I was pleasantly surprised by "Small Town Stories", an easy watch that left me feeling warm and had great pacing overall.
Not once did I think about dropping it (which I usually do with every drama, even if I like it) and I would even consider re-watching at some point. 30 Episodes went by super fast and there is almost no dragging or detours.
Similarly to "Rising With The Wind" it finds it's charm in flawed characters that are likable nonetheless and follows a small group of regular people achieving success through hard work as well as their journey in love. (not me almost making a AJTL reference, LOL - that drama really did a number on me)

Gao Zhiting (ML) is a great actor, he has natural charisma and an easy-going energy around him that makes his character feel real and three dimensional. The character is a bit rough around the edges and has traditional views on life, but nevertheless someone who is reliable in love. The event managing company he runs is very much living from paycheck-to-paycheck but their constant hustle to make a quick coin is endearing to watch and adds a lot to the comedic side of the story. Some of my favorite moments were the little steps of growth and realism of people working together. Hint: Naps are important but money talks :D
On the other hand we have the FL who returns to her home "town" and while she is dead set on returning to Beijing after healing from her Tinnitus, everyone tries their best to keep her in Weihai. Although it could be considered a flaw I actually liked that her problem was resolved quickly and nothing that dragged on. The leads went from strangers/enemies-to-lovers in a very natural manner, I liked how both of them never imagined to be a couple but slowly grew their feelings. Their bickering was funny and cute. The drama has a "character development" tag and I'd argue they mean them as a couple because the way they go from enemies to genuinely supporting each other is nice to watch.

Although I wasn't always a fan of her parents, I found both of them to be refreshingly youthful. Yes, they can bicker and nag but they're also funny and after a few beers both of them become quite chatty. Also high-key relatable how the wife reacts whenever the husband invites someone over and she had no idea.

In the name of making this a more realistic drama, beauty filters were kept to a minimum and a lot of the scenes are recorded live, adding to the natural feel of the story. I hesitate commenting on people's body size but I liked how the usual body shaming comments were absent in this drama and both leads have a slim but not super skinny figure. Having a tan male lead with a buzz cut is also not typical but so refreshing!

I liked STS a lot despite some underlying issues (more on that below) and would recommend it as it has a lot of charm without much struggle and an idyllic setting. A bit like "Meet Yourself" and "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha".
Overall it's a warm slice-of-life with great pacing, enjoyable chemistry between the two leads and a beautiful ending for everyone.
The biggest hurdle of watching this drama is choosing between watching it with bad subs but good audio(IQIYI) or good subs but muted song audio(YOYO channel). I opted for the later.

random fun fact: this is a dream for graphic-tee fans! I never counted so many graphic tees with random english words or paragraphs in a drama, loved that :D



PART II of the Review (Listing all the flaws and inconsistencies, SPOILER!) :

https://mydramalist.com/profile/9228969/feeds/xoE0KHl (clickable link in comments)

Unfortunately it was too long so I had to post it on my profile instead, feel free to read it if you want to know the underlying issues with this drama that I think need to be called out.