They agree not to have children for 3 years. But he decides he wants another child and so without her knowledge he avoids the contraceptive measures they'd been using and gets her pregnant.

His marriage views are actually really traditional. I get he was hurt before, but he wants to use the baby to make her forget about a career or further education. He thought with the baby she would be unable to go and study.

At first you blame the ex wife. But her leaving is now very understandable. He was never there, all his money went to his mother, and he just expected her to be a small house wife. I'm glad she could stand up for her dreams and leave. I wish the MC had held out another 2 years waiting for the college examinations rather than getting married so quickly.

• The characters are written well enough that you can remember everyone perfectly and notice the positive developments over the story.

• For in-laws, the Zhao family was refreshing to read about for a story set in the 1970s. From being rural villagers making ends meet and living simply, they gradually embrace the change and become wealthy with a little guidance from MC and ML.

• Mother Zhao is the mouthpiece for the Zhao's. Although stubborn and a worrywart, her character is just likeable! At least for me. A great grandmother (and mother) that treats her family well.

• MC isn't overly generous where she shouldn't be and perfectly generous to the right relatives. Unlike some stories *cough cough* rebirth to the 80s

• ML is okay in the first half. After the family separation, my impression of him improves.

• The children were so cute! Best part of the story is MC's genuine affection for her stepchildren. Especially when Zhao Zhuojun recognized her as his mother.

• Personally, my favorite scene was when Heidan reflected on MC always cherishing him as her own son even years later (broke me when he believed he didn't deserve her love since he was abandoned by his bio mother.) Finally, he called her mom for the first time and they both cried at the emotional breakthrough.

• Their nieces and nephews were treated well! Even if it took a little time.

• The societal change in China made more sense the way it was explained in this story.

• Author gave Zhao Donghe the chance to find his own success like Donglin and Meixiang so his son can live well, especially after the messy divorce.

• Zhao Meixiang is my favorite character with her own little arc. Self explanatory when you read it.

• The adoptive god/grandparents are my favorite elders in the story. Found family is always a cute plot element!

• Author didn't forget to give the remaining Zhao sibling the opportunity to shine as well.

• In general, the steady rise in the Zhao and Dong families is sweet to read near the end as they all deserve it.

• The ML was really annoying for how much he tolerated ZDH's s*upid wife. It took him too long considering the first time he found out what she said to Heidan.

• Family separation took too long. Should've happened right after remarriage.

• The ML never properly embraced Heidan or gave him much affection as a child which was irritating. I expected MC to encourage him. Sure, when he went to university ML finally explicitly said he was proud of him but still. Why? He could easily embrace and dote on Fangfang but not Heidan? Irritating.

• The author never gave Zhao Donghe his deserved second wife (at least where I've read) when he deserved a second chance at love. His son definitely deserved a new mom considering he accepted his mom being 'dead' (I even thought for some reason he would end up with Meixiang's bridesmaid since she was introduced so suddenly at the end.)

• Why did the author make the sister-in-laws so annoying? Sure, I like a little conflict since the story was dragging but they were just to make MC and Meixiang angels for their families. Like aight, I guess.

• I wish there were more moments with the children. Suddenly, months or a year would pass without cute moments with the children. I'm surprised the author didn't flesh out MC and Heidan's relationship more with at least some more skinship.

• Personally, I didn't feel very attached to their youngest child since he was so glossed over. MC pregnant, MC gives birth, MC takes university exam, youngest child is suddenly a toddler. Even the last chapter (MTL) didn't make much sense. He seemed unimportant compared to Heidan and Yingbao.

• The ex-spouses shouldn't have been mentioned if we wouldn't get a proper conclusion. Did MC's ex's family die out? Did ZDH's ex ever try to seek out their son when she heard of their success? Did ML's ex try to approach Yingbao when she grew up? Why didn't Meixiang's crush seek her out after she was engaged to at least clear the air? I expected a clear rejection but nah lol. Though not important, I thought there would be conclusive closure for those minor characters.

• MC's career didn't make sense to me. Considering her skill with sewing and fashion, I thought the author would explore upon that and MC would run a fashion empire considering she had prowess in business on different occasions. Nope, MC just took on a simple job involving her English specialty.

• Father Zhao was so flat as a character. He was only mentioned less than ten times I think and it was odd since he was the patriarch??? He stayed in the village alone for many years and he didn't complain?? He wasn't even mentioned much after the last Zhao child married and the grand children grew up.

• The university arc dragged a little. Yes, MC and ML are legends at university. No need to expand on it too deeply. At least for me. It would've been nice to switch to the children for a small arc for a change since at this point we barely know the youngest child and Yingbao is a child with thoughts and opinions at this point.

1. There was no forcing or pregnancy (the ML a wants a baby but did not force it. The pregnancy was an accident. We all know accidents happen even with modern day contraceptives what's to say in the 1970s)

With that one line that says he kinda wants kids Cas-what's-his-name decided that it was a conspiracy. Subdue the woman with the baby and keep her locked up! There was NOTHING that hinted that he wanted to stop her from studying. The time the MC brought up the college entrance exam for the first time which resulted in him kinda doubting her was because he thought it it would be impossible for the state to let married/ older people take the exam so what's the point of talking about it. After the policy was announced, they barely had to discuss for him to agree to her dreams.

