After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

"Young Master, the steward from Lord Jiang's side has arrived. He says that Lord Jiang invites you to the main courtyard for a chat."

"Now? It's almost dusk, isn't it? Alright, Wenbin, fetch my outer robe."

Jiang Xiaoqi, who was shirtless, dressed as quickly as possible and, along with Wenbin, followed Butler Jiang to the main courtyard.

Main courtyard

"Master, isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, this is the Lin family's recipe. Although it was given to the daughter as part of her dowry, they also said it was not to be passed on to outsiders."

"Giving it to relatives several generations removed is already extremely generous. How could you possibly covet their ancestral recipe? This isn't like you at all."

"Madam, what do you think of our Jiang family?"

"A family of upright character, with a pure and honest family tradition, and most of its members are honest and law-abiding," Madame Chiang commented.

"Not bad, how does it compare to your Liu family?"

"Why...? The Liu family is a prominent clan with generations of officials, deeply rooted and with extensive kinship ties. Many of its members hold official positions in the court."

This is something our Jiang family can't surpass through just a few years or a decade of managing our clan school. Why do you ask that, sir?

Liu Yuhuan was born into the third branch of the Liu family, and was one of the many concubine daughters of the third branch. Her marriage to Jiang Changqing, who was a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), was also a way for the Liu family to cast a wide net and use marriage to recruit new talents for the future officialdom, as an investment in advance.

Thanks to the Liu family's connections, Jiang Changqing has secured his position as prefect. Otherwise, without connections or influence, he might have remained a county magistrate until his death.

"Alas, I have managed the Jiang clan school for more than 20 years, but now only Chang'an and I are officials in the court. Although there are a few Juren (successful candidates in the provincial examination) among the younger generation, I don't know when they will be able to pass the Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examination)."

The difference between a Juren (举人) and a Jinshi (进士), even if they are both Jinshi in Chang'an, is like heaven and earth. A Juren can only become a county magistrate at best.

Even if a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) only accumulates seniority before becoming an official, he can still rise to the sixth rank.

"Why is your lord in such a hurry? Even the revitalization of the family cannot be achieved by the efforts of one generation. The Liu family has accumulated strength over the course of two dynasties."

"But now I seem to see a glimmer of hope for the Jiang family's future. Tell me, how can I resist seizing this sliver of hope?"

Jiang Changqing sighed, deciding to return to being the villain who plundered and seized.

“Master, Mingfei is a promising child. You can tell what a person will be like at three years old. The future of the Jiang family still depends on the next generation.”

"Alright, the child should be here soon. Let's go out together."

This was the first time Jiang Xiaoqi had seen the young Madame Chiang Kai-shek. He did not show any surprise, but only pretended to be amazed, which amused Liu Yuhuan.

"Greetings to my great-uncle and great-aunt."

"Mingfei, do you know why your great-uncle summoned you here today?" Jiang Changqing looked at the well-behaved child in front of him and once again condemned his selfishness.

"This humble one does not know, and hopes that my great-uncle will enlighten me." Jiang Xiaoqi blinked his big eyes and looked up at Jiang Changqing with an innocent and adorable expression.

"Did your mother ever mention to you whether she wanted to sell that beauty pill?" Jiang Changqing went straight to the point.

Jiang Xiaoqi shook his head. "Mother never said that. It was the dowry that my maternal grandparents gave to my mother. I don't know the specifics of what my mother told me before she got married."

"Haha, you weren't even born yet back then, so you wouldn't know," Jiang Changqing said, stroking his beard with a laugh.

"Is your question because you want to cooperate with my mother on the beauty pill business?"

Jiang Changqing was taken aback by Xiao Mingfei's intelligence and was momentarily speechless and embarrassed.

Madam Chiang quickly smoothed things over, "Good child, your great-uncle was just wondering if your family was interested in doing this business because he saw how amazing this beauty pill was."

"If you are willing, the main branch of the Chiang family can provide all the manpower, material resources, and financial resources. What do you think?" Madam Chiang asked with a smile.

Jiang Xiaoqi lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "This matter is too important for me to make a decision on my own. I need to go back and discuss it with my mother."

Jiang Changqing and his wife exchanged a glance, secretly delighted: This seems promising?

"Of course, of course. This matter does indeed require careful consideration. You should go back first and write a letter to ask your mother's opinion. It would be best to also inform your maternal grandparents, since this prescription originated from the Lin family."

"If your mother and your maternal grandparents' family both agree to cooperate, we can discuss it in more detail," Madame Chiang said gently.

Jiang Xiaoqi responded with a "yes," bowed, and left the room.

He walked along, muttering to himself, "It seems the Jiang family is determined to get what they want..."

But that so-called secret recipe was just an ordinary beauty formula that I bought casually. The real and magical one was the system-brand anti-aging pill!

As expected, one cannot lie. I have really dragged my fellow time travelers down and put myself in a difficult position. I wonder if anyone has any ideas on how to deal with this.

Even if they sell a downgraded version of the Youth Preservation Pill, they only have a few dozen pills in stock. If they cut those few dozen pills into hundreds, how long can they sell them?

He didn't really want to refuse the offer, but the key issue was that this thing couldn't be mass-produced.

If you want to do this business, you can only go for the high-end boutique route, but that will attract attention. As the saying goes, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime," unless you have a reliable backer or a powerful patron.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek? The Liu family?

The Liu family has a legitimate daughter who is a concubine in the palace, and it is said that she has been quite favored in the past two years.

If it had royal backing, it would be a different story; at least not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry would come and bite.

If the Jiang and Liu families jointly undertake this business, they might indirectly benefit the maternal grandparents' family as well, saving the uncles from having to travel all over the country.

Jiang Xiaoqi returned to the side courtyard, embellished the story, and told her mother. After all, it was necessary to go through the motions. The servants in the manor knew best whether a letter had been written or not.

As for the maternal grandparents' family, who were used as a front, I won't write about them, since they have no idea about any formulas or beauty pills.

Let's wait until we meet during the holidays to 'talk things over'.

Several days later, Jiang Xiaoqi arrived at the Jiang residence after receiving a reply from her mother.

Mr. and Mrs. Jiang looked at him expectantly, and Jiang Xiaoqi didn't keep them in suspense, stating his mother's decision directly.

He said that his mother and maternal grandfather both agreed to the collaboration, but because the medicinal materials required for the formula were precious and the production was limited, only a few people could use them each year.

Therefore, it is recommended to take a high-end approach, positioning the brand as a luxury skincare product, and leveraging the Liu family's influence in the palace and officialdom for promotion.

After thinking for a moment, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang also agreed that the plan was feasible. Such a miraculous beauty pill should not be sold like cabbage.

Moreover, raw materials are scarce, so pursuing a high-end, specially supplied route is essential, and both parties have reached a consensus on this point.

“Mingfei, I think the cooperation with the Liu family you mentioned is feasible, but before we propose the cooperation, we need to do one thing first.”

"What is it? Please tell me, Aunt."

"I plan to hold a flower-viewing banquet in a few days and invite all the officials and their families from Xinghe Prefecture to come and enjoy the flowers."

"Does my great-aunt mean to first promote the Beauty Pill on a small scale at the flower-viewing banquet, so that it can gain some public support?"

Jiang Xiaoqi thought that the ancients were really good at business. Of course, it might also be because Jiang's aunt came from a merchant family.

"Although I don't know what you mean by public opinion, our goal is to let everyone know about the magic of the Beauty Pill. Aren't I myself a living, breathing advertisement?"

"The pricing of the Beauty Pill is still uncertain, and we're not in a hurry. It would be best to limit the sales to about ten pills per month," said Lord Jiang.

Wow! Scarcity marketing! Our ancestors really knew how to play the game. The pre-sales and limited editions of later generations are all things that these ancient people had already done!

Jiang Xiaoqi once again marveled at the wisdom of the ancients—what cunning merchants!