Qin Ruqing: Hahahahaha hiccup.

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t laugh… but I just can’t help it, hahahaha!”

Qin Ruyu covered his face with his hand and weakly said, “Stop laughing.”

Poor eldest son of the Qin family.

He lived a proper and dignified life for eighteen years and had never uttered such embarrassingly ridiculous lines.

Actually, he didn’t understand.

It seemed like a normal sentence, but on stage, in that situation, and with that tone, it had such a bizarre and terrifying effect.

Qin Ruqing tried hard to hold back his laughter, cleared his throat, and comforted, “Ahem… Bro, you actually did pretty well. You really captured the essence.”

This comfort seemed to have the opposite effect.

Qin Ruyu’s lips tightened, and it seemed like he might pick up Qin Ruqing and give him a good beating any second.

Suddenly, there was a burst of excited footsteps behind them.

Qin Ruyu immediately had a bad feeling.

“Brother, sis, the performance was amazing!” It was the loud voice of the little chubby kid Qin Qirong.

Qirong ran up to Qin Ruyu with sparkling eyes, gave a thumbs up, and sincerely praised, “Big brother, you were awesome. Qin Aotian was amazing!”

Qin Ruqing: Pfft

Qin Ruyu’s expression—how to describe it? Can you imagine a gentleman’s face turning as black as ink?

On the other side, Luwei walked up to Qin Ruqing, looked at the makeup on her face, and said in amazement, “Little Qingqing, how did you do this makeup? It looks completely different!”

There was a story behind the makeup on Qin Ruqing’s face and why someone of her age, completely inappropriate for the role, ended up on stage.

Initially, after finalizing the script, Qin Ruqing started looking for the lead actors. “Fairy Jing’er” and “Qin Aotian” were the main characters and, of course, the most important.

Qirong was very interested in the script.

The role of Qin Aotian, with its mix of teenage arrogance and a bit of heroic spirit, was exactly the kind of character boys his age loved.

So, he enthusiastically volunteered to play the part.

But Qin Ruqing stroked her chin and thought for a long time, eventually deciding Qirong wasn’t suitable.

Qirong had the youthful vibe, but he felt too “simple.”

This simplicity wasn’t about his looks—Qirong wasn’t chubby anymore.

He had a well-toned body and was a handsome young man.

The simplicity referred to his demeanor.

Qirong just didn’t have the essential “super cool” and “I’m the best in the universe” vibe needed for the character Qin Aotian.

On the contrary, after thinking for a long time, Qin Ruqing felt that her older brother was the most suitable for the character.

Of course, her brother was usually the epitome of a gentleman, but just in terms of appearance—thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a dignified, handsome face—he really had the main character vibe.

As long as she wrote the embarrassing lines well and he acted a little, the character would come to life.

Of course, Qin Ruqing knew her brother’s temper.

If she showed him the full details of the script, he would definitely refuse.

So, Qin Ruqing used some clever words to persuade her brother.

She said things like “this is all for the Qin family” and “the elixir industry is vital for the Qin family, bro, you’re contributing to the family.”

She bombarded him with these ideas until he was thoroughly convinced.

Given Qin Ruyu’s sense of responsibility, once the matter was framed as a family issue, he couldn’t refuse.

And so, Qin Ruqing successfully tricked him into agreeing.

Once on the ship, it’s hard to get off.

Choosing the actress for the “Fairy Jing’er” role was even more crucial.

Initially, Qin Ruqing wanted her third sister to play the part—after all, her third sister was the perfect embodiment of a fairy!

But her third sister wasn’t as easy to trick as her brother.

Qin Ruqing was writing the script with Qin Luwei right next to her.

When she heard that she was supposed to play “Fairy Jing’er,” Luwei immediately shook her head like a rattle.

There was no way she could make those embarrassing gestures like “shocked,” “soft exclamation,” and “frequent eye-fluttering” in front of so many people on stage.

She would rather die.

Since her third sister refused, Qin Ruqing had to take on the role herself.

Unfortunately, she was a bit too young.

Although her facial features were delicate, and she was obviously a beauty in the making, her face still had a youthful look to it.

The only advantage was her height—yes, Qin Ruqing had inherited her tall stature from her past life.

After starting her cultivation practice, she had grown rapidly and was now taller than her third sister (tears).

As long as her height fit the goddess-like character, it didn’t matter if her facial features weren’t fully developed yet.

After all, Qin Ruqing had mastered the “modern magic” of makeup.

Long eyebrows extending to the temples, a red dot between the brows, golden eyeliner to accentuate the eyes, full red lips—bright red, to be exact.

Then, with her hair styled high, dressed in silk fairy clothes, adorned with arm and ankle bracelets!

Looking at her, oh my, she was a stunning goddess!

When her third sister asked about it, Qin Ruqing deliberately blinked and said with a mischievous smile, “If you like it, Third Sister, I can do your makeup too. But next time, you’ll have to play Fairy Jing’er!”

