2.5 stars

I mtl'ed it. Not bad but not great.

The story is extremely slow paced because the author is very verbose. The author describes every minute detail about the economy, the village/city, the family branches, previous life experiences/grudges, etc. I just want to know about the journey and growth of the main couple & could care less about the rest.

Irregardless, the main character is VERY likeable.

• Spoiler

  • Even though MC was irresponsible towards ML in past life, I respect him for not immediately pursuing ML after rebirth. Instead, he created an environment that nurtured ml. (This was also important because ML was underage.)
  • MC remained a generous human in both lifetimes
  • MC was quick to self correct once he realised the error of his ways.
  • This is a pure rags to riches story. There is no golden finger. MC doesn't magically know how to trade stocks or suddenly know English. He doesn't trade in black market. MC works from the gutter bottom, steadily. &Amp; It's even more admirable because he accumulated wealth in last life but now, humbly worked within his skill sets instead of taking shortcuts.

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I read the translation up to c12 then MTL'd the rest. Relationship built fine, especially considering pitfalls with rebirth.

Real spoiler on that below, so don't read unless you want it spoiled.

I found the story slow at places, but never boring.

Extras were good.

Very well written, with realistic characters and an amazingly written relationship. Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu's progress is slow and steady, and particularly realistic, without any major dramas - it's good to read and refreshing, specially the care and love they have for each other.

The progression of money can feel a little unbelievable first, but it's fitting for this novel... Although I can't judge about the characterization of the setting and most of what the author writes as their development, but I can definitely say it's interesting to read... more>> and not too complicated to understand (something that always drives me out of 70's-90's CN novels), and all the supporting characters are very nice and well constructed... Even Shi Xingchao, he's just so funny and stingy and I love it lol. The villains/antagonists... they are not very defined and definitely feel quite stale, but it works well for this novel.

It's also a great point that the novel doesn't have drama because of the step-family... In fact, 2/3 of them are very sweet and caring for MC and ML, and the other one was crooked from the start. I also like how both MC and ML aren't soft persimmons but are very good to their families instead, and even MC is specially caring so his family doesn't have the same difficulties they had in his past life... I can't lie, reading some of Feng Meiyun (MC's stepmom) 's thoughts really had me emotional, she's so grateful and happy and it leaves a really positive feeling.

And the extras! I love them really much, specially the one about Shi Xingchao's son... 👀

The MTL is quite good and easy to understand, but also the translation seems specially promising, so it's worth it to save and read later. Overall, a very good novel, definitely worth a read! <<less

Its so good, I like both chara they are not your goody two-shoes person they only normal human want to have better life.

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Spoiler

the MC get back to the past first then the ML remember their past life when the ML get rejected by MC cos MC didn't want ML to bent and have better life, but cos he remember they finally get together again. Its nice story but sometime make you bored in the middle because too much business, both is lovely and no misunderstanding in their relationship,

I also like that the author write about their 1st life and change it to have better life and no one is death. Everyone have happy ending.

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Although this is not a perfect novel for me, it makes me want to read more. The story as mentioned by other reviews are written well. The characters effectively mirrors reality that I sometimes annoyed by the ML's action (shou).

For the MC,.. He's quite a scum in his early to mid yrs in the first life. However, time tempered him and I very like his personality in this 2nd life.

Overall, I like this a lot. I've found out my shortcomings.

Not bad! Got kind of boring in the end, so I didn't complete it. But the overall premise was very inspiring and I liked the details. It's pretty easy to read in MTL too, so if you want to give it a try, there's no problem with the unfinished translation.

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SUMMARY: The MC, (Gong, Shi Zen), had lived a somewhat fulfilling life as a big boss during the economic boom during the 1990s. From a young man who knew nothing and came from a rural mountain village, he built himself... more>> up, going through countless ups and downs to reach the pinnacle of life. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of important things along the way. Including his true love, the ML (Shou, Guan Baiyu). When he gets a second chance at life, coming back to his 18yo self, just fresh out into the outside world, he decides to things differently. This time, he's very careful about what he does and builds his success little by little. Of course, in the meantime, he has to dote on his beloved, who picks up early.

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THOUGHTS: You don't usually get a lot of novels of this time. Wait no, BL novels tend to be more popular during the 1980-2000, opposite to BG novels, which seemed to be mostly popular with the 1960-1970s era XD. So this novel falls in the expected range, and is similar to a lot of the same-era stories out there. That is, it's pretty serious! The Gong is the main character, and he drives most of the story as the reborn person, so things are very buttoned up in terms of development. In fact, it's pretty satisfying this way too, but it does mean that things are also a little less romantic (just some silly and cute side romance, you know, nothing too complicated). If you enjoy poor-to-rich development and business management novels, I don't think you can go wrong with this one. It's not the best, but it's still interesting to read. Mainly because most of the Gong rebirth novels usually start with the Gong having very big advantages. Whereas, here, the Gong starts off very very small at first. So small it's almost inconceivable how big he gets. In this way though, things are a lot more satisfying!

