CMWKSD -Chapter 66 Rolling Pills

The conversation with Shopkeeper Zhuang went very smoothly. Shao Qing understood everything thoroughly, though Jiu Yue was still worried that Shopkeeper Zhuang might be poached by someone else. She directly signed a five-year agreement with him—breach of contract would require compensation of two hundred taels of silver.

Shopkeeper Zhuang had also made up his mind. He had worked diligently at Yunxiao Tower for more than ten years, only for the young master to be swayed by a concubine whispering in his ear.

Just like that, he was removed. One had to know—he had followed the old master and struggled alongside him to build everything up. Yet they dismissed him the moment they wanted to.

Shopkeeper Zhuang deeply felt the coldness of the world. Not only that—when he couldn’t find work, it wasn’t that he hadn’t gone to look for the young master. But the young master allowed others to suppress him, showing not the slightest bit of old affection.

Shopkeeper Zhuang’s heart had gone cold. Even if Jiu Yue hadn’t signed this agreement with him, he wouldn’t have gone back anyway. If another concubine’s relative showed up next time, he would still be the one forced to leave.

Because the young master never treated these old hands like people at all.

Today, Jiu Yue had really done a lot. Following Shao Qing, she went to the shop that made signboards, found a foreman for renovations, went to customize porcelain bottles…

She even went to a fortune-teller’s stall to pick an auspicious opening date.

In the end, Jiu Yue went to the pharmacy and bought a full cart of medicinal ingredients—spending several hundred taels of silver.

At first, it made her heart ache. But later, when she passed by Wang Sheng’s restaurant and grain shop and saw how unbelievably well the sweet potatoes and starch were selling, her mood improved considerably. Even if she did nothing, silver would still keep flowing in—absolutely delightful.

After handing Shao Qing the medicinal packs for washing his mother’s eyes and giving Shao Qing’s mother acupuncture, the two of them finally dragged their exhausted bodies home.

Ji Yiqing was fine—he was used to farm work. Jiu Yue actually didn’t feel tired either; she just disliked shopping.

After getting that cart of medicinal herbs into the dispensary, Jiu Yue felt an inexplicable twinge of regret.

Why had she gone and found herself more work to do?

She could clearly just freeload and wait to die comfortably!

But then again—freeloading was fine, but being wronged wasn’t. Rolling up her sleeves, she decided: just do it! Roll pills!

Suddenly thinking of something, Jiu Yue turned on her heel and hauled the three little girls in the household into the main hall.

The Ji family could be said to tremble whenever they saw Jiu Yue about to do something. Shen Mei badly wanted to pull Ji Xiaoyu back. Li Xiaocao started crying the moment she saw Ji Xiaoya standing in front of Jiu Yue.

This showed how powerful Jiu Yue’s lingering intimidation was. Only Ji Youqin—no one knew where her filter came from—looked at Jiu Yue with eyes practically glowing.

“Second sister-in-law!”

Ji Chaomian and Ji Yiqing stood outside the main hall.

“Everything settled?” Ji Chaomian asked.

Ji Yiqing nodded, then looked at Ji Chaomian again. “I wrote down some thoughts about the base Jiu Yue wants to set up. Big brother, help me see if there’s anything that needs adding.”

Ji Chaomian gave a hum, then glanced at Jiu Yue, who was sitting upright in the main hall, scrutinizing the three little girls in front of her.

“Did the three girls make her unhappy?”

Ji Yiqing shook his head. He didn’t really know why, but occasionally—just occasionally—he could follow Jiu Yue’s train of thought.

“She probably doesn’t want to roll pills.”

Ji Chaomian nodded in understanding. “So she wants these three little girls to help her roll pills?”

“Mm.”

Of course, Jiu Yue didn’t roll pills by hand. She had customized several wooden racks—auxiliary tools for hand-rolling pills from the twenty-second century.

But even with such tools, Jiu Yue still didn’t want to do it. She didn’t want to do anything at all.

