I'm tired of those cool time-travel stories - the main character wakes up instantly, becomes a hero in three days, recruits a younger brother in five days, fights against the rich and powerful in ten days, and looks like the most handsome kid in the room wherever he goes. Do you enjoy watching it? Cool. But when you close the book, you know in your heart: This kind of person cannot survive for an hour in time.
In such a world, a person of unknown origin could not move around without household registration, could not even enter the city gate without a guarantor, and could be beheaded if he said the wrong word. Want to be an official? Buying an official position requires money, and clearing one's identity requires connections. Want to rebel? You can't even hold a knife, why should you be the boss?
I wanted to write something different in this book.
A time traveler's survival under the real rules of the late Qing Dynasty. He had no system, no golden fingers, and even his own memory was incomplete at first. From being the wanted "league leader" to concealing his name, laundering his identity, and donating money to become an official, every step has been taken in the cracks of the real system - to buy an official, you need to find the right person, to get the job, you need to take advantage of the situation, to deal with the wealthy gentry, you need to find out who is sharing the money first. He is not the chosen one, he is just a person who is more cautious and calculating than anyone else, and knows better when to endure and when to take action.
There is no one-step counterattack, only a difficult advance from 0 to 1 and then to 10. Behind every seemingly small advancement is a carefully designed conspiracy and calculation. This may not be "cool" enough, but it's real enough.
This story is written for readers who are tired of instant invincibility and want to see clearly how an ordinary person struggles to survive in real troubled times.
