Disclaimer: I read and finished the original Chinese novel and don't actively follow the translations.

The concept of the novel is different from a lot of the other reincarnation novels out there being translated right now since it's two people who are reincarnated at the same time-- one is the world's greatest con man while the other is the Chinese police woman tasked with arresting him. They died in a freak explosion and are reborn in ancient China together. There is some suspension of disbelief required for the premise of this novel though I'm not sure how that is so different from some of the other reincarnation novels out there where the MC is reincarnated with a cheat ability or has a complete personality change? Personally, since I have read so many of such novels, I have grown rather picky in terms of the morality or ethics so I dislike it when the MC just kills someone with their rebirth (absorbing the original person's soul) or takes over another person's identity and life without batting an eye or feeling grateful for the second chance. Also, if you do not read carefully and get details such as the MC's ages wrong (they are reborn but wake up as 1 year olds rather than begin as complete newborns which could be a metaphor for cognitive awakening) and understand the basic characterization of the MCs (both MCs are very family-oriented and only want power so they can live comfortably and safely so expecting them to want to take over the world for the hell of it means you need to level up your reading ability), then this is not the novel for you. Also, if you are expecting a male MC with a generic character motivation of "kick the asses of everyone who looks at me wrong" or "the world should revolve around me so I will just treat everyone else like inconsequential NPCs, " then you will also be disappointed.

This novel has 2 MCs, 1 male and 1 female. So some of the troubling misogynist connotations in other novels aren't so prevalent here since the author does take care to try to develop them both. The MC's different characters and mindsets are pretty well written and actually help make the couple dynamic interesting so it's not just watching a single MC going through a mind numbingly boring training sequence for the nth time while the rest of the faceless cast with interchangeable names gape in awe.

However, this novel has a slow pace and it is probably more focused on intellectual battles rather than actual fighting. So it is a rather political story. There is some action but it won't be for a while, which is understandable since the MCs are little kids at the start of the novel. And even then, it is probably a temporary focus since fighting with brains rather than brawn is the theme of this novel.

What makes this novel really enjoyable is that both the male and female MCs become pretty fully developed. I suspect the author is male though since I think the male MC is still the main focus and driver of the plot. But it is cool to basically have the female MC be the male MC's partner and not feel like she's just some interchangeable face in a harem of women. So if you're looking for a harem of on**oles for the MC to have badly written s*x with, then this is also not the novel for you. Because she's been there with the male MC for the entire time, it really helps build up the feeling of companionship without having too many overt romantic scenes. So this was a novel that I really enjoyed for its romance even though it doesn't go out of its way to build up that subplot.

So yeah, it was really enjoyable to read and I found the ending really satisfying, especially if you consider it all started out with 2 1 year old kids born to mildly well-to-do landowners with farms.

The world's greatest scam artist and a top tier cop are reincarnated to ancient china. Interesting concept, however the male lead is dragged down by the heroine. In their first life the male lead was one of the world's richest men, the heroine was just a top tier cop. She is hardly his match in anyway.

The story could of been interesting as the male lead could of acquired power by scamming his way to the throne, however the heroine limits him to slow bushiness schemes, due to reasons like honor... more>> and justice. The novel would be way more entertaining if he just ditched her. She literally has zero use in the story, the male lead literally does everything and she just sticks around being a dead-weight. He probably could beat her in a fight, so she is not even use as a meat shield.

Another point that makes me disinterested is the unrealistic representation of children in this novel. The bodies are just a few months old and they are thinking, talking, and walking. Babies don't work that way, they literally do not have the brains to process these actions. It is like a person reincarnating into a person with half their brain missing and then they start walking around and acting like normal. It is immersion breaking to read about month old babies creating business empires. <<less

The start was great.

But unfortunately, it's just weird.

1 year old baby, can speak fluently, and everybody just thinks "Well, they have a good family, so they must've been taught well"

The Male MC wants a normal life, experiencing parental love. But the MC decides to act "normal" resulting in the father to mention him as a monster. I agree, what kind of 1 year olds can push their bodies to the limits, Children's bodies would "shut down" to prevent injuries, that's reality, but nope, they spent hours after hours of exercising.... more>> They can speak fluently when their tongues, mouths and facial muscle shouldn't even let them be.