ANYWAY, as for the rating, I'm giving the novel a 3.5/5!!! Not bad. Could be better. It's enough to round up to stars, but just barely. I was very tempted to give this a 3.45/5 LOL. But I decided to be nice this time, and adjust it as needed the second time I read it. <<less

I'm looking foward to this novel! No interaction between the leads yet, but the historical setting seems to be really well researched and of great quality.

This story doesn't contain many things: investment god, speculation fanatic, winning lottery ticket, sidewalk treasure, and so on. It's a completely honest story that gently captures the Chinese atmosphere at the beginning of the economy.

MC (Gong) : He had a successful career in his previous life, but lost the person he loved. He had no background, came from nothing, worked as a laborer until he opened his first stall. There is no excessive stock or real estate speculation. He is a builder.
He sells the smallest things and does the smallest jobs. From digging earth, filling roads, selling skewers to knitting. Absolutely a professional trader. He was quite immoral in his previous life, but there weren't many details, so it wasn't too obvious.
He is hardworking, careful, and cautious in this life. He doesn't monopolize information or take opportunities away from others. Great.

ML: He had a bad childhood in both lives. But that changes because of MC's care in this life. He definitely has a more brilliant career than MC in this life.
He is also a hard worker. Not only that, he is self-controlled, cunning, and mischievous. He has a sharp mouth and is hard to bully.
He took revenge on his bully, something he endured in his previous life, after he learned that someone was supporting him. He has become more brave and confident in this life.

Their relationship: At first, MC just wanted to take care of ML. Unlike other cliché stories with similar plots. He held back and did not try to monopolize ML, but led him to an open world outside. It was a balanced and healthy relationship. It was ML who later became richer than MC. They are not trying to get rich, but are enjoying a second life.

Family relations: warm, meticulous in every detail. MC guides the family in personal care and hygiene, provides nutritional supplements for the elderly, and guides them to be independent, not too dependent on ML.

About the author: I have read a number of works, but this seems to be the author's peak. The descriptive language is always complete and detailed. A rich and sufficient plot, not too tense or intense conflict.
The writer pays attention to small details that enrich the plot. For example, when MC realized that ML was living without meat to eat. He said that at least he was still raising rabbits to provide his own meat. Later, from the mother's conversation, we learn that he raised rabbits to sell their pelts for extra income. This emphasizes his merchant character.
Pacing: The story has little conflict; when it reaches the point of boredom, the author adds some conflict and suspense. This keeps the reader's attention moderate.
Some very interesting scenes:

Glad that I found this novel! Translation is great and the story itself is good. Story about MC trying to gain money is realistic and it do have some conflicting family relationship that reader can ponder about.

Surprisingly such a good story. Sometimes slice of life especially with a second chance plot line can drag on after a certain point, but at no point did I get bored. The author did a really good job of developing not only the main characters but also the supporting ones.

This is less focused on getting revenge or face slapping the MC just wants to live a better life and is fairly lowkey about it.

4.04 Stars

Writing/Translation: 3.5/5

I read the MTL version. The translation is the default Google and Safari translation. Both have different parts that are not understandable so I will go to the other to have a slightly better understanding. The MtL is actually quite good. The author uses a lot of names in the text instead of pronouns, so when mtled, there are not as many pronoun mistakes as expected. Even all the technical detailed parts of making money were pretty understandable. I say you won't regret giving it a shot if... more>> you like this type of novel.

Pacing: 3.9/5

The beginning, when the MC had nothing and was rock bottom, was my favourite part. Because there was so much detail in describing how he made money and how their lives were slowly yuan by yuan, improving. Later on, the details got a bit more high-level, which was sad. It wasn't as day to day detailed, but week to week and month to month. But still, I didn't lose interest at all.

Plot: 4/5

I love this type of story where the main focus is improving their lives and those of their other poor relatives. The businesses were more detailed than most others. Exactly what I wanted!

Romance: 3.9/5

I did like it. No one was unequal here. Both have their own vulnerabilities that don't feel typical BL, fake or not executed enough. The whole thing was surprisingly mature and real enough.

Setting/Worldbuilding: 4/5

The setting feels really real to a person who has never been to China.

Characters: 4/5

The characters feel different from other CN web novels of the same type. The side characters are all self-serving, but in a very normal way. It's kinda refreshing. The relatives and family of the MC from a poor rural mountain all want to sincerely improve their lives, so they all work hard to earn money. In the same way, the stepfamily of the MC is always worried that if they take sides, the husband or son will dislike them and kick them out of the family. So whenever something happens, especially for the stepmother, she thinks about whether this person will take care of her when she is old and sick. But this is all not in a bad way; this is their situation and this is that type of era, and anybody with their submissive temperament will think the same. The interesting thing is that they won't do bad things, so although there are many flaws compared to other similar web novels, these characters feel very very real in terms of attitude. I like this glimpse into the culture in China at this era.