2. He never blamed the ex-wife for wanting to pursue her dreams but blamed her for pursuing her dreams at the expense of their kids. That woman literally threw her kids away and hooked up with another man for benefits. Yes he wasn't around most of the time but if they had discussed properly, maybe they could have worked something out. She just clamoured for a divorce in a letter and just up and left with no regards for her family. This was her choice. She decided to pursue the ML then abandon their family when she changed her mind. BRUH! Where's your sense of responsibility?

3. What is that nonsense about the ML looking after the MC on the surface but will wrong her to maintain the peace unless it's at the breaking point? Bruh he takes action every time the MC suffers a grievance. It is literally written that he is cool about everything but his wife is his inverse scale.

4. Don't get me started bout that sister-in-law of the ML... I have no words. No words. Anyone who has read the novel can confirm that her character set up is the petty and jealous brain dead canon fodder. Don't even know how this fellow reader came to his/her conclusion. Also the fact that she could get worked up and influenced by her 'friend' is also saying something about her. The author even wrote that even if they were many other people in the village to talk to, she enjoyed talking to this friend because she says all the things she wants to hear. That friend is also another piece of work but let's not dive into it.

5. The MC is selfish... She ignores that self-entitled sister in law and helps everyone else in her family that don't hate her and that makes her selfish... ? Go be Buddha! Help your enemies! Fighting!

Sister in law tries to correct her selfish ways... HAHAHA! Your world views...

6. Also the fact that the MC can speak to get what she wants, well that called having high EQ which is (to me) part of her OP protagonist set up. If you wanna be petty, do it behind closed doors. The author also wrote that the MC only states her dissatisfaction to her husband when they were alone and not in front of others. In a culture that expects one to respect their elders, that's the polite thing to do.

Anyways, this commentor has slightly different outlook on things so take their comment with a pinch of salt

MC woke up at her natal home, sews to earn some money, interaction with natal family and some conflict with second sister-in-law, ML and his problems introduced through out, ML sees MC and vibes with her, blind dates and proposes (initial disagreement from mother due to MC being divorced), marriage, trying to win over the stepchildren (not much about it though), getting along well with the mother-in-law and sister-in-law (ML's younger sister), faces jealousy from sister-in-law (ML's younger brother's wife), more conflict, MC got preggo, brother-in-law officially divorced off the vicious wife, gives birth, MC takes college entrance exam with ML and sister-in-law (ML's younger sister), passes, rents a place from some college professors, entire family moves to the city, earns more money to support themselves while studying, at one point recognises the professors as godparents, sis-in-law graduates and goes to the county to teach and blablabla romance, introduce other sis-in-law (ML's older sister) to do business and asks her natal family to do some land buying and planting, everyone gets rich together, graduates and being successful, the end

What I liked:

1. The novel had a good premise. I'm currently really into the transmigrate to the 60's, 70's, 80's and get rich trope. There are also kids involved which made me more interested because I looove stories with kids.

2. The ML was understanding and affectionate to the FL and didn't have the overbearing characteristics that can mostly be found in CN novels. It was nice reading about him.

3. I like the FL. She's smart, she knows what she wants and never lets other people step on her. She has firm morals that are not easily shaken. She also has a huge capacity for love, as shown with how she treated her stepkids like they're her own. She also has a good heart. She made sure no one was left behind in both her in-laws and maternal family. She carried all of them to success.

4. Her In-laws are good people. I have read too many novels where the in-laws keep f*cking up the FL's life by being overbearing and meddling with her life, so the Zhao's (Especially grandma and Meixing) gave me a good impression.

5. Meixing and Zhenfeng's relationship. Reading about them made me feel so sweet and giddy because Zhenfeng is really charming. They had a good start and their courtship was believable. They didn't go on one blind date and decided to get married but actually got to know each other before settling. Reading about them made me feel more emotions than reading about the FL and ML.

What I didn't like:

1. How the author handled the storyline with the kids. It all just felt... rushed. They didn't show any significant development in Yingbao and Heidan's character. There were snippets of Heidan's emotions and vulnerability, but they're just that. They get adressed at some point but I wanted to know more, and I didn't. See, the characters always sing praises to the FL saying how well she treated the kids and always gave them the best, but it's never actually SHOWN in the novel. I don't get to read about how she helps Heidan with her studies, I don't get to read about how she takes care of Yingbao, I don't get to read about how her relationship with the kids developed and it was frustrating. The moments where she interacts with the kids and we ACTUALLY get to read about it is far in between. I don't want the ML harping about how well the FL treats the kids and how he's so lucky to have married her, I want to READ ABOUT IT.

2. The FL and ML's relationship. There isn't anything to nitpick about how they treat each other really. But ah, how do I say this? They were so bland. The way their relationship developed was fine, they had a good relationship, they had mutual respect for each other and they most obviously love one another. They just bored me to death. Meixing and Zhenfeng at most had 12 chapters of screen time but their story was 10 times more interesting than the main couple. They never have these moments that show how deep their relationship actually is. They say the love each other, they have s*x (multiple times), they talk but it just doesn't have that much of an appeal.