The start introduces some side character to have a very strong personality, but a few chapter in and, well like in most CN, they're just a puppet to the MCs greatness. I.e

A butler was introduced to be strict, after it was known that the MC was a "genius", the butler goes "Well if the young mister allows this, it doesn't matter, well if young mister says so, then I'll do it, even if I don't understand"

Where the hell did the strict butler go? Nobody wants a puppet with no personality as side characters. The mother that was supposed to be soft, in contrast to the Strict butler. The maid standing in guard was scared shitless in the mothers first appearance where the hell did the softness of the Masters toward their servants go,

With that said, any new characters introduced that are beneficial to the MC will act like that, they lose their "personality" so the MCs come out as strong, great, smart.

Another big NO for this novel, is the typical CN issue, where when the characters are talking to each other, it's always question.

P1: Look at this, amazing isn't it.

P2: I don't know where P1 got this?

Like shit, we know you don't know where you got that, even P1 knows for shitting hell you don't know where he got that, he just showed it to you after all. For every single shit, somebody will ask a question that is f*cking obvious but he can just say outright with a word or two. Regardless of the situation, they ask a question.

Also they start reciting some philosophical poems every now and then, which is just weird and seems to be out of place. It's probably how they show how smart they are.

Then worse of all, the MC's personality from the prologue seems to be vastly different to the one they have after reincarnation. It's understandable for some aspect, but the female MC, Wang Juan does not show any sign of what is stated in the synopsis. She just lets it be and even tell the Male lead to do some swindling every now and then. And the male lead should be a f*cking international criminal swindler. The first swindling he does, all he did was say "Liar" and points at the thing he wants, then the other party just f*cking gave it to him, a 1 year old. And the opponent was a swindler as well who has swindled a hefty sum! Imagine that.

Wang Juan: “Ever since I came to this era together with an International Criminal Swindler, I declare that this world no longer has any swindlers.” (In case you forgot)

I cannot recommend this, only the start is great. It has the typical CN s*upidity where the Author pushes the MCs greatness no matter the cost. Even if he has to kill the main or side characters initial personalities/setting. Even if he has to dumb down every other character to the point of there's no difference between a rock and his characters.

Too many great ideas come from CN, but unfortunately it's rarely written well. IF you still want to read it, here's the good thing. The translator are doing a good job at translating it, but be wary if you don't know the measurement, like catty, et c. <<less

Rational MC with supporting heroine. The MC is like a express-train with his schemes while the heroine acts the brake in a good sense. Instead of blocking or denying the MC' plans blatantly, she gives a different solution to solve the problem; which is rare to be seen in novels nowadays.

From the translation side, I really like how the translator explains the back-story/history of the words used in his TL-Notes at the end of each chapters. It feels like I'm studying the ancient Chinese literature.

I like the premise but jfc the execution was bad. The MCs were reincarnated and start doing business as literal 1 year olds. Like ????

The ML was supposedly this criminal mastermind and he didnt think to be lowkey until he was at LEAST 7 or 8 years old?

Any 1 year old that's reciting the analects and is inventing era-changing money-making schemes should've gotten thrown out in any rational world

An exceptional novel and currently my favorite read.

Two people from modern time, one female cop and the thief/Swindler she was chasing get reincarnated together into past China.

Together they have to survive as toddler with new families.

... more>> She is sad because she lost her family from her original "time", while he is delighted because his most precious dream is realised: Having a family. A mother, father, grand parents...

The two will now be forced to cooperate to bring wealth and success to their families, and the people that depend on them.

This is a touching story, without much drama and conflict. It is beautifully written and certainly a pain to translate for the few that tried. But it is worth it as it sets aside much of the chinese tropes. No xanxia or wuxia stuff. This is the real world. And the magic is seeing the two protagonists devise plots to get rich and protect their families!

This is also a very interesting read into past (and current) chinese political system with all the posturing, and corruption that comes with it.

I rate it five, because this is the only novel EVER for which I have commissioned chapters (50+). I like it that much :). <<less

Good translation quality and grammar. Story has quite an interesting start with two interesting characters from the start.

