Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Qin Mei looked up, glancing coldly at Wen Xingnan. ”I burned you on purpose. If you don’t get lost, I won’t just burn the back of your hand. I’ll burn your face.”

”You wouldn’t dare.” Wen Xingnan reflexively took a step back. Burning her hand was a small matter, but burning her face was serious. ’What if I’m disfigured?’

”Watch me.” A faint smile played on Qin Mei’s lips, her almond-shaped eyes gazing deeply at Wen Xingnan. ”Want to try me right now?”

Wen Xingnan truly didn’t dare to provoke Qin Mei. Both Jie Jingchen and Qiao Yanqiu were fiercely protective. If Qin Mei was crazy enough to ruin her face, the matter would be brushed aside even if Wen Xingnan reported it to the police, all thanks to Jie Jingchen and Qiao Yanqiu’s influence.

With Wen Xingnan gone, quiet finally returned. A fiery glint in her eyes, Qin Mei fell into deep thought.

Mrs. Xie came home from work and saw Qin Mei sitting at the stone table, rolling medicinal pills. ”Xiao Mei.”

Qin Mei’s hands paused. She turned to look at Mrs. Xie walking toward her and broke into a grin. ”Mom.”

Mrs. Xie looked at Qin Mei, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude. ”Xiao Mei, thank you.”

Qin Mei knew what she meant. She looked at Mrs. Xie and smiled without speaking. ’What could she say? ”You’re welcome,” or ”It was nothing”?’

”Xiao Mei, about Jiali’s illness...”

”She won’t die within the next three years.” Qin Mei cut Mrs. Xie off. She could only guarantee three years. After that, it was a matter of doing one’s best and leaving the rest to fate.

Mrs. Xie smiled and said magnanimously, ”Jiali is a fortunate person. I believe heaven will look after her.”

Qin Mei thought for a moment, then agreed, ”It will.”

Mrs. Xie knew almost everything that had happened in Xiangjiang. On the other hand, she never mentioned anything about what was happening in Shijiu City over the phone.

”Mom, just now, Wen Xingnan...”

Hearing Wen Xingnan’s name gave Mrs. Xie a headache. She cut Qin Mei off. ”She’s a lunatic. Don’t pay her any mind.”

Qin Mei studied Mrs. Xie with a probing gaze and asked, ”Mom, you don’t like her?”

”I don’t,” Mrs. Xie blurted out, her eyes filled with unconcealed disgust. ”Between Xu Chunyan and Wen Xingnan, one is insatiably greedy, and the other toys with emotions. I have plenty of money, so I can tolerate Xu Chunyan’s bottomless demands. But I cannot stand Wen Xingnan playing with Jing San’s feelings.”

”From what Wen Xingnan was saying, she wants to be my third sister-in-law,” Qin Mei said bluntly. She wasn’t misrepresenting Wen Xingnan; her intention had been very clear and certain.

”Hmph!” Mrs. Xie snorted coldly. ”As if she’s worthy.”

Qin Mei agreed. She also felt Wen Xingnan wasn’t worthy.

Mrs. Xie said, filled with righteous indignation, ”Back then, she trampled Jing San’s true feelings through the mud. Jing San humbled himself to the point of begging her not to leave. And what happened? She left cold-heartedly, making a clean break without a single glance back at the wounded Jing San. Now she’s back and wants to mend their broken relationship? In her dreams! A broken mirror will always show its cracks, no matter how well you repair it. Besides, Jing San is married now, with a happy family of three. Even if he weren’t, she could forget about ever marrying him.”

Qin Mei looked at the emotional Mrs. Xie, wanting to speak but holding back. Jie Jinghun and Shen Qing treated each other with the formal respect of strangers. ’Could a marriage like that really be happy and blissful?’

”Mom, I heard from Wen Xingnan that Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law are getting a divorce,” Qin Mei said.

Mrs. Xie froze for a moment, then said domineeringly, ”They will not get a divorce.”

”Wen Xingnan is divorced. Are you sure Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law won’t get a divorce?” Qin Mei asked, her gaze scrutinizing Mrs. Xie.

’If Jie Jingwei is divorced and Jie Jinghun gets divorced too, Father-in-law would probably be heartbroken, and Granny would gloat over their misfortune.’

An unreadable emotion flickered in Mrs. Xie’s eyes. She took a deep breath and said, ”Wen Xingnan’s divorce is her own fault. Your third brother and his wife have Xiao Duo between them. For Xiao Duo’s sake, they won’t get a divorce.”

Qin Mei didn’t feel it was her place to say much about Jie Jinghun and Shen Qing’s impending divorce. If the two were insistent on separating, who could stop them? After one trip to Xiangjiang, Jie Jinghun and Shen Qing’s little family was on the verge of collapse.

Jing Wu was something else, too. He hadn’t breathed a single word to them before they got on the helicopter.

Qin Mei was more curious about Wen Xingnan’s miscarriage. ”Mom, how did Wen Xingnan lose the baby?”

