Collecting Rent From All Realms, Even Empresses Must Pay Tribute
Ch. 109 - Miraculous Ancestral Secret Recipe

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"Alright, I understand."

In a luxurious hotel room in the city center, a well-dressed woman in a business suit spoke earnestly into her phone. 

"Don't worry, sir, whether the medicine works or not, we won't cause you any trouble. We can draw up a contract."

"And the price of three hundred thousand is acceptable. I consider it a reasonable offer."

"Good. I've already sent a courier to your address with the medicine. Please check for it," Father Luo's voice echoed from the phone.

"Okay," Qiao Xin replied.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Qiao Xin quickly opened it and saw a delivery robot standing outside.

"You have a delivery," the robot said. 

Regular delivery personnel weren't allowed in the building; all deliveries were handled by robots.

"Is this it?" Qiao Xin entered the pickup code, and after a few seconds, she took out a small paper box—inside, there was a small, unremarkable-looking pill.

It was dark and dusty, like a mud ball.

Qiao Xin sniffed it, and a foul odor made her frown.

Was this the right thing?

Why did it smell so bad? Qiao Xin, in her twenties, had never smelled anything so foul.

She took a picture of the pill and sent it to Father Luo. After confirming that this "mud ball" was indeed what he had sent, Qiao Xin put it back in the box.

She had already investigated the Luo family's background. An ordinary remarried family, nothing special, with a daughter in university. And Mother Luo's health had indeed suddenly improved.

Her finding them had been purely coincidental, no one had planned this.

And for some reason, Qiao Xin felt that this ancestral remedy might actually work. 

Perhaps in times of desperation, people clung to even the faintest glimmer of hope.

Whether