Chapter 54: Direction and Path

"That little Lu from the Gu family is actually quite nice."

"What's the use of being nice?! Old Gu's daughter-in-law doesn't think much of her anyway."

"Her?! The kind of girls she has her eyes on are all from prominent families. This new younger daughter-in-law is from the countryside; it's a miracle if she approves of her at all."

"Even if she doesn't approve, nobody went begging to her, nor did she ever step foot in their courtyard."

"I still think that little Lu is pretty good. She has so much patience with the elderly, the patients, and the children."

"Little Lu doesn't look like the calculating type either. Could there be some hidden story behind all this?!"

"Who knows about that? But I heard this little Lu studies traditional Chinese medicine, harvests her own herbs, and makes her own medicines. I even heard the stuff she makes actually works quite well."

"Really?! Is it actually useful?"

"Old Gu himself said so. He and little Rui both used it, and the results are supposedly fantastic. His chronic ailments haven't flared up in ages. That's why he even has little Lu come over every day to give little Rui acupuncture, massage, and herbal treatments, hoping to help him stand up again."

"Well, then little Lu must be quite a capable person."

"What's the use of being capable?! Old Gu's daughter-in-law looks down on her and wouldn't even let her through the door."

"I know the most about this matter. I heard that when little Lu took the train all the way from Guangxi to the capital, not only did nobody meet her at the station, but when she finally found her way to that courtyard, they wouldn't even let her enter the gates. In the end, little Lu had to find an inn to stay at by herself, and then had someone help her rent a place in a traditional alley just to have a roof over her head."

"How do you know all this in such detail? Sigh, Old Gu's little grandson didn't realize for the longest time that his wife wasn't living at home, and then she suddenly disappeared without a trace. That's when he had to ask his father to look for her while he prepared to request leave to return. Fortunately, there were quite a few clues, so they found out she was safe and sound. Is there anyone in that courtyard who doesn't know about this?! Everyone is talking about how snobbish Old Gu's daughter-in-law is."

"Sigh, she's just a snob. Look at the Lu family—aren't they well-off? Doesn't Lu Xiaoning look pretty? Their family background and status are impressive too, but look at them now—aren't they going through a divorce?! She's planning to go abroad with another man!"

"Ain't that the truth? Abandoning her husband and child; I reckon she never cared for little Rui in the first place. She was just forced by circumstances back then to find a safe haven. But now look—the Lu family has regained their footing, and the man she loved back then has returned, so naturally she isn't willing to endure this any longer."

"What a pity for little Rui."

"You said it. The most innocent ones in all of this are little Rui and the two children."

"Forget it. You can't keep a person whose heart isn't in it, and there's no need to try. Since her heart is already gone, it's better to just let go."

"That's easy for you to say, but what about the two children?!"

"You're the one worrying about what happens to the two children?! Their own birth mother didn't even care what would happen to the two kids she gave birth to!"

"Well... that's true too."

"Does the medicine little Lu makes actually work?"

"Why don't you just ask Old Gu when you have the time?!"

"No, I'm going to go ask little Lu."

***

Lu Jiaojia knew nothing about the discussions going on among the various households in the courtyard. Just as she finished her walk and returned home, she found Fang Juan and Auntie Fang standing right outside her front door.

Lately, she had been going out after finishing her lunch and returning around this time, meaning she hadn't run into Auntie Fang for several days.

"Little Lu, you're finally back. We've been waiting for quite a while."

Because Auntie Fang was the most familiar with Lu Jiaojia, she spoke very casually without any tone of reproach.

"I went to my husband's grandfather's house. My eldest brother-in-law is in poor health, so I have to go give him acupuncture and herbal treatments every day. Doing more rehabilitation is good for his condition."

"Auntie, Xiaojuan, is there something you need me for?"

As Lu Jiaojia unlocked the door and invited them inside, she explained her situation. Her identity was already an open secret in the alley, and there was nothing unspeakable or shameful about it.

Besides, there were no secrets in this alleyway, and practicing medicine wasn't something that had to be hidden from others.

"Now I remember—were those two the ones who came to your house that day?! The man in the wheelchair is your husband's eldest brother?! Can someone in his condition still be cured?"

Prompted by Lu Jiaojia, Auntie Fang quickly recalled the incident, remembering that such a visit had taken place. Her impression was simply too deep; the visitors had arrived in a jeep, and both the older man and the middle-aged man wore cadre uniforms, giving them an air entirely different from ordinary people.

Auntie Fang might have had a poor memory, but Old Master Gu and Gu Fengrui were impossible to forget, not to mention that they were little Lu's in-laws.

However, what Auntie Fang was most curious and eager to know was whether a paralyzed person could actually be healed!

"Not entirely. It depends on opportunities and one's own luck. Most people can never stand up again; only a tiny fraction get the chance, and an even smaller few make a full recovery. It's hard to say, and nobody can guarantee it."

"My eldest brother-in-law suffered severe damage to his spine while on a mission, which is the main reason he is paralyzed and unable to stand. Providing him with acupuncture and herbal treatments now is primarily intended to help repair the spine. With long-term treatment and rehabilitation, he should be able to take care of himself in daily life, and standing up with some support isn't entirely impossible either."