Mrs. Xie looked at Qin Mei, her expression complicated, as if she wanted to say something but held back.

”Mom, don’t tell me it had something to do with Third Sister-in-law?” Qin Mei asked tentatively.

”I believe your third sister-in-law. She didn’t do it on purpose,” Mrs. Xie said.

’So it really was related to Shen Qing.’ Qin Mei’s mind immediately concocted a scenario: Shen Qing was having an affair with Wen Xingnan’s husband and was caught in the act. The two got into a fight, and Shen Qing accidentally caused the miscarriage.

’An affair?’ Qin Mei thought of the ice-cold Shen Qing. ’Probably not. No matter how much she loved a former lover she couldn’t have, she wouldn’t do something as stupid as betraying her husband and family.’

Qin Mei didn’t ask any more questions and went back to rolling her pills.

Mrs. Xie didn’t want to bring up those upsetting matters either. She got up, washed her hands at the sink, and sat down opposite Qin Mei. ”Xiao Mei, let me help you.”

Qin Mei didn’t refuse, tearing off a small lump for Mrs. Xie to roll into a ball.

As Mrs. Xie rolled the pill, she asked, ”What is this medicine? What does it treat?”

Qin Mei didn’t answer the question directly. ”It’s being sent to Xiangjiang.”

Mrs. Xie paused, looking at Qin Mei. ”For Jiali?”

Qin Mei shook her head. ”No, it’s for Li Rui.”

”For Xiao Rui?” Mrs. Xie was very surprised, a flash of worry in her eyes. ”What’s wrong with him?”

”Nothing’s wrong with him. We’ve struck up a partnership.” Qin Mei gave Mrs. Xie a meaningful look.

Mrs. Xie understood, of course, but she still asked worriedly, ”Do you know Xiao Rui well? Is he reliable? Don’t let him swindle you.”

’It’s merciful of me not to swindle *him*,’ Qin Mei thought. ”Jie Jingchen introduced us.”

Mrs. Xie fell silent. She might not trust others, but she trusted her son. Especially when it came to Qin Mei’s affairs, Jing Si would never cheat his own wife, no matter who else he might cheat.

”How much for a bottle?” Mrs. Xie asked casually. ’Shipping a bottle of medicine from Shijiu City to Xiangjiang wouldn’t even cover the costs of materials, labor, and postage if the price is too low,’ she thought.

”A thousand,” Qin Mei replied.

Hearing that number, Mrs. Xie was stunned for a moment. ”That expensive?”

Mrs. Xie casually picked up a bottle and looked at it. She estimated it contained about ten pills. ’A thousand per bottle means one hundred per pill. That’s truly expensive!’

”It is quite expensive. A thousand per pill.” Even Qin Mei thought it was expensive.

”What?” Mrs. Xie lost her composure, a look of astonishment on her face. ’A thousand per pill? Did I mishear? I thought one hundred per pill was expensive, but a thousand is just outrageous!’

”Jie Jingchen set the price.” Qin Mei passed the buck to Jie Jingchen. She wasn’t lying; Jie Jingchen had indeed set that price.

Mrs. Xie’s eye twitched. She didn’t know what to say, but still couldn’t help but utter a single word. ”Crook.”

Qin Mei smiled without saying a word. ’A mother-in-law can diss her own son all she wants, but it would be tactless for me to agree.’

”Will it even sell?” Mrs. Xie asked, worried.

”It will,” Qin Mei answered with certainty.

Mrs. Xie looked at the few bottles of medicine before her, speechless. ’How much money will this make?’ ”When are you sending them?”

”Next month,” Qin Mei replied.

”Why next month?” Mrs. Xie didn’t understand.

”Limited edition. One bottle a month,” Qin Mei answered with a smile. ’Scarcity creates value. If I satisfy the entire Xiangjiang market at once, my medicine will no longer be precious.’

The limited supply would maintain the medicine’s price equilibrium.

What Qin Mei didn’t know was that in Xiangjiang, a single pill was hard to come by and was being scalped for an astronomical price. The one thing Xiangjiang didn’t lack was rich people.

Li Rui had approached Qin Mei to discuss increasing the monthly supply, but she refused him. Her reason wasn’t that scarcity creates value, but that the medicinal ingredients were precious and extremely hard to find, and the process was so complex that only ten pills could be refined per month.

Qin Mei was bluffing, but Li Rui took her at her word, which was why he had jacked up the price to astronomical levels.

”Xiao Mei, you shouldn’t have come back. You should have stayed in Xiangjiang. With you and Jing Si working together, you could definitely push the Qiao Family to new heights,” Mrs. Xie said teasingly.

’The Qiao Family has no involvement in the medicine I’m selling,’ Qin Mei thought.

”Oh, right, Mom. Grandpa and Grandma gave me shares. Did you know about that?” Qin Mei asked Mrs. Xie.