Chapter 686 - 238: You Kicked Me, You Must Be Responsible for Me (2)

Seeing her grandmother wasn’t interested, Qin Mei didn’t waste any more words on the matter.

Grandma mulled it over for a few seconds before asking Qin Mei, "How effective is the medicine?"

Qin Mei’s lips twitched. A peculiar glint flashed in her eyes as she asked tentatively, "Grandma, are you thinking of giving this to Grandpa?"

Grandma glared at Qin Mei. "I am not."

Qin Mei didn’t believe her and tried to gently dissuade her. "Grandma, Grandpa is getting on in years. I’m worried that if he takes the medicine..."

"The Qiao Family has its own pharmaceutical factory," Grandma cut in irritably.

Qin Mei understood. Her grandmother wanted to do business with her. "Does the Qiao Family’s factory also produce that kind of medicine?"

Grandma shot Qin Mei a sideways glance. "If it’s a medicine, our factory can produce it."

Qin Mei fell silent. Pharmaceutical factories were for mass production, but she could only concoct a limited amount of her medicine. Mass production was a game of high volume and low margins, whereas her medicine was valuable precisely because it was rare.

Qin Mei was fundamentally against collaborating with her grandmother on *that* specific medicine she developed. However, she was open to trying with other medicines that could benefit the country and its people. She asked tentatively, "Grandma, does the Qiao Family’s factory produce Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, or a combination of the two?"

"A combination of the two," Grandma answered.

"Where are the medicinal ingredients primarily sourced from?" Qin Mei asked.

Grandma glanced at her eldest grandson before answering, "Huaxia."

"I have access to medicinal herbs. Can we cooperate?" Qin Mei asked directly. If she partnered with the Qiao Family, she could have Ah Bing and Zhang Haoyuan mobilize the villagers to gather herbs in the mountains. Zhang Haoyuan could manage quality control, and they could export directly to Xiangjiang. This would boost the villagers’ income, and they likely wouldn’t be intercepted or branded as criminal speculators.

Grandma waved her hand. "Discuss it with my eldest grandson."

Qin Mei’s lips twitched, and she asked dumbly, "What would I discuss with him?"

"The cooperation," Grandma said.

Qin Mei was speechless.

Grandma looked at her eldest grandson. "You’re the second-in-command of the Qiao Family. You didn’t tell her?"

Jie Jingchen met Qin Mei’s complicated gaze and simply said, "She didn’t ask."

Grandma sighed and said softly, "A husband and wife must be honest with each other. That’s the only way to avoid problems in your relationship and have a smooth-sailing marriage."

Neither of them said a word. ’Since I have my own secrets, how can I be so demanding as to expect Jie Jingchen to tell me everything about himself?’

’The heir to the Qiao Family is Jing Qi. I really hadn’t expected Grandma and Grandpa to have already entrusted Jie Jingchen with so much responsibility. With Grandma and Grandpa getting on in years, Jing Qi still being young, and Jie Jingjue being unreliable, having Jie Jingchen temporarily take over the Qiao Family really is the perfect choice. Once Jing Qi is capable enough, they’ll hand the Qiao Family back over to him.’

’But would Jie Jingchen be willing to do all the hard work just to hand it over to Jing Qi?’

’I just hope they don’t turn on each other over the family fortune!’

"Grandma, our marriage will be smooth sailing," Jie Jingchen said with conviction.

’Grandma didn’t object. She liked Qin Mei and wanted them to have a happy marriage. If Qin Mei could give Jie Jingchen a child, be it a son or a daughter, their marriage would be even more perfect. But there was one condition: the child had to be Jie Jingchen’s. She’d better not just get pregnant with some child of unknown parentage for the sake of having one.’

"Meimei, let’s go back to our room." Jie Jingchen pulled Qin Mei to her feet and headed for the staircase.

’Watching the way Jie Jingchen walked, Grandma instantly grew worried again. She mentally chided Qin Mei for not knowing her own strength. If she ever walked in on something like this again, she would definitely take a page from Jing Shan’s book: pretend she saw nothing and leave quietly.’

’If Qin Mei got a scare, it was her own grandson who ended up getting hurt.’

"Jie Jingsi, does it hurt a lot?" Qin Mei asked, helping support Jie Jingchen.

"If I said it didn’t hurt, would you believe me?" Jie Jingchen was an expert at milking a situation for all it was worth, and he leaned his entire weight against Qin Mei.

"Hey, hey, hey! I can’t support you if you do that." Qin Mei was struggling to hold him up. ’He could clearly walk while holding on to me. His gait would be a little strange, sure, but at least he could grit his teeth and walk. I offer him a helping hand out of kindness, and he leans his whole body on me. Doesn’t he know the saying? Rely on a mountain, and it will collapse; rely on a person, and they will flee.’

Jie Jingchen reached out and grabbed the handrail, taking some of the pressure off Qin Mei.

Qin Mei carefully helped Jie Jingchen up to the third floor. As they passed Xu Jiali’s room, the door happened to open. Upon seeing Jie Jingchen, Xu Jiali’s first reaction was to slam it shut with a BANG.

A biting chill flashed through Jie Jingchen’s eyes. Qin Mei was speechless. That move from Xu Jiali was just plain rotten.

"Your aunt seems to be really afraid of you," Qin Mei couldn’t help but comment.

"No ’seems’ about it," Jie Jingchen said. "Everyone knows she’s afraid of me."

Xu Jiali opened the door again, as if stricken by a guilty conscience. She looked at Jie Jingchen and asked Qin Mei worriedly, "What happened to him?"

Would Qin Mei tell the truth? Of course not. She lied, "It’s nothing. He just sprained his ankle."