sound of reading fills the air, and the people live in peace and contentment.

They plant and harvest on schedule, and somehow their lives are even better than before the war. At least they don’t have to pay taxes, and every family has food to spare.

A traveler on horseback passes by and sees how peaceful and secure Daoxiang Village is. When he asks about it, he finds that the villagers don’t even know the world outside has changed. He laughs and says, "The realm is at peace now. The new emperor is expanding the imperial examinations to recruit talented people from across the land!"

The village children of the right age all head off to take the examinations!

Reader’s Guide:

1. The early story focuses on farming and building wealth, the middle part on renting a shop in town and everyday life there (briefly), and the later part on life in a peaceful haven amid chaos. All in all, it’s a cozy farming story!

2. Set against famine and chaos in a fictionalized Northern Song era, with a touch of ensemble cast.

3. The protagonist’s family represents ordinary people caught in a chaotic era, so they’ll experience quite a few disasters. But they’ll be all right in the end! HE!!

Theme: Cherish the peace and stability of the present