Political move, economic battle! Invent food to get money, use money to bribe officials, buy cheap unwanted land and turn it into goldmine

Manipulate government, neighbors, enemies, and everyone else! This is a very good story. The translator also explain the Chinese idioms and poetry used in the story. Hilarious, the MCs regarded as genius when they recite poem, because the great poem originally is not written until hundred years later.

Very good novel.

They're so intelligent I want to cry. Although they are reincarnated, just imagine a one year old acts like them with those knowledge.. People will freak out! I sometimes find my mind goes blank every time I'm reading this novel.

Scary.

When writing this review, where to even start...?

... ah, can only blame myself for being deceived by the dogsh*t five star reviews and not reading further, and harboring any hope at all for a novel where the prologue introduces an OP male MC and an "OP" female MC. Don't be deceived and harbor hope that this novel will turn out to be good! It... sigh.

It's like if a 13 year old with chuuni disease thought they'd matured and become wise, only to have an advanced version of the disease, where... more>> they fantasize about themselves as an international criminal swindler able to inspire lifelong loyalty with a few sweet words and having a hot "talented" policewoman gf to hang along on every word. The characterization in this novel is faker than cardboard and the exposition is also harder to chew down than cardboard. Don't even get me started on realism.

God forbid you take this as a serious history novel, or even for the female protagonist to be anything than a device to emphasize the male protagonist's coolness and OPness and strength. The male MC isn't even likeable. How could he be, when he's a cardboard cutout of what the author thinks is the epitome of coolness? It's like a children's cartoon, only written by actual children instead of adults.

If you're looking for an actually good novel to read, I suggest you look elsewhere. Even if you want some crazy power fantasy story, there are actual well written ones instead of having to settle for this bullsh*t. If your taste is just tr*shy like this, congratulations, I hope you get well soon. <<less

Great story with a male and female as lead characters. Both make up for what the other lacks and they contrast each other nicely. While not overly different they do have different set of skills and morals, they both consult each other when it comes to decision making. Nice to see a strong male and female lead with unique personalities. A lot of world building is involved, because the characters are from present time they introduce new ideas that the past time has yet to discover. The side characters aren't... more>> card board cut outs and each has their own purpose and thoughts that are shown through out the story. Overall this is a great read if you're looking for a slower paced story with good character development. The translator is also top notch. At the bottom of every chapter are notes on terms with their meaning and even links. <<less

Normally when there's a transmigration, the invading personality kills off old personality but doesn't care about its past life and is forced to adapt. However since the cop and conman reincarnate together, they maintain their past lives as well as have someone to consult with, recall the past, share their mindsets according to their original time period.

As the conman said to the cop lady, "even if you found a decent dude here, you still can't escape the mysoginistic thoughts and expectations he would have according to this time period". So... more>> the conman can grant her freedom of movement as a male watching out for her, rather than leaving her abandoned as a "female with weak body in male dominated society but strong spirit". I know I'm incorrectly using transmigration examples when this is a reincarnation story but since they reincarnated at 1 year of age~ it's whatever. <<less

The start was pretty rough to read, the supposedly devious ML just straight up ignoring that he's a toddler and everyone around him being seemingly fine with it. The FL too seems very underutilised, serving as nothing but a counter to how 'great' the ML is, but this is pretty atypical of such web novels where FLs are only smart and independent till they met the love of their live, what a shame.

I love the novel but there is an underlying theme of nationalism that I hate. The more you read the more the MC´s actions seems like they are brainwashed secret agents of modern china instead of two very smart persons in an extraordinary situation. Sure, many actions make a great deal of sense but then they let themselves be tied to a nationalistic agenda instead of creating their own empire with their own rules.

Fluffy strory, good story to those that want change of pace from mainstream story

Im a big transmigration and reincarnation fan so you can assume I've read a lot so I'm quite picky.

1. The translation is wonderful so far. 5/5 and kisses to the translator.

2. As everyone has already mentioned, their ability to fully funtion as barely 1 year olds in that superstitious environment is.... errrr.. highy improbable and disconcerting but Ive read weirder 🤷🏻‍♀️ so that didnt put me of too much.