After finishing her explanation, Jiu Yue added, “I’ll pay you monthly wages—three hundred coins per person each month. How about it?”

Ji Xiaoyu and Ji Xiaoya had been trembling with fear, but the moment they heard that just rolling pills could earn three hundred coins a month, they instantly stopped shaking. The tears dried right up.

They knew that in the county city, even restaurant servers only earned two hundred coins a month—and they could get three hundred.

Shen Mei and Li Xiaocao finally felt relieved. Su Ruo, however, thought more deeply.

“Jiu Yue, those are all your formulas. This… this might not be appropriate, right?”

Lately, Su Ruo didn’t know if it was because she’d been around Jiu Yue too long, but unlike before—when she never thought of resisting, or could be said to have had an empty head— she now had a bit of her own thinking. She no longer blindly listened to Ji Dahai and Hu Chunhua.

Moreover, people always had selfish motives. Ji Youqin was fine—she was from their main branch. But the other two little girls weren’t. What if, in the future, they used Jiu Yue’s formulas to make money themselves?

Then Jiu Yue would have nothing left to earn. Right now, Jiu Yue was supporting the entire family—but she couldn’t possibly support them for a lifetime.

Jiu Yue raised an eyebrow, surprised that Su Ruo had developed her own thoughts. This was a good thing—as long as she wasn’t opposing Jiu Yue, everything else was negotiable.

“Afraid? Afraid of what? I’ve said it before—I like people who are obedient and useful. As for those who aren’t obedient, just kill them.”

The three little girls all shuddered at the same time. Jiu Yue leaned forward slightly, the corner of her mouth lifting. She was clearly smiling, yet for no reason at all, it sent a chill straight up from the soles of one’s feet.

“Isn’t that right? Just kill you all directly.”

Ji Xiaoya and Ji Xiaoyu’s eyes flickered as they almost cried, but they forced it back. Ji Youqin, on the other hand, thought Jiu Yue looked incredibly cool and shook her head vigorously.

“Second sister-in-law, don’t worry! I will absolutely never betray you!”

Jiu Yue lifted her hand and patted Ji Youqin’s head. “Good girl.”

Ji Dahai almost couldn’t hold it in anymore and said to Ji Chaomian and Ji Yiqing beside him, “With your sister worshipping Jiu Yue like this, in the future… will she even be able to get married?”

Ji Chaomian and Ji Yiqing exchanged a glance and didn’t see any problem. If their sister could learn even a tiny fraction of Jiu Yue’s abilities, she wouldn’t be bullied by her husband’s family. And even if no one wanted her, that was fine too—the two brothers could easily afford to support one sister.

Like a mother hen, Jiu Yue herded the three little chicks into the dispensary and began rolling pills at full speed.

Each person was responsible for a different type of pill. Jiu Yue handed them the pre-measured medicinal ingredients. Some needed to be decocted, others steamed—each had its own method.

Then Jiu Yue suddenly remembered something important.

“Do you all know how to read?”

Ji Youqin nodded. “I can read. My brothers taught me.”

Ji Xiaoya and Ji Xiaoyu also nodded. When Ji Youqin learned to read, Ji Chaomian and Ji Yiqing had taught her.

Hu Chunhua, afraid her granddaughters would fall behind even a bit, had forced the two of them to study as well—so they could read too.

Good. Otherwise, if they accidentally packaged the wrong ones, Jiu Yue would have to redo everything. Though she could tell just by opening a bottle and smelling it whether a pill was wrong, she positioned herself as quality control.

“The porcelain bottles won’t arrive for a few more days, so take your time rolling them. Make a few bottles of each type first. Pills also have a shelf life—if they expire before anyone buys them, that wouldn’t be good.”

The three little girls replied loudly, “Yes, second sister-in-law!”

So obedient. See? The Ji family was actually very well-behaved. Jiu Yue didn’t need to worry about them at all.