My biggest pet peeve was the hospital bill being 1100 yuan and he only had 1500 left. That’s too exact. And the nurse casually saying “you have to stay a month” without any doctor backing it up felt unrealistic. Hospitals don’t work that way in any country.
The emotional resonance is strongest in Nian Shilan’s memories. The line “You have caused this concubine so much suffering” is heartbreaking. But the story moves past these moments quickly. I wish the narrative slowed down to let her grief sink in, like a chapter of her remembering her child’s face. That would deepen empathy.
The Chapter break/Time skip style is perfect for this kind of building story. We see the project start, then we cut to the result. It avoids the boring days of watching people chop wood. The pacing is very efficient.