3. The long ass university arc. They just highlighted how amazing and perfect the FL and ML are and honestly didn't contribute much to the plot. Nothing happened there.

4. How the FL and ML didn't go into business. Honestly, the ML majored in economics, they did that fiasco with the cinema, the FL had skills for it, hell, the author highlighted how good she was at making clothes and all that so how could I NOT expect them to go into business? I was expecting some garment business or something but instead she becomes a translator and ML just goes back to the commune. It was anticlimactic. Everyone else became some sort of tycoon while they decided to do public service. The eldest sister built a hotel. The second brother had a mining business. The Dong guys went into agriculture. Hell, that one village head became rich due to real estate. I don't have anything against their chosen professions but I wasn't satisfied with where they ended up. They could've done more.

5. They ended up living seperately due to the FL's job. ML went back to the village and FL stayed in the county.

This is a feel good story about a great FL living a very good life after transmigration from our times into 1970s. She becomes a woman whose husband's family returned her to her maiden family because she did not get pregnant in three years time. How could she? Her husband due to the "malfunction" in his nether regions never touched her!

So she marries again, this time to a man who cannot leave her alone. Every night all night long, lol. He really loves her.

Both her family and her husband's family are amazing, all of them. And she is simply a perfect Chinese wife, daughter-in-law and a mother to her husband's kids. She sews and embroyders, she cooks, she is wonderful with kids, in-laws and godparents, her entire family thrives, goes to university and become super wealthy thanks to our little FL's efforts who is like an Energizer Bunny, always so busy, so caring.

In the entire novel there are maybe two or three maliciously spoken characters, all three young females, and they are all quickly dealt with.

In the reviews I read; the spoilee stated that the ML intentionally made the FL pregnant so that she couldn't take the college entrance exams (since she would be tied down with a toddler) this is not true.

This was an unhealthy thought that the ML had after they (husband and wife weren't taking all of the necessary precautions for contraception) fell pregnant 2 years before the exams would be reinstated. Was it a shitty thought? Yes. Did he follow through with any of his thoughts? No. It was a passive-possessive move only. This also implied that the ML wanted to smother the MC/FL's dreams and aspirations; which is also a lie.

The ML has always supported the MC in all of her endeavors. Is he self-conscious and has second thoughts? Of course, he does. But does he follow through with them? Nope! Did he continue to be loving and supportive of his wife all the way? Hell yes!

Is he obsessed with having many children? No. Is he obsessed with having a daughter? No. Does he treat his children like wallpaper? No. Does he treat his sons like enemies? No. Is the ML patriarchal? Hell no! Is there some jealousy? Of f*cking course, it's human nature. This man followed his wife to take exams at over 30 years old. Like who does that? Even in real life, it's hard to believe.

Also, spoilee said that the Ex-wife should be pitied. She just wanted to follow her dreams... Here is my take on the ex-wife (whose name I do not care to remember) she was an educated youth who apparently had a sweetheart who broke her heart after she left for the countryside or during (again her details aren't that important to me) so she decided to engage the ML in conversations to make a match; since he was a soldier and should have many rich future prospects.

They marry, and have kids; however, she is not satisfied since the ML is mostly at work; and leaves his paycheck to the MIL (who is bloody awesome BTW) she's not a monster in law, what one person has, everyone has in their home. She wasn't satisfied with the dynamics.

I only feel a slight level of sympathy for the situation she was put into. She could have pulled a Lin Qin He from raising cubs in the 60s and gained control of his paycheck another way, but I digress, one day after all of her dissatisfaction reached a peak, she received a mail from a friend saying that her sweetheart would be engaged/married? And decides then and there, that she doesn't want to be married anymore, and also, doesn't want to be tied down with kids.

She basically forces the ML (who is a hardened, serious, no-nonsense man who actually really cares for her) to get a divorce. And once it was finalized she said Adios, and never came back. So no, she was following a man who never showed up for her. And if that was her dream she should have not "tried out" marriage with an honest man while holding a flame for another in her heart in the first place.

To be brief about the other spoilers: they stated that the 2nd SIL was turned into a 2-bit CF because of the FL. Which again is false. This woman was instigating ML's stepson (who was still adapting to the situation) to refuse the FL so that his mother could come back.

Which was selfish as hell! Taking into consideration that the ML is the primary breadwinner of the whole household; since they were not legally separated, yet; however, this SIL always had something to say when food, clothes, and labor were distributed like she had no self-awareness at all. Without the MC most of this could be brushed off, but once there was someone else to keep her in check, she showed her true colors. The ML even gave her another chance by warning his brother that this would be the last time. And guess what?

Of course, she blew it, by telling the ML's son that since the FL was pregnant, he and his sister were no longer important and would suffer in the future. And guess what? You guessed it! The ML heard everything. So short story; she was not forgiven, her family was separated, and after more blunders, like thinking she was pregnant, then cursing the community DR., and getting banned by said DR. ML's brother finally grew a pair and decided to divorce her. And Adios.