The Chief Minister's Beloved, Sweet and Sassy Wife

(Free to read in full) Chen Xiaoqing, a hugely popular livestreamer who promotes traditional Chinese culture, accidentally transmigrates into a book and becomes an ugly farmer’s wife. Her husband is brought back from the battlefield half-dead. Her frail mother-in-law has fallen ill from overwork, and her little brothers and sisters-in-law are as thin as matchsticks. Then the entire family, old, weak, sick, and injured, is driven out by a sharp-tongued old woman. They have no money, their house is drafty, their land yields no crops, and she herself has a reputation for being a wicked woman? Chen Xiaoqing rolls up her sleeves. No need to worry. She’ll build a life for them, one step at a time. The villagers look at the family and shake their heads, sneering at Chen Xiaoqing. Her husband’s family wants nothing to do with her, and neither does her own family. She’s doomed. But before long, Chen Xiaoqing’s seven brothers show up bearing bundles of gifts, demanding justice for their sister. Chen Xiaoqing protects her loved ones with one hand and builds her career with the other. Along the way, she even drags her promising husband back from death’s door. She claims land and builds houses, grows lotus roots and raises crabs, and builds a school. She opens shops and factories, lands a deal with the imperial merchants, and becomes the richest person around. Her little brothers and sisters-in-law grow into capable people who can stand on their own. Her seven brothers escape their tragic fates and each find a beautiful wife. Her sickly, handsome husband becomes the Chief Minister, a man skilled in both letters and arms who can’t bear to leave her side. Chen Xiaoqing scratches her head. “The main quest doesn’t seem that hard after all?” Someone coughs. “Ahem, dear... could you spare me some food?” Xiaoqing asks, “How much do you need?” He replies, “Just... enough to feed a hundred thousand people?” Xiaoqing says, “All right. So everything before this was just a warm-up...”