“Xiangbei, let sister-in-law in.”
Su Ci’s voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
It was the aura of someone in charge.
Though she was the youngest, her words felt like orders.
Lu Xiangbei froze for a moment, then stepped aside.
He didn’t even realize it—his obedience to this sister-in-law had almost become instinct.
The woman carrying a child was Li Xiujuan, wife of the head cook, usually honest and simple.
The moment she stepped into the yard, her feet felt stuck.
This… was really the Lu family’s old house?
This room, clean enough to see one’s reflection, the impossibly expensive leather sofa, the faint fragrant air…
Li Xiujuan felt like a villager entering the city, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet.
“Sister-in-law, sit.”
Su Ci pointed to a chair beside the redwood round table.
Li Xiujuan didn’t dare. She shook her hands nervously: “N-no, I’ll just stand. I’m dirty.”
“Sister-in-law says sit, you sit!”
Lu Xiangnan stepped forward, carrying a plate of freshly washed apples. Crisply, she said:
“Here, have some.”
The little girl still carried the faint scent of snow cream on her cheeks, her skin plump and soft.
She thought no one was as pretty as her sister-in-law, no one’s home as clean.
Su Ci looked at the child crying in Li Xiujuan’s arms and frowned.
“Bring them over, let me see.”
Li Xiujuan quickly handed the child over.
The child was just over a year old. Every crease—neck, armpits, thighs—was covered in tiny red rashes.
Some areas were scratched open, oozing yellow fluid.
Heart-wrenching to see.
“Heat rash?”
“Yes!” Li Xiujuan’s eyes were red. “The clinic gave us ointment, rubbed for days—no effect. The child cries all night, and it’s so hot…”
Su Ci said nothing.
Though she was a wealthy heiress in the modern era, she had learned medical care from private doctors to help her frail grandfather.
This was not ordinary heat rash.
It was eczema caused by humidity plus heat rash combined.
Ordinary powder would only block pores, making it worse.
“Wait.”
Su Ci turned and walked into the master bedroom.
A second later, she emerged holding a small green jar.
The jar was transparent, showing a jade-green ointment inside, shimmering in the light like precious jade—already cool just to look at.
“What’s this?” Li Xiujuan glanced at it.
“Aloe gel,” Su Ci said casually. “I got it in the provincial city, for this exact problem.”
She twisted open the lid.
A crisp herbal scent instantly filled the air, cutting through the smell of rice.
This was no ordinary aloe gel.
It came from the beauty section of the space mall, with a couple of drops of spiritual spring water added.
Using it on such a mild skin condition was like firing a cannon at mosquitoes.
Su Ci used a clean little wooden spoon to scoop a bit of the green gel.
“Here, I’ll show you.”
She didn’t flinch at the pus; she dabbed a bit on the child’s red rash, gentle as if handling a treasure.
The cool touch immediately relieved the burning itch.
The child, who had been fussing and twisting, let out a soft “ah” and went still.
After a day and night of crying, a hint of enjoyment appeared on the little face.
Li Xiujuan’s mouth formed a perfect “O.”
This… really worked?
“Back home, first wash the child with warm water. Remember, no soap.”
“Then put this on the rash, a thin layer will do.”
“Three times a day, guaranteed to improve in two days.”
Su Ci handed the jar to Li Xiujuan.
“How… how much is this? Su girl, I’ll pay!”
Li Xiujuan quickly tried to reach into her pocket—this miracle medicine must be expensive.
“No need,” Su Ci waved her hand, holding herself high. “It’s not that precious.”
“Besides, we live in the same yard. If the child suffers, how can I stand by?”
She paused, then shifted tone softly, loud enough for anyone eavesdropping outside to hear:
“Unlike some people, always gossiping, never doing a proper thing.”
This line ignited the plot! Wang’s wife outside instantly turned liver-colored with rage.
That little girl had just insulted someone—who, exactly?
Li Xiujuan, holding the child and jar, left, full of thanks.
Once she exited, a group of other wives with children immediately surrounded her.
“Xiujuan, how is it? Did Lu family’s new bride give you the medicine?”
“Show me! What miracle stuff is this?”
Li Xiujuan raised the green jar like a treasure.
“It works! It really works!”
“You should’ve seen it, Su girl just rubbed it on, my baby stopped crying immediately!”
“Smell it, it’s so fragrant!”
The women crowded around, as if inhaling some elixir.
Wang’s wife twitched, spitting sunflower seed shells, speaking sarcastically:
“Hah, who knows what sorcery that is?”
“Hope it’s not something toxic that ruins the kid’s face!”
“If it goes wrong, there’s nowhere to cry!”
Her words made the other wives hesitate.
Indeed.
The medicine’s origin was unknown.
What if…
Just then, a sharp-eyed wife pointed at Li Xiujuan’s child, shouting:
“Look! Look at your kid’s neck!”
All eyes turned.
Gasps rose in unison.
The child’s neck, once red and swollen like tiny hills,
had visibly subsided in just ten minutes!
Redness gone, only faint pink marks left.
Faster than the old military doctor’s ointment by tenfold!
“Oh my heavens!”
“This… this is a miracle!”
“Unbelievable!”
No one doubted anymore.
Facts speak louder than words.
Wang’s wife stood there, her face like she’d swallowed a hundred flies.
She wanted to scold again, but seeing the child’s skin improve, not a word came out.
Her face stung—she had delivered it herself.
If she hadn’t bragged about Su Ci’s house smelling like a deity’s cave last night, Li Xiujuan would never have come.
If Li Xiujuan hadn’t come, Su Ci’s “miracle doctor” reputation couldn’t have spread.
The more Wang thought, the angrier she got, almost choking.
She had done something foolish:
She had personally helped her mortal enemy, establishing a living saint image for her across the entire yard!
Meanwhile, inside.
Su Ci leaned back on the sofa, slowly flipping through a fashion magazine from her space stash.
She could clearly hear the exclamations from outside.
Lu Xiangbei stood at the door, watching the women scramble over a small jar of ointment, then looked at the serene sister-in-law inside.
For the first time, he realized:
A woman’s war could be scarier than men fighting.
Silent but lethal.
Attacking hearts.
“Sister-in-law,” Lu Xiangbei approached, voice tinged with admiration he hadn’t noticed.
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll use up all the ointment and come back for more?”
Su Ci didn’t lift her head, fingers flipping a page.
“They want it?”
She laughed lightly.
“Want something? You have to give something in return.”
“Tonight’s points chart will have a new line.”
“Rare herbs, antiques, gold, silver…”
Her voice was lazy yet sharp.
“All can be exchanged for the ‘miracle medicine.’”
She never wanted mere thanks.
She wanted the entire resources of Seagull Island at her disposal.
Lu Xiangbei stared, dumbfounded.
It could be done like this?
He looked at Su Ci’s impossibly beautiful profile.
Suddenly, he felt:
With her in this house,
it really felt like a new era had begun.