Marketing Genius in Republican-Era China

Question: How can a maid sold by her master into a brothel defy fate in Republican-era China and become richer than a nation? Jiang Mingxi: Thanks for the invite. Reborn, I disguised myself as a man, started companies and built factories, revived national industry and commerce, and advertised across the globe. Since being reborn, Jiang Mingxi has had only three worries. Her first worry: dressed as a man, she is too handsome and too capable. Countless powerful figures see her as a promising investment and want her to marry their daughters. Her second worry: after she resumes her identity as a woman, she marries the wrong people. Her first husband is too accommodating and keeps trying to stuff men into her bed. Her second husband is too petty and gets jealous every day of her close male friend. Her third worry: the country is impoverished and weak, the economy is in a slump, and even her fellow villagers have no food to spare. Sighing, Jiang Mingxi thinks, Men will only slow down how fast I make money. As for women, well, my career still has to come first. But with imperialists invading and carving up the country from without, and relentless natural disasters at home, making money in business during the Republican era is harder than reaching the heavens! Jiang Mingxi smiles faintly. If her countrymen have no money, then the foreigners do. Taking money from those foreign devils can't be called a con, can it? It's striking a blow against imperialism and supporting the development of the national economy. This is how people in later generations assess Jiang Mingxi. A historian: “Jiang Mingxi was truly a legend. From a maid who signed a contract of servitude to a globally renowned tycoon, such a vast leap between social classes is rarely seen.” A professor of linguistics: “Ms. Jiang was a language prodigy. They say she learned English during a single train ride.” A marketing blogger: “Guys, who knew Jiang Mingxi was the founding matriarch of China's modern advertising industry! She's a marketing genius. Everything the domestic advertising industry does now is something she already mastered ages ago.” An entrepreneur: “If you want to know how to do business with foreigners amid the boom in Chinese goods going overseas, you have to read Ms. Jiang Mingxi's autobiography. Even if we learn just one of its secrets, it will be enough to make our products sell like hotcakes abroad!” A relationship blogger: “Jiang Mingxi is the real wish-fulfillment heroine. All the men love her, and so do all the women. Her best friends, confidants, and husbands are all falling over themselves to give her their fortunes. How can anyone have it this good!” 1. A woman-disguised-as-a-man story. The heroine has two secret identities. Her male identity enters a fake marriage with the best friend who appears in Chapter One, and her female identity will also marry. The heroine is not a virgin, but all her husbands are. 2. The plot takes center stage. The heroine will resume her identity as a woman and build her career as one later in the story. Her secret identities will be exposed. 3. An alternate-history Republican-era story. It borrows only the general historical setting. No real-life historical figures will appear, and none of the characters are based on real people. Coming next: I Help Great-Grandma Achieve Her Dreams. Please add it to your collection! Blurb: (Narrated in the third person.) You wonder why your family is so poor. After thinking it over, you decide the root of the problem must lie with your great-grandma. In 1890, Great-Grandma secretly immigrated to San Francisco, America. She worked hard all her life, but her lack of vision and ambition kept her from accumulating her first fortune. So you open your eyes, close them, and transmigrate. It is now 1891 in San Francisco. The Chinese Exclusion Act has been in effect for nine years, which means that, legally, you are undocumented and could be deported to the Qing Empire at any time. You have no money and nowhere to live. But the good news is, you can turn to Great-Grandma. She is fifteen this year and works as a hired hand in Chinatown. Your main quest is to help Great-Grandma grow her business, take over Chinatown, and make your family a century-old dynasty of wealth and prestige, bringing prosperity to countless descendants, including you, of course. (Blurb subject to revision when the story begins, but the core premise will remain unchanged.) Theme: Persevere and strive through hardship to defy fate.