This was Lu Jiaojia's baseline for treating Gu Fengrui—he would be able to stand, but not fully recover to normal health; otherwise, she would be hailed as a divine miracle doctor at such a young age.

That kind of reputation wasn't a good thing for her, which was why she needed to make it a slow process requiring prolonged, massive amounts of treatment and rehabilitation for him to gradually improve.

Moreover, people would naturally assume that Gu Fengrui's recovery to such an extent was inseparable from his own physical constitution, seeing as he was, after all, a once-formidable soldier.

"Little Lu, being able to take care of oneself and stand up is already wonderful. If he could fully recover to normal, that would be an absolute miracle."

Auntie Fang also felt that a paralyzed person making a complete recovery was out of the question, but restoring him to the extent Lu Jiaojia described seemed somewhat hopeful. As she said, it mainly depended on the individual.

"Auntie, since little Lu is so capable, she'll definitely make it happen."

Fang Juan had been waiting patiently on the side and growing anxious. Seeing that the two of them were taking forever to get to the point, she couldn't help chiming in.

"Whether it works depends on heaven's will. Auntie Fang, Sister Juan, is there something you both need coming to find me so late?"

Lu Jiaojia noticed Fang Juan's impatience, and since it was already quite late, it was best to get straight to business.

Auntie Fang immediately slapped her own forehead; she had gotten so carried away chatting that she had completely forgotten the purpose of their trip.

"Little Lu, it's like this. Juanzi and her coworkers have been using your whitening, acne-removing, and freckle-fading creams, and the results are exceptionally good. This time, we wanted to ask if you could give her a slightly lower price so she can take some to sell and earn a bit of money for her dowry."

Because she already had a good understanding of Lu Jiaojia's straightforward personality, the forthright Auntie Fang spilled the purpose of their visit without hesitation.

Weren't they looking to become agents and middlemen?!

Lu Jiaojia understood this completely and wasn't surprised at all. Looking at Fang Juan's slightly embarrassed expression, she actually thought the other party would make a quite suitable distributor.

"Sister Juan, to be completely honest, if you want to sell them, I'm open to the idea. For two main reasons: first, I simply don't have the time to sell them myself; and second, you are someone who has actually used these creams and understand their efficacy best. You yourself are the living proof of how well they work."

"Besides, and most importantly, only people who have used them themselves can be convincing. Otherwise, if some people claim they caused allergies, redness, or skin damage, how would you respond?"

"Every medicine has a three-tenths toxicity; in truth, it means no medicine is a universal panacea. If a remedy can cure a certain ailment, it might trigger other conditions. Who can guarantee that everyone who takes these remedies won't have an allergic reaction? Not every treatment works effectively for everyone, and the results can only ever range from major to minor. Skincare products are no different. In any case, as long as they do no harm and yield neither overly bad nor overly good erratic results, it's not a bad thing. Sister Juan, you need to think this through clearly. You must also give fair warnings beforehand to anyone who buys these creams from us. Finally, you need to be bold. If you aren't bold, you'll only ever dabble in small ventures, though earning some pocket money won't be a problem."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Jiaojia decided to lay down the harsh truths first. Although the skincare products she refined using her alchemy furnace would certainly never cause allergies, facial ulceration, or redness, should the demand surge in the future, the alchemy furnace might not be able to keep up with the quantity required.

Furthermore, if production were to be scaled up industrially in the future, the quality certainly wouldn't match that of items produced by the alchemy furnace, and since everyone's skin was different, there was no way to guarantee universal satisfaction.

Therefore, after saying these words, Lu Jiaojia was already contemplating whether she should pursue an exclusive, low-volume, high-end luxury route.

If she adopted a high-end luxury brand strategy, the pricing would inevitably have to skew high; setting it too low would make it entirely not worth it.

However, this was merely a hypothesis for now, and she would evaluate the market later on.

"Little Lu, I'm actually quite amazed that you can think this way. Let me be honest with you: the creams I'm selling right now don't actually make me much money because my prices are still set too low. Although I'm not making much money at the moment, I'm not in a hurry either, since I don't have that much time to spend on this anyway. However, the prices will definitely go up in the future—at least to over ten yuan per bottle."

"For now, I don't plan on producing too many. Sister Juan, if you want to take stock from me, I can only discount eighty cents per bottle for you. See if this is something you can work with."

Lu Jiaojia needed to prepare for the college entrance examination, give acupuncture treatments to Gu Fengrui, and eventually attend university; she truly didn't have that much time to retail these skincare products herself.

If Fang Juan helped sell some of them for her, she wouldn't have to worry about her living expenses. Moreover, as more people used them, the brand awareness would spread. Since she wasn't in a rush, she could afford to take her time.

"Little Lu, that's wonderful! I can totally do this. I'd like to take five bottles of each right now—do you think that's alright?"

Fang Juan had prepared the money long before coming over; she hadn't even considered the possibility of failure. Besides, earning eighty cents profit per bottle was something she didn't find too little at all. Above all, since she had stumbled upon a genuinely good product, she was more than happy to share it.

How refreshingly decisive.

Cash on delivery, goods delivered into hand.

In less than an hour from start to finish, Lu Jiaojia had made a profit and happily seen the Fang family aunt and niece off.