Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

’She had no idea what herbs were in these powders. Even if Qin Mei taught her everything without holding back, she doubted she could learn it. She had previously worried about the old saying, ”teach the apprentice everything and the master starves.” Heavens! She’d been way too confident. This apprentice—herself—couldn’t learn it at all!’

”It’s getting sticky.” Qin Mei put down the spatula, already drenched in sweat.

”Heh heh.” Second Aunt laughed awkwardly. ”With a pot this big, how many ointment patches will it make?”

”At least a thousand,” Qin Mei estimated conservatively. She usually used a small medicinal furnace to brew the herbs, which was enough for twenty or thirty patches. This time, using a big pot, she decided to do it all in one batch. It would be more than enough for Second Aunt to sell.

”That many?” Second Aunt exclaimed, looking at the pot of gooey medicine. Each patch used only a tiny bit; a thousand patches was a conservative estimate.

What Second Aunt saw wasn’t ointment, but money.

”Um, Jing Si’s wife, could we increase the amount we sell?” Second Aunt asked tentatively.

Qin Mei fell into deep thought. Her current expenses were quite high, and she felt uneasy using her mother-in-law and sister-in-law’s money. She would only be at ease spending money she had earned herself. After weighing the pros and cons, Qin Mei looked at Second Aunt’s expectant face and agreed. ”Alright.”

”Really?” Second Aunt was so excited she threw her arms around Qin Mei in a hug.

”Second Aunt, it’s hot,” Qin Mei said, pushing her away. She really couldn’t handle this kind of enthusiasm.

Second Aunt was even hotter than Qin Mei. The clothes on her back had been soaked with sweat and dried multiple times, but she wasn’t afraid of the heat. At her age, she was long used to summer.

Qin Mei, however, was different. She was used to air-conditioned rooms. Relying only on a fan, she still felt hot, especially at noon when the fan just blew hot air around.

”Second Aunt, during the autumn harvest, I suggest you go sell in the countryside,” Qin Mei proposed. ”Farmers work too hard, and they just endure their body aches.”

”It’s too expensive. It won’t sell well in the countryside.” Second Aunt was troubled. Qin Mei had set the price, and even she had thought it was too expensive at the time.

”Lower the price. Small profits, but high volume,” Qin Mei said. The discount would be a sort of benefit for people in the countryside. Giving it away for free was unrealistic since the herbs themselves cost money.

”No, lowering the price will affect our original price point.” Second Aunt disagreed. ”We’ve worked so hard to build up the reputation of Qin’s ointment. We can’t let all that effort go to waste.”

”That’s easy to solve. We’ll change the name,” Qin Mei said.

”Change the name?” Second Aunt exclaimed. ”You’re abandoning Qin’s ointment?”

Qin Mei shook her head and said, ”Qin’s ointment is Qin’s ointment, and this ointment is this ointment.”

Second Aunt was completely baffled by Qin Mei’s wordplay. ”What do you mean?”

”The ointment sold in the countryside will be called...” Qin Mei couldn’t think of a good name on the spot. After a moment, she said, ”Qin’s Ointment—Low-Spec Version.”

Second Aunt’s mouth twitched. ’Does Jing Si’s wife always name medicines so casually?’

”Is there a difference?” Second Aunt asked.

”No difference. It’s all from the same pot,” Qin Mei answered truthfully.

Second Aunt’s face twitched. ’Isn’t this just tricking people?’ But then again, the ointment really was effective. While it might not work instantaneously, one patch was enough to relieve the pain.

Outside the kitchen, Mrs. Xie overheard their conversation and hesitated, wondering if she should go in. But on second thought, she realized her appearance would make them uncomfortable, so she left as quietly as she had come.

Whatever Qin Mei decided, Second Aunt would follow blindly. And so, ”Qin’s Ointment—Low-Spec Version” was officially launched for sale in the countryside.

Qin Mei provided the medicinal herbs but refused to share the formula. Second Aunt handled both production and sales. The profit-sharing was also changed: after deducting costs, Qin Mei and Second Aunt would split the profits fifty-fifty.

Second Aunt was as busy as a bee. Seeing the daily income, she was full of energy.

Qin Mei often reminded her not to overdo it, lest the losses outweigh the gains. Second Aunt would pat her chest and guarantee that she knew her limits.

On the twelfth, Jie Jingchen came home from work as usual. Qin Mei ran after him, asking, ”Jie Jingsi, when is your sister getting here?”

”Soon,” Jie Jingchen answered perfunctorily, his previously good mood souring. ’Ever since we found out Jie Jingling was coming back, Qin Mei has been asking me several times a day. She never gets tired of it, but my ears are about to fall off. I can already imagine it: after my older sister arrives, my wife will definitely ignore me. She might even kick me out of the room to have her sleep with her instead.’

With one hand on her hip, Qin Mei poked Jie Jingchen’s chest with the other, her expression unhappy. ”Soon again? Jie Jingsi, can you stop being so dismissive? It’s already the twelfth! You said ’soon’ back on the eighth, and what happened? I haven’t even seen a shadow of her.”

”Don’t worry, she’ll definitely be here before the fifteenth.” Jie Jingchen reached out and ruffled her hair.