CMWKSD -Chapter 69 What’s Mine Is Yours Too

Jiu Yue looked at Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao with a half-smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Behind the two of them stood several young men dressed in scholars’ robes. When they saw Jiu Yue, they cupped their hands and greeted her respectfully, calling out, “Doctor Jiu Yue.”

Jiu Yue didn’t know how to return formal greetings, so she simply nodded slightly.

Actually, they also knew that since Doctor Jiu Yue was clearly Ji Yiqing’s wife, they ought to call her Madam Ji. But Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao had repeatedly warned them that it was best to address her as Doctor Jiu Yue. Through observation, they had discovered that Jiu Yue didn’t like being called Madam Ji.

Today, Ji Zhouye could be said to have shown off a bit in front of his classmates. After all, the Strengthening and Body-Fortifying Pills cost five taels of silver per bottle. He and Ji Wanqiao each took one pill a day—one bottle a month.

Jiu Yue gave them the pills, and they took them without question. It was only today that they found out the pills actually cost five taels of silver a bottle.

To be honest, Qing Shui County didn’t have a particularly strong scholarly atmosphere. Families with real wealth all sent their children to academies in the prefectural capital. So although their families had some means, they couldn’t be considered truly well-off.

Eating a bottle of pills worth five taels of silver every month—frankly speaking, their families could afford it, but it wasn’t necessary.

Now that they realized Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao had been taking something so expensive, they no longer looked down on the two brothers’ family background as they once had.

Ji Zhouye called out ingratiatingly, “Second Sister-in-law, my classmates want to ask if there are still any Strengthening and Body-Fortifying Pills left?”

Jiu Yue was happy to build up the Ji family’s reputation. After all, the better off the Ji family was, the more freely she could do as she pleased.

“There are still a few bottles left.”

Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao exchanged a glance. They had originally thought Jiu Yue wouldn’t agree to sell to their classmates. Who would have thought that this sharp and ruthless second sister-in-law would actually give them face?

Jiu Yue really was someone they couldn’t quite figure out.

Ji Wanqiao, being a bit younger, immediately climbed the pole when Jiu Yue showed him a bit of goodwill. “Second Sister-in-law, you don’t know—ever since you taught me the Five-Animal Exercises, and with these Strengthening Pills, my health has improved a lot. That’s why my classmates noticed and wanted to try them too.”

Jiu Yue hummed in acknowledgment. “Practice the Five-Animal Exercises properly. Don’t end up collapsing in the examination hall. I’ll have someone deliver the pills to your academy tomorrow.”

Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao looked at each other and both saw joy shining in the other’s eyes. They cupped their hands and bowed to Jiu Yue. “Many thanks, Second Sister-in-law.”

Jiu Yue gave a dry chuckle. Enough pleasantries—she didn’t like socializing. It was boring and hypocritical. “No problem, no problem.”

Sensing that Jiu Yue was already done dealing with them, Ji Zhouye and Ji Wanqiao hurriedly took their leave.

As Jiu Yue watched them go, she vaguely heard bits of discussion—some talking about how young she was, but more of them praising her looks.

Jiu Yue clicked her tongue. These people, honestly. They didn’t praise her earlier, and now they weren’t even praising her to her face. What was the point?

As the crowd gradually thinned, only a few people remained in the shop, copying down dietary therapy prescriptions.

Shopkeeper Zhuang immediately began checking the inventory. The Strengthening and Body-Fortifying Pills, the Black Hair Pills, and the Hair Growth Pills were selling the best.

The other types had also sold, just not as well as those three. Jiu Yue had thought that women in ancient times would buy Blood-Enriching Pills.

Turns out she was wrong.

It seemed that baldness was a problem people worried about throughout all ages, regardless of gender.

Ji Yiqing was so busy that his clothes were slightly disheveled. He had been standing by the registration book the whole time, explaining things to everyone who wanted to buy pills.

After all, when Jiu Yue sold them, she had emphasized that this was the most important part. Otherwise, if someone with a heart condition or a serious chronic illness bought them and took them, it would be bad.

By now, his throat felt like it was on fire. Rarely feeling kind, Jiu Yue poured him a cup of water. “Drink.”

Ji Yiqing looked at the awkward way Jiu Yue poured the water for him, chuckled softly, and accepted the cup, gulping it down.

Hu Chunhua, Ji Shan, Shen Mei, and the others had only stayed briefly when the shop first opened, then left. There was no helping it—they couldn’t read, and they didn’t know how to explain things.

To avoid making them uncomfortable, Ji Yiqing had sent them away early, which was for the best.

Seeing that Ji Yiqing had finished his water, Jiu Yue smoothly poured him another cup. “Want more?”

Ji Yiqing looked at the water. She’d already poured it—why ask whether he wanted it?

That aside, Ji Yiqing hadn’t expected the pills to sell this well. “Looks like Master Wang must have gone around publicizing your medical skills.”

Jiu Yue curled her lips. No wonder there were so many people. As expected of a businessman—who knew how many people Master Wang had talked into coming to buy the pills.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have nearly cleared out her entire stock on the very first day.

Jiu Yue hadn’t gone to help out front. She didn’t know how to do business, and she wasn’t smooth-tongued either. After all, she usually relied on force.

“I had the restaurant deliver food over for Shopkeeper Zhuang and the others. No one expected there would be so many people today,” Ji Yiqing said, recalling his own initiative and feeling it was necessary to tell Jiu Yue.

After all, the shop belonged to Jiu Yue. He couldn’t overstep and start currying favor with her staff on his own.

Jiu Yue looked at Ji Yiqing in confusion. “So you had food delivered—so what? Why are you telling me this?”

Ji Yiqing choked for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Because he could tell that Jiu Yue really didn’t care much about these things.

More accurately, Jiu Yue didn’t care about this place, didn’t care about anything, didn’t care about the Ji family, and didn’t even care about him.

Toward him, Jiu Yue gave off the feeling that if she remembered him, she’d amuse herself with him; if she didn’t, she’d put him up on a shelf and forget about him.

Clearly, the two of them were husband and wife—they didn’t have to be like this. But sometimes, Ji Yiqing just… inexplicably wanted to be closer to Jiu Yue. He didn’t even know why.

Jiu Yue was completely different from all the women in this world—utterly unlike any woman he had ever known.

Ji Yiqing tightened his grip on the cup. He… he wanted Jiu Yue to be closer to him, or to care about him just a little bit. Even just a little. Not to treat him with such indifference.

Ji Yiqing was someone with an extremely strong sense of responsibility and morality. Ever since he and Jiu Yue had a marriage contract, he had already regarded her as his wife, vowing to spend his entire life with her.

But Jiu Yue didn’t seem to care about any of that.

Ji Yiqing looked at Jiu Yue’s beautiful face, at her clear and bright eyes.

For a fleeting moment, he wanted to ask her: when you kissed me, was it because you wanted to kiss me—or was it simply because you wanted to kiss someone?

“No, nothing,” Ji Yiqing finally said. “This is your shop, isn’t it? Of course everything should be decided with you as the priority.”

Jiu Yue put her hands on her hips. “That’s not right. It’s my shop, sure—but isn’t it your shop too? You think I did all this just for myself? Sharing those dietary therapy prescriptions—won’t that make your and Big Brother’s reputations sound great? I know that around here, things like prescriptions are treated as family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation.”

Ji Yiqing smiled indulgently. Seeing Jiu Yue standing there with her hands on her hips, feigning annoyance, his heart suddenly softened. The way Jiu Yue thought about things was really quite different from his.

Ji Yiqing stood up. “Alright. It’s my shop too. Shall we head back? Are you hungry? Let’s go eat first.”