Lu Wei quickly shook her head, “I’d rather not.”

But she couldn’t help placing her hand over her chest.

When Qin Ruqing approached her earlier and smiled at her, her heart skipped a beat.

With raven-like eyelashes, seductive golden eyeliner, and a captivating beauty, Qin Ruqing would definitely be a top-notch goddess, even without makeup, when she grew up.

The performance was over, and Qin Ruqing and the others quickly returned to their clan.

In the evening, when Qin Deming came back to the courtyard, Qin Ruqing immediately asked, “Dad, how was it? Did my plan work?”

After she and her brother got off stage, they hid in the medicine workshop and came back shortly after, so she still didn’t know the outcome outside.

Qin Deming smiled and glanced at her, “What? Does ‘Fairy Jing’er’ lack confidence in her performance?”

If Qin Deming had teased his eldest son with this, it would have been very effective.

Qin Ruyu would have blushed and started babbling.

But he was teasing Qin Ruqing, who was thick-skinned.

Qin Ruqing lifted her chin confidently, “How could I lack confidence? My script was designed specifically for the Qin family, considering both the dramatic and advertising effects. I’m sure the medicine workshop’s business is doing well. I just want to know how well.”

Qin Deming chuckled and shook his head at his thick-skinned daughter.

After laughing, he sighed and said in an amazed tone, “The Revitalization Pills we prepared for today sold out completely!

Even so, countless people are still rushing in to buy more.

Now the family’s alchemists are working overtime to produce more Revitalization Pills.”

He thought for a moment.

Qin Deming found it curious. “What surprises me is that they’re buying Revitalization Pills so crazily, not just for the price or quality, but because of Fairy Jing’er?”

Qin Deming’s tone was still tinged with disbelief.

He could understand if it was for Qin Aotian.

Qin Ruqing covered her mouth and chuckled at her father.

Her father was a serious and old-fashioned clan leader, strictly managed by her mother.

Though they bickered occasionally, their relationship was strong.

So, her father couldn’t grasp the impact a top-tier beauty like Fairy Jing’er had on young male cultivators.

To put it simply, a top-tier goddess from a prestigious family like Fairy Jing’er, who could casually give out Foundation Establishment Pills as apologies, would have countless male cultivators going crazy if she announced she was looking for a suitor.

Even in her previous life, many people would jump at the chance.

Not to mention, in this world, being a live-in son-in-law wasn’t seen negatively at all.

It was a legitimate and reasonable way to form marital alliances.

Seeing Qin Ruqing smile without explaining, Qin Deming thought for a moment and decided to let it go.

Maybe he just didn’t understand young people’s thinking anymore.

He then mentioned something else. “Also, the travel and cultivation essential package you launched, Qingqing, sold extremely well.”

Qin Deming highly praised this package.

“Although Revitalization Pills sold well, their low price means we must rely on high volume to profit.

But with this package, it’s different. It’s not cheap, and yet, those itinerant cultivators surprisingly bought it!”

Qin Ruqing couldn’t help but raise her head proudly when she heard her father praise her.

She had carefully prepared a comprehensive rescue plan for the Qin family’s commercial crisis.

First, she launched a feel-good story featuring Fairy Jing’er and Qin Aotian, with subtle product placements, followed by discounts on the products.

This strategy was commonly used in the modern entertainment industry—create a popular IP, then sell merchandise and related products.

In addition, the cultivation travel package Qin Deming mentioned was a crucial part of her plan.

The package included Revitalization Qi Pills (to restore spiritual energy), Qi Revitalization Elixirs (to heal wounds), Detox Pills (to counter basic toxins), and other essential pills for outdoor cultivation.

Purchasing the package offered a price discount, making it cheaper than buying each item separately.

As for why this not-so-cheap package was so popular, Qin Ruqing smiled inwardly—it was tailored specifically for a certain group, making it highly appealing.

Itinerant cultivators often didn’t have a fixed residence and traveled frequently for training.

Buying these necessary pills individually was troublesome and possibly incomplete.

Now, the Qin family provided all the essential pills in one package at a discounted price, making it an attractive option for itinerant(wondering) cultivators.

And a significant portion of the cultivators on South Street were itinerant.

Seeing Qin Ruqing act mysteriously, Qin Deming leaned forward and probed, “Qingqing, besides these, do you have any other good ideas?”

Qin Ruqing rolled her eyes. “Dad, are you relying on me now? You think I can come up with new ideas without even thinking, right?”

Qin Deming remained silent.

He believed his daughter’s mind could indeed produce many novel and quirky ideas effortlessly.

Qin Deming, knowing his daughter had many tricks up her sleeve, decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

While the Qin family was enjoying their success, the Zhang family wasn’t faring as well.

That day, Zhang Ming, the manager of the Zhang family’s medicine shop, went to the scene and quickly realized things were more complicated than they seemed.

He wasted no time in reporting the situation to the Zhang family’s chief elder.