What did put me off entirely is the female MC. She went from this supposed to be BAMF black widow type to... more>> being a prop. The ML is coming up with all these ideas, plans and has all this knowledge and she does nothing but act as a foil. Its like all those years they spent in the modern world served to make the ML OP but the FL must have been living in a hole in the arctic the entire time. All she has done so far is to showcase how magnificent the ML is and act as a living flesh for ML to bounce his ideas off of. Im not saying he should ditch her Im saying she should not have ever made it as a character let alone one of the MCs.

The other thing that irks me is the undertone that emphasizes that the ML was, is and forever will be better than the FL. Like regardless of what she did she could never have beaten him. I know this is a trend in Chinese nouvels than the ML has to be stronger but it bothered me for some reason here. <<less

I am surprise that this novel is not well-known among readers. It is such a good and solid story. It was quite pleasant reading this novel, the pace is very good, not slow and not fast. I always find it very satisfied with each chapter. I admire the author's approach, it is quite logical, rational and well it is brain over brawn. I like how the author paid attention to every details regarding each events. Especially I find it amusing in the arc about cucumber. I will not spoil this... more>> arc, if you are interested pls read it yourself. If you are a person who loves reading story about human's real intelligence and ingeniousness, you will love this story. Don't bother if you love reading novel that main character solves the problem by using violence and power to oppress others. <<less

This would have been a great work had the author have a little bit of patience; Heck, he can even do time skip and make the MCs grow up at least a little normal.

I call bullsh*t at the very first chapter (chapter 1 not prologue) Male MC in a year old baby body can hear footsteps from a supposedly far (not far per se, but as in too far for a child) and when asked by female MC how he come, he shucked it up to how awesome he was... more>> on earth; seemingly forgetting that only his soul transmigrated not his damn body!! Not matter how awesome his hearing skills or whatever, it shouldn't work at all since he his just a kid.

Then both MC moved on and tried to prove smartass. Realistically and from the novel setting, this kids would have be thrown away, or worse killed off as thought to be possessed. MC knowing about human psychology and all, did something a sane human wouldn't. Portrayed an intelligence befitting of an adult moreso a very intelligent adult as a child and everyone seems to be fine with it and shuck it up to them being genius.

Even modern parents will freak out when your a year old kid goes full Spartan and tells you all benefits of training at a young age and all, moreso invent stuffs impossible for our time; let say, a spaceship that travels using wormhole!! I don't think anyone in their right sense will take that as being genius.

Overall the novel is good and pretty well written (if you ignore the MCs age) if you are one who can't Ignore this kind of massive plot holes (I don't even understand how some people seems to be fine with it) then it's absolutely not for you. If you don't care about logic though and can feed it to your dog for all you care, then go on. <<less

I found this novel to have a more realistic feel than other similar novels.

Instead of it completely focusing on the farming aspect, the readers get to see the FL and ML developed their power and bringing futuristic improvements as a whole.

The only problem is trying to find more translation to this. ;-;

I liked the author's idea of writing a reincarnation/transmigration story in the perspective of a country-side landowners. It's not about the drama between women and officials. It started with the focus on the normal/common folks and their daily lives. Though I sometimes skipped over the filler -tech talk (mostly idle talk between the MCs), I love reading about the side characters, especially on how they enact their 'little ancestors' orders.

It's funny reading how the male lead fooled around with the swindlers and officials in the story, yet he would always... more>> act childishly in front of his elders and parents. As of the female lead, though she is not yet as prominent and dominant as the ML in the plot, she's never left out as well as she's almost inseparable with the ML. Sad to say, it's not because of romance, it's just that they are still babies and circumstances brought them together.

Btw, I rated it with four stars because even after 49 chapters, they are still infants. What they have done so far are very ridiculous when factored how young they are. Author should have at least introduced them as 3 year old kids. That way their ridiculously high IQ about management and business (in the initial chapters) can be rationalized. Unfortunately, it's really unbelievable that less than 2 year old brats can accomplish what they have accomplished, add to that the fact that everyone else around them are acting like this scenario is very easy to accept. <<less