Personal Enjoyment: 5/5

Loved it! It almost hit 100% of my ideal poor-to-rich type of story! If the author had used the same type of family connection vibe from their The Only Favourite Ugly Husband story, it would have been utterly perfect.

My Created Lists (I include my rating and review in the list itself XD)

• All Novels I've Read Sorted By Rating - Where I ranked every single novel I read on novelupdates.
• Family/Village/Wealth Building, Poor to Rich, Business Management - lots of nothing to something type of stories, like this one!
• Heartwarming or Feel Good or Wholesome Stories I Liked - As stated hah

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Second time (re) reading this.

I have to mention that I rarely reread anything, unless I found the story really interesting, but this one didn't disappoint me.

The characters actually still in their setups from the first life to the rebirth life, but improved bcoz the better ML. You know there's a lot of rebirth stories with butterfly effect that sometimes completely change the characters. This one doesn't! And the changes is gradual which more makes sense. Ofc being almost OP in terms of money seeking MC is normal in this kind... more>> of story, if not nothing will change rite.

Now into the story, altho MC's obsession is too strong to be good to ML, I really respect that he didn't tie ML since the start and let him grow to a better self. His inferiority doesn't really goes away bcoz ML is better, but ML too can assure him for their relationship, and I found them rather cute.

If you wanna say the cons, probably how the villains shows up. Other than the obnoxious step sister that won't go away and keep brushing her presence til the end of the stories, the villain only shows up when they're needed in the story, and puff into nonexistent when they're no longer needed. I'm a bit dramatic I guess, or probably influenced by other revenge-rebirth story where the villain almost constantly lingering and won't go away.

Spoiler

And the author really put every ending he/she could think of in the end. It's good, I actually love seeing the rebirth ML in both story, you know the cute smart yet petty (for MC) ML like this is adorable🤣

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3.5 stars, if it was shorter would have been a solid 4.

Usually these types of stories are not my cup of tea, I'm not a fan of them going back too far in time, but with all the great reviews and boredomi gave it a shot. This story was actually better than I expected, but it's s a good once type of story, I don't think I would ever read it again.

Shi Zhen is the MC and Guan Baiyu is the ML technically, but the story is focused on them... more>> equally. First half is mostly about SZ and second half about GB.
MC and ML are both good, I liked them both equally

The families are more realistic than most novels, no overly dramatic scheming step mom, ML's adopted parents weren't bad, but not good.

Spoiler

MC takes care of his family but doesn't spoil them, teaches them how to earn money. Only 1 of the step sisters causes a little bit of drama but she ends up married after running away and doesn't have anything to do with them after that.

ML finds out he was actually kidnapped and trafficked as a baby, finds his real parents who ofc are professors at his university and everyone is happy...I mean I could have done without that storyline, but whatever

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Do not read of you're looking for a romance focused story, out of the 183 chapters of the main text, I would say only about 20% is about their relationship. When they finally do get together

Spoiler

at around chapter 134....

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Their relationship is very sweet and I feel the relationship is balanced and healthy. I really loved reading their interactions and wanted more.

Spoiler

reading the first half from SZ point of view he seemed a little scummy to MC in the previous life, but then you see GB's point of view of their previous life. They were both at fault. Basically they were just both insecure and didn't communicate their worries nor express their love.

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I will say, this novel should have only been about 100 chapters at most. The business aspect dragged on. I almost dropped this at chapter 68, as I was getting tired of the small business to slightly bigger small business, then repeat, but I really wanted to see when they would get together so I skimmed until chapter 130.

Spoiler

all those small random businesses and he still ends up opening a construction company like his past life, which is fine, but all the build up seemed like it was going somewhere else.

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What made me actually stick around for the story was the insight into the culture of China from 1994-early 2000s. It intrigued me to learn how life was in rural parts of China and also spurred me to look up something's on my own for more indepth. Found an interesting article on the evolution of the Internet in china and found this tidbit amusing

Spoiler

2009 – Users are blocked from using profanity or discussing politically sensitive topics online, so they use clever homophones to circumvent censorship. One popular homophone is "grass-mud-horse" (草泥马 cǎonímǎ), which sounds like "f*ck your mother" (肏你妈 càonǐmā). The coinage is popularized in a viral video that uses alpacas to illustrate the invented grass-mud-horse, and pictures of alpacas become a symbolic f-you to government censors.

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The main story is 183 chapters, then the extras. I MTL'd the whole thing, which was surprisingly easy. There were a few parts that had me confused though

Spoiler

For example when the step mom still breaks her leg in this life, MC freaks out that maybe he can't change major events and mentions ML having cancer, but it must have been mistranslated, because ML dies from being run over by a car.

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