Rising to Success in the Imperial Examinations

Shen Mulin lived smoothly for over twenty years until a car accident sent both him and his soul into another world.
He starts with nothing but a hospital gown.
Question: How to make a fortune?
Shen Mulin says: No rush.
With two years of experience in agricultural support, he has a knack for farming and raising livestock. After one season, the lambs are plump and strong, and the melons and fruits are sweet and fragrant.
With ten years of sampling street food, he is especially skilled at making stinky tofu and malatang. Setting up stalls and opening shops, guests fill the seats, silver keeps flowing in, and he makes his way to the capital.
Cosmetics, clothing and accessories, jade and gold ornaments—Shen Mulin's presence is everywhere. With pockets full of gold, he becomes the president of the capital's chamber of commerce.
Merchants are jealous, commoners envious—but when they turn to look, he is actually engaging in great charitable deeds, donating grain and clothing, and throwing himself into construction, building water conservancy projects and repairing roads.
Shen Mulin: The Great Yan's number one imperial merchant—easy as pie.
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The Gu family has a blind xiucai who depends on his stepfather to survive. One day, a young ge'er fleeing from the south is picked up at their door.
Gu Xiangzhu: He is all alone, pitiful.
Shen Mulin: He is blind and soft-hearted, pitiful.
The two agree to temporarily be husbands, each relying on the other. From then on, they punch gossiping neighbors, step on nasty relatives—those who cause trouble, those who bully others with power, those who steal credit for achievements—none are indulged.
Opening shops to make money and become the richest, passing the imperial examinations to rise in rank and enter the Grand Secretariat.
Their feelings develop naturally, and others are immensely envious—except for one regret: the couple has no children.
Shen Mulin: Can you give birth?
Gu Xiangzhu: Let's try more.
[Little Theater 1]
Toward all kinds of bastards, Shen Mulin can fight and never wastes words.
Once, after finishing a fight, he deliberately bore wounds to avoid trouble—a cut less than the length of a pinky finger.
Gu Xiangzhu gently applies medicine to the nearly healed wound: "You are so kind and frail—how can they bully you just because they have numbers on their side?"
[Little Theater 2]
In the imperial court, Gu Xiangzhu remonstrates with the Son of Heaven above and debates ministers below. Everyone says: This man has a tongue of eloquence—do not provoke him, do not provoke him.
One day after court, seeing Gu Xiangzhu's eyes full of bloodshot veins, Shen Mulin's heart aches terribly: "How can they bully your clumsy tongue just because of their seniority?!"
To the above theaters, a certain Doctor Ji, a mutual friend of the two, gives the following answer: "Don't ask—if you ask, it's because the eyes were never cured."
——
Enduring, two-faced, pure-hearted gong vs. cheerful, optimistic, deeply devoted shou
Both husbands have eight hundred schemes in their hearts—little white rabbits in each other's eyes, smiling tigers in others'.
Content warnings:

Childbirth. (Very late in the story or in extras; there is a child in the middle, adopted.)

Not a true transmigration. (Logic—trying desperately to patch it up.)

The land, tax, imperial examination, official position and other systems in the text reference various ancient systems; the production methods for snacks, clothing, utensils, etc. come from internet searches and are mostly the author's fabrication—please do not fact-check.

Growing melons and raising sheep come later; the early stage is mainly about opening shops to make money.