Get Rich Through Business and Find a Happy Ending with a Sweet-on-the-Outside, Dark-on-the-Inside Partner

[Clear-headed, resilient money-maker, Boss Shen x sweet on the outside, dark on the inside free laborer, Xie the Waiter]

Shen Li transmigrates into the body of a ruined young lady in ancient times. Right away, her scumbag fiance schemes to sell her into slavery at a mint.

Luckily, there is always a way out. At the brink of life and death, she is rescued by a benefactor.

She frees the mint slaves, slaps the scumbag in the face, and goes into business with the poor women she liberated so they can make a living... Her neighbors all applaud her, calling her a model for women.

Unexpectedly, this also makes the scumbag see her in a new light.

Shen "Niohuru" Li: You want me to come back to you? Dream on. Not unless you're dead.

Later, he really does die.

*

Xie Zhixing is ordered to investigate a counterfeit coin case. He happens to rescue a woman along the way.

He never expected her to be nothing like the weak woman she appeared to be. She remains calm in a crisis and has a remarkable presence, unlike anyone he's ever met.

With firecrackers popping, Ronghua Pavilion opens for business.

He lies low and helps her out, while she helps him untangle the clues and uncover the truth.

At first, he thinks they are simply using each other and getting what they need from the arrangement.

But eventually, without meaning to, he finds that she is all he can think about.

[Bonus Scene]

Not long after Ronghua Pavilion opens, Shen Li sees a familiar figure inside the shop.

Xie Zhixing: "Are you looking for a business partner? Could I become one?"

Shen Li: "We don't need a business partner, but we could use someone to run errands and do odd jobs."

Xie Zhixing: "Sounds good. Then I'll be your errand runner and odd-job man."

Shen Li: "Are you serious?"

Xie Zhixing nods. "Of course."

"But I was joking," Shen Li explains.

Xie Zhixing: "Can't I do odd jobs for your shop? I don't need a salary. Just give me room and board."

"That makes it even less possible." Shen Li instinctively glances upstairs. "We're all women here. We don't have anywhere for you to stay."

"Then... just meals," Xie Zhixing says, reluctantly compromising. "Would that work?"

"That won't work either? I won't even ask for food."

Reading Guide:

1. Sweet and satisfying; business and solving cases; love grows over time; romance and career progress side by side.

2. The setting is fictional. Everything is arranged to serve the story, so please don't overthink the details.

Theme: Survive hardship, stand on your own two feet, and bravely pursue love and happiness.