Before long, the purplish-red medicinal oil was poured into a small tin box Li Jiao had rummaged out.
After cooling on the windowsill, it solidified into a smooth ointment.
“I’m just too clever—it worked on the first try!” Li Jiao’s eyes sparkled as she picked up the small tin box and hurried to the kang bed.
Just then, Da Niu tossed bundles of willow branches as thick as fingers, which he had chopped outside, onto the ground at the door of the thatched cottage.
He entered the room, bringing a chill with him. “Brother Lie, the willow branches are all chopped…”
Before he could finish, Li Jiao called out to him, “Da Niu, come in first. Try this.”
Da Niu instinctively glanced at Qin Lie and only stepped inside after receiving a nod from him.
“What’s this?”
“Stretch out your hand.”
Da Niu felt a bit awkward and glanced at Qin Lie again.
“Why are you looking at him? I told you to stretch out your hand,” Li Jiao urged with a smile. “This is Purple Cloud Ointment I just made. It’s prepared with angelica root, Chinese angelica, and gromwell root, mixed with lard. It’s very effective for frostbite and bruises. Try it first.”
“This… my hands are rough and thick-skinned. Don’t waste such a good thing, sister-in-law. Use it on Brother Lie instead.”
“It’s meant for rough and thick skin like yours.” Li Jiao scooped out a bit and evenly applied it to the frostbite on Da Niu’s hands.
His hands were so chapped they were oozing pus.
The moment the ointment touched his skin, the soothing warmth of the lard instantly suppressed the unbearable itch.
Da Niu couldn’t help but widen his eyes in pleasant surprise. “Oh my goodness, sister-in-law, this ointment is amazing! My hands don’t itch anymore, and it smells so good—like stewed meat. Can I lick a bit?”
“Go on, get out of here. This is medicine,” Li Jiao scolded with a laugh.
Qin Lie chimed in, “Go measure how much agricultural film we need. We’ll see if we can hitch a ride on a tractor to the county town this afternoon.”
“Alright.” Da Niu turned and left.
The room was suddenly left with just the two of them.
Li Jiao turned around, her eyes burning as she stared at Qin Lie, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of her lips. “Your turn.”
Qin Lie was taken aback, but before he could react, Li Jiao had already taken off her shoes and climbed onto the kang bed, reaching out to tug at his clothes. Her tone was domineering. “You’re covered in old scars and frostbite from working in the mines. Don’t think I don’t know. Take off your clothes!”
Li Jiao huffed with a touch of coquettishness. “I need to give you a full check-up and apply ointment all over.”
All over… everywhere…
A vein throbbed at Qin Lie’s temple, and a surge of heat rose from his lower abdomen.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and suppressed the surging impulse within him, his Adam’s apple bobbing violently.
Li Jiao had already taken action, directly lifting the clothes on his body.
Qin Lie half-resisted, half-yielded, revealing his sturdy, well-defined chest and abdominal muscles.
The man’s bronze skin was covered with scars of various sizes—some from being scratched by rocks while working in the mines, others purple patches left by frostbite.
On this wild, powerful body, they looked particularly jarring.
Li Jiao’s eyes grew hot, her heart feeling as if gripped by a hand, making it hard to breathe.
She couldn’t bear to imagine what Qin Lie had endured during his days in the mines. How could this man be so resilient?
She dared not even think about how much it must have hurt him every month when he handed her his earnings, only for her to turn around and give them to Li Wenbo.
Pursing her lips, her eyes reddening, Li Jiao dipped her fingertip into a dollop of the purplish-red ointment.
The cool ointment touched his scorching skin, making Qin Lie shudder all over.
The man instantly tensed his muscles, his impulse becoming even more obvious.
“Relax, don’t tense up.” Her words carried a hint of choked sobs the moment they left her lips, making the atmosphere impossible to turn ambiguous.
Instead, Qin Lie heard the sob in her voice and immediately panicked: “Jiaojiao…”
“Why are you calling me!” Li Jiao couldn’t help but scold him, “I… I was so terrible to you back then, why did you…”
Tears fell as soon as she spoke. Li Jiao trembled as she applied ointment to all the scars on his body. Her teardrops fell onto him, burning Qin Lie into a state of confusion.
She felt sorry for him, so sorry that she cried…
Qin Lie almost wanted to pull her into his arms, but he didn’t dare. It was her business if she didn’t mind these scars, but he couldn’t forget his own identity.
Being too hasty now would only scare her, so he had to restrain himself.
Qin Lie lowered his head, trying his best to soften his voice: “Jiaojiao, you are my… wife. It’s only right that I treat you well.”
Li Jiao’s hand trembled. Was it only because she was his wife that he treated her well?
But in her previous life, the family that bought her also beat and scolded her at every turn because she was that man’s wife, so…
Li Jiao gathered her thoughts and silently applied ointment to all the scars on his body.
Qin Lie grew anxious. He reached out, wanting to lift her face, but Li Jiao avoided him.
“There’s still quite a bit of ointment left over there. Later, I’ll go out and see if I can find a suitable tin box or clam oil container. We need to build a greenhouse, and plastic agricultural film isn’t cheap. With the little money we have left, I’m afraid it won’t be enough to buy film for such a large piece of land.”
Li Jiao took a breath, lowering her reddened eyes, not daring nor wanting to meet Qin Lie’s gaze.
“This ointment has low production costs. A few dollars can yield dozens of boxes. Why don’t we sell some first to recoup our funds?”
“Jiaojiao.” Qin Lie reached out again.
“We need to give this ointment a name. I think it works a bit better than clam oil, so we can set the price a little lower than clam oil. That way, we can quickly…”
Before she could finish, Li Jiao’s face was lifted by Qin Lie. The man didn’t even have time to put his clothes back on, his face full of heartache as he cradled Li Jiao’s small face.
“Jiaojiao, why are you crying?” Qin Lie’s fingers gently stroked her cheek, his heartache spreading. This little girl really was a delicate soul. He didn’t know which words had upset her.
“None of your business!” Li Jiao, as if comforted by someone, let out a wail and cried at the top of her lungs.
She cried until she was out of breath, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly pitiful.
Qin Lie’s heart ached unbearably, yet he couldn’t hold her in his arms. At that moment, he truly felt that if Li Jiao wanted anything—even his life—he would give it to her.
Those ten years had worn Li Jiao down so much that she didn’t dare express her thoughts freely, let alone cry.
But now, for some reason, with Qin Lie’s concern and obvious heartache, she felt overwhelmingly wronged. Tears surged forth, impossible to hold back.
After crying for about five or six minutes, as Qin Lie clumsily wiped her tears, Li Jiao suddenly let out a laugh: “You fool, you don’t even know how to comfort someone.”
Qin Lie lowered his eyes, his throat dry. He didn’t know how to say it. In this situation, he really wanted to press this delicate soul onto the bed…
Qin Lie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I really am… clumsy with my hands and my words. Jiao Jiao, would you ever leave me?”
Li Jiao wrinkled her delicate little brow and huffed. “Then learn. In the future, if you say sweet things to me, I’ll be a little nicer to you.”
“Okay.” Qin Lie’s heart raced wildly. Unable to hold back any longer, he pulled her tightly into his arms.
“Ah, Qin Lie, you’re rubbing off the ointment! Let go of me first.” Li Jiao let out a soft cry, her words full of complaint, yet her body pressed even closer to his.
These past few days had felt like a dream. Only like this could she feel she was still alive.
Da Niu had finished measuring the land boundary. Seeing this scene, he silently stood guard at the door for a long while, not daring to barge in.