“You’re saying… this, this is a prescription for us?!”

Uncle Jianshou couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared at the three sheets of paper in his hand, his eyes wide with shock.

He truly never expected that Qiao Jiuru would suddenly come to him, let alone hand over such precious medical prescriptions.

“Yes, Uncle, the Qiao family has no heirs left. Keeping these prescriptions in my hands is useless. A few days ago, when I saw Comrade Zhou was seriously ill, I thought long and hard, and figured — why not use them to save lives? That would count as a good deed too.”

Qiao Jiuru genuinely had no interest in practicing medicine, nor had she ever intended to keep the prescriptions secret.

Since they were developed by her ancestors, they were meant to cure and help people.

What was the point of hoarding them?

Most importantly, the three prescriptions she handed over only treated common ailments.

A cough suppressant, a fever reducer, and an expectorant.

Just the simplest remedies for fever, cough, and phlegm.

“Xiaoru, I didn’t expect you to be so open-minded.”

Even if they were just basic treatments, ancestral prescriptions were still extremely valuable — especially coming from the Qiao family, which had been practicing medicine for generations.

In fact, those formulas were anything but ordinary.

Uncle Jianshou couldn’t hide his shock and amazement, but deep down, he was thrilled and excited.

“Uncle, if a prescription can’t be used to save people, then it’s a useless prescription. Only by curing and saving people can it live up to its name. I’m the only one left in the Qiao family, and I still hope these prescriptions can help more people. I also believe Grandfather would agree with me.”

Qiao Jiuru spoke sincerely, without the slightest sense of regret or attachment.

Besides, she had tons more prescriptions stored in her secret space’s pharmacy — the really precious ones, she hadn’t brought out. That’s why she could be so generous and open-handed now.

“Old Master also taught me how to diagnose and prescribe medicine, but I didn’t learn it well. His medical skills were superb, yet I barely grasped half of it. Still, Xiaoru, do you have any thoughts on how the production team should use these prescriptions? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Uncle Jianshou shook his head, sighing over his own past failures. He’d had such a good opportunity but lacked the talent for medicine.

With his level of skill, he was only fit to be a junior doctor at the commune health clinic.

“Uncle, if the production team hands these in, they’ll probably just get a commendation, but not much material benefit. Unless they set up their own pharmaceutical factory or partner with one — but right now, that’s impossible. If they donate them to a pharmaceutical factory, the production team might get a few formal work positions. But then, dividing up those positions would be tricky — no matter who you give them to, it’ll cause trouble.”

To be honest, Qiao Jiuru didn’t really recommend any of those options — none of them were the best or most ideal.

But now that she had given the prescriptions to the production team, how they dealt with them was no longer her concern.

She’d given her advice — the rest was up to Uncle and the team to figure out.

“You’re right. Xiaoru, if it were up to you, what would you do?!”

Uncle suddenly realized that maybe, just maybe, Qiao Jiuru already had a better plan in mind when she handed these over. His gaze burned into her as he eagerly asked.

Qiao Jiuru fell silent.

After a long pause, she finally looked at him.

“Wait… wait a few more years and see how things go.”

That was all she could say for now. As for how Uncle and the others decided to proceed, she wouldn’t be involved anymore.

Uncle: “……”

At this point, the prescriptions were handed over, and the matter was settled. Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan decided to head home.

Once home, Su Huaiyuan quietly took Su Ze along to deliver several dozen jin (kilograms) of sweet potatoes and potatoes to Cai Qingwen and his wife.

Afterward, the couple brought Dabao and Xiaobao (their two little children) into the secret space — it was the first time the kids entered while fully awake.

Dabao and Xiaobao stared wide-eyed in amazement, little mouths hanging open.

They felt like they’d been here before, a faint sense of familiarity washing over them.

“Dabao, Xiaobao, come on — let’s go catch fish and shrimp with Grandpa and Grandma.”

At dinner, Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan hadn’t eaten much, deliberately leaving room for this moment.

Hearing they were going to play by the river, Dabao and Xiaobao were beside themselves with excitement, eagerly grabbing their grandparents’ hands and tugging them toward the riverbank.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan each carried a bamboo basket and a bucket.

The baskets were for scooping up fish, shrimp, and crabs; the buckets were for holding their catch.

The river was teeming with shrimp and crabs — just dipping the basket in and lifting it out brought up a decent haul.

With just a few casual scoops, the bucket they’d brought was already full.

“Dabao, Xiaobao, Grandma’s going to cook some shrimp for you, okay?!”

Dabao and Xiaobao, already giddy with joy from playing, squealed with excitement at the sight of the fish, shrimp, and crabs.

Hearing there’d be tasty food, they nodded eagerly.

Half of the big bucket of shrimp and crabs was steamed, while the other half was stir-fried.

It was so delicious that the two adults and two children couldn’t even lift their heads from the table.

“I’ll go catch a few more buckets. If we cook them now, we can eat them whenever we want.”

After eating his fill, Su Huaiyuan was already planning ahead for the next meal.

Qiao Jiuru thought the same and wholeheartedly agreed.

“Let’s catch more — I’ll make shrimp paste for Dabao and Xiaobao. It’s nutritious, convenient, and tasty.”

“Good idea. We can make some fish balls too — those are delicious.”