Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 217: Chapter 86: Qin’s Ointment

’Besides, limiting the supply is the only safe way to go. Earning a little less now ensures there’s a future. Once the volume increases and I’m making more money, it’ll be hard to avoid the envy of others. Jealousy is a truly terrifying thing, and I have no desire to become a target.’

’What’s the point of earning money if you don’t live to spend it? Wouldn’t that be tragic?’

’I could find a safe channel and hand over the ointment formula in the name of benefiting the common people. That would save time, effort, and worry. But, what if someone with ulterior motives discovered the business opportunity, got clever, and justifiably raised the price of the ointment? That wouldn’t be benefiting the people; it’d be ripping them off. Even if I could get a cut, it would be a small profit, while the bulk of it would be swallowed up by someone else.’

’Instead of handing it over with no guarantee of a mutually beneficial outcome, it’s better to keep this a small-time operation and wait for the right opportunity.’

”You want to raise the price?” Second Aunt asked in surprise. Before Qin Mei could reply, she went on, ”The ointment is remarkably effective, so people would still buy it even if you raised the price. It’s just... if we earn too much, we’ll inevitably make people jealous, and they’ll come after us... Oh, listen to me, I misspoke. Not ’us,’ ’me.’”

”I’m not raising the price,” Qin Mei said decisively.

Hearing that Qin Mei wasn’t going to raise the price, Second Aunt breathed a sigh of relief. A price hike seemed too risky for her; she would rather Qin Mei just make a few more patches. When it came to business, Second Aunt always put safety first.

”Second Aunt, scarcity creates value,” Qin Mei said. ”For now, the daily limit is twenty patches. I won’t make a single one more. I need to balance work and rest.”

Seeing she couldn’t persuade Qin Mei, Second Aunt gave up. She was still quite content earning two yuan a day. ”Jing Si’s wife, there’s one more thing. Can you give the ointment a name?”

Qin Mei pondered for a few seconds before saying, ”Qin’s Ointment.”

Second Aunt froze, the corner of her mouth twitching. ’Is Jing Si’s wife always this casual about naming things? Her surname is Qin, and she makes the ointment, so calling it Qin’s Ointment isn’t wrong, per se. It’s just...’

”Jing Si’s wife, your surname is Qin. Naming it Qin’s Ointment is basically telling everyone that you’re the one who made it. What if—and I’m just saying, what if—I get reported? We’re close, and the ointment is called Qin’s Ointment. You’ll be dragged into it,” Second Aunt said, her voice laced with worry.

”I don’t mind,” Qin Mei said with a shrug. ’If not Qin’s Ointment, then what? Yu’s Ointment?’

Second Aunt blinked. Since Qin Mei herself had said so, what else was there to worry about? She smiled and said, ”Fine, Qin’s Ointment it is.”

They struck a deal right then and there. Second Aunt took the twenty ointment patches and walked out of Qin Mei’s room, happy as could be.

Qin Mei stayed inside for a bit, washing up in the bathroom and changing out of her pajamas. When she finally stepped out, she was in high spirits.

When she saw the bedsheet hanging to dry in the courtyard, she was reminded of last night’s predicament. Qin Mei’s face flushed crimson, and even the tips of her ears turned red. ’Jie Jingchen is so thoughtful. He not only washed the sheet I soiled but also the clothes I changed out of.’

Before they had a proper bathroom, she would wash her clothes after her shower. But ever since they had one built, she only washed her undergarments; Jie Jingchen took care of her outer clothes and pants.

’Do it once, and there’ll be a second time, then a third... and before you know it, the grand duty of laundry falls squarely on your shoulders.’

She had never washed any of Jie Jingchen’s clothes. She’d promised to wash a white shirt of his that she had stained, but in the end, he had washed it himself.

”Fourth Sister-in-law, what did Second Aunt want?” Jie Jingshan asked, rolling out in her wheelchair after getting changed. She smiled as she looked at Qin Mei, who was staring blankly at the bedsheet.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Qin Mei turned to Jie Jingshan and asked with a smile, ”Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

”I have,” Jie Jingshan answered, adding, ”I got up early, so I ate with Fourth Brother.”

Qin Mei nodded, satisfied. ”I’m a late riser,” she said. ”From now on, don’t wait for me to eat. Just eat with your Fourth Brother. That’s the only way I can sleep in with a clear conscience.”

”Okay,” Jing Shan agreed.

”Good-for-nothing layabout,” Aunt Zhang muttered under her breath from the courtyard where she was washing clothes, having overheard Qin Mei.

Qin Mei couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge Aunt Zhang. She had never considered her love of food and aversion to work anything to be ashamed of.

”Jing Si must have had eight lifetimes of terrible luck to marry a good-for-nothing wife like you!” Aunt Zhang said loudly while scrubbing her laundry.

”Sigh!” Qin Mei let out a deliberate, loud sigh. She fixed her gaze on the laundry-scrubbing Aunt Zhang and proclaimed, ”Being born is an art form, you know. If you’re born into a rich family, you’re set for a life of luxury. If you’re born into a poor family in the back of beyond, you have two choices: either work your fingers to the bone to change your fate or marry well to climb the social ladder and change your fate. And I’d say I’ve been very successful. I’m using my marriage to live my own small life of luxury. My husband treats me like a precious jewel. He can’t bear to let me do this, can’t bear to let me do that. He practically worships the ground I walk on. This life is just carefree and blissful.”