咸鱼继母日常 (The Laid-back Life of a Stepmother) by 明栀
Historical [Chinese] romance published in 2023

Wen Ye, who had worked hard to become a company director in her previous life, was reincarnated as the daughter of a concubine in an ancient aristocratic family after a car accident.

After learning the truth, Wen Ye completely gave up.

She had no interest in the power struggles and favoritism within the household; she just wanted to lie down and be a lazy person, occasionally turning over.

The consequence of her laziness was that she was still unmarried at the age of twenty. Her concubine mother was extremely anxious and pleaded with the main wife.

The usually strict main wife gave Wen Ye three options:

1. A newly minted scholar

2. A cousin from the main wife’s family

3. A widowed Ministry of Justice official with children

After considering for a day, Wen Ye finally chose the third option.

Upon hearing this, the concubine mother grabbed Wen Ye and began to worry: “These days, being a stepmother is difficult. Why are you doing this? I think that new scholar is quite good.”

Wen Ye swallowed the last bite of mung bean pastry and said, “This new scholar has a cousin who grew up with him in his hometown.”

The concubine mother was speechless for a moment: “Then there’s your main wife’s cousin…”

Wen Ye took a sip of tea and said, “There are too many people in that family, with two mothers-in-law alone.”

Moreover, each branch of the family had so many concubines and aunts, and she couldn’t be bothered to serve them.

The concubine mother: “…”

Wen Ye put down her teacup and continued, “This Ministry of Justice official is different.”

The concubine mother: “How is he different?”

Wen Ye: “Both his parents are deceased, he has a carriage and a house, an elder brother and sister-in-law above him, and a son below. When I marry him, I won’t have to manage the household or bear children. As for the little one, I don’t have to worry about him either. As the saying goes, a sister-in-law is like a mother. Mrs. Lu can be considered half a grandmother to the little one.”

The concubine mother: “…”

Mrs. Lu, the sister-in-law who was only twenty-five: “…”

The topic for the TBR Challenge this month is “rizz” which is “romantic appeal or charm” and after thinking about my recent reads, this is the book that most fits. In both a romantic and general sense. The actual title/translated a bit more directly would be “The Daily Life of a Salted Fish Stepmother.” “Salted fish” also being slang – it now means “people who have no intention of doing anything” or “someone who lies there and does nothing.” It started as an insult but was adopted by people in response/as a backlash to overbearing and excessive work culture. It’s very “yay slacker” and to be honest in this world, you have to respect and celebrate it. Writing this review also had me wondering about reincarnation (not exactly something I know about, and people disagree on whether or not you “can” reincarnate into the past, but let’s leave that for another time). Continue reading →