Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 129: Building a Reputation for Whitening Lotion

"Comrade Xu, are you alright?" The police officer asked with concern.

Xu Li’an responded weakly, "Not... not good."

The police officer checked his medical record. Xu Li’an had sustained serious injuries. He had three bone fractures in his shoulder and arm, a head wound, and several other injuries. They felt that the two elderly individuals in the detention center had been excessively brutal.

Their already serious expressions grew even darker.

"Comrade Xu, Su Gensheng and Cao Guihua want to settle privately and compensate you. Will you accept?"

"I won’t accept! They broke the law and should go to jail," Xu Li’an managed to say weakly, before closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, looking like he had exhausted his breath.

Su Yijia, watching his performance, mentally applauded his impressive acting skills.

Although the police officers didn’t want to disturb him any further, they took out some documents from their bags.

"Since Comrade Xu doesn’t accept a private settlement, we still need your signature and a thumbprint here."

They opened the documents and presented a pen and red inkpad to Xu Li’an.

Xu Li’an mustered all his strength to open his eyes, grit his teeth, and grab the pen. Shaking, he signed his name and pressed his thumbprint, then completely lost his strength.

"That’s good, Comrade Xu. Rest well, and we’ll take our leave." The police officers said and checked him again to make sure he was still breathing before leaving.

Once they were gone, Su Yijia turned to Gao Huabin, "Gao, can I ask you to stay at the Xu family’s house in Xiangwang Village for a few days? The Su family and the villagers may start causing trouble in the next few days."

"Sister-in-law, I’ll make a phone call to bring over some comrades from the former unit who have retired, so they can watch over the Xu family. I’ll stay at the hospital to take care of Comrade Xu."

Gao Huabin had thought this through on his way to the hospital. He knew who to call to help with this situation.

"Alright, then. Please convey my thanks to them for me," Su Yijia said, a bit hesitant.

She felt like she had already troubled Gao Huabin, who had been transferred back to her team. But she had no other choice; it was necessary to ensure the Xu family and Xu Li’an wouldn’t be bothered by anyone. So she could only ask Gao Huabin and people from Qin Kaize’s former team to help.

"No problem, it won’t be a hindrance. He doesn’t have much to do anyway," Gao Huabin said with a smile.

Given Gao’s response, Su Yijia said her thanks again. After a few more words to Xu Li’an, Su Yijia left the room. It was already 10 o’clock in the evening when she left the hospital.

Su Yijia originally wanted to go to the police station to visit the people from the Su and Lin families who had been detained and provoke them a bit. But it was getting late, and everyone was too exhausted for that. So she carried her mother’s remains and headed back to the Qin family’s house.

Zhu Zi Rui helped prepare some hot water. Su Yijia stayed outside her room with a basin, washing her mother’s remains again.

The three of them took showers and threw their clothes in the washing machine. They were too exhausted to stay and wait until the laundry was done, so they went to bed and quickly fell asleep.

In the dimly lit room, Qin Kaize lay on the bed and gazed at the young woman who rested her head on his chest. Her deep, inky-black eyes seemed almost greedy as they stared at the dark strands of his hair. A mixture of sorrow, reluctance, and a hint of murderous intent flickered in his gaze.

He despised his physical disability, loathing the fact that he was powerless and unable to protect his young wife from the hardships she now faced. He couldn’t even provide her with the most basic shelter from the storm. But since the Su family had pushed the situation to this point, they couldn’t blame him for taking harsh measures.

Even though they had slept late the previous night, Su Yijia woke up early the next morning. However, it turned out that Ke Zeming and Zhu Zirui had already been awake and were sitting in the yard for a while. They even bought breakfast.

After helping Qin Kaize freshen up, Ke Zeming smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, I’m on vacation these days, so I can take care of Kaize."

Su Yijia didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed, "Thank you."

Then, she turned to Zhu Zirui and said, "I’d like to order another 300 bottles. Is that convenient?"

Zhu Zirui nodded, "Sure, I found a way to order glass bottles from the factory. You can order as many as you want in the future. However, the price won’t be as cheap as before. We’ll have to pay a carton of Chunghwa cigarettes per hundred bottles."

Su Yijia didn’t mind the price increase. Before the end of 1979, it was already a challenge to purchase so many glass bottles directly from the factory without any issues. She handed Zhu Zirui six ten-yuan bills, telling him she wasn’t in a hurry.

After that, she started eating her breakfast.

After feeding Qin Kaize, they all went together to buy a coffin and placed it in the cleaned house. They carefully arranged the clean bones and offered incense. Once the incense had burned out and there was no visible flame, they went to the black market to purchase food for the next few days.

In the afternoon, Su Yijia couldn’t bring herself to take a nap. She packed the Whitening Lotion into soy sauce bottles and placed them in her bamboo basket, which she carried on her back. Then, she left the house.

Once she had left, with a serious expression, Ke Zeming pushed Qin Kaize out as well.

Su Yijia had always been cautious in her business dealings. She kept a close eye out for anyone following her or paying too much attention to her as she walked to meet Qiu Yanqing.

Upon seeing her, Qiu Yanqing was startled by the large bamboo basket on her back and the big plastic containers in her hands. He quickly signaled his men to greet her.

On their way to the small courtyard, Qiu Yanqing’s eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation, nearly burning holes in Su Yijia.

"Is the Whitening Lotion getting good feedback?" she asked with a smile.

"It’s great, especially great! They brought many friends to me, all wanting to buy that Whitening Lotion. Did you bring some this time?" Qiu Yanqing inquired eagerly.

"I did, but this time, the price is going up. I’ll sell it to you for eight yuan per bottle, but you must ensure that its market price for won’t exceed ten yuan per bottle," Su Yijia directly stated her terms.

Qiu Yanqing frowned slightly at the price increase. "Why are you raising the price again?"

"The reason I allowed you to sell to customers who could help promote the product at a lower price last time was to build up its reputation. The formula for this product has specific age requirements for the herbs, and it won’t always be available. There might come a time when it’s out of stock, and you won’t be able to buy it anymore. So, the previous price was just for the trial period. Now, this is the official selling price. However, if you feel that buying it for eight yuan and selling it for ten yuan isn’t profitable enough for you, I can always sell it myself in the black market," Su Yijia said, her tone indicating she’d prefer to sell it herself.

Qiu Yanqing quickly responded, "We’ll sell it! We have the time and the people. Your time is so precious, and you have both the oil and the skin-lightening lotion. It’s better not to waste it on running a stall."

They had sold so much oil, and now they had the Whitening Lotion as well. The other two black market sellers were getting anxious. They had been inquiring around, trying to figure out who was supplying them with these products. Qiu Yanqing was determined to keep this girl hidden and ensure that no one besides their small group of brothers knew the source to avoid any competitors seizing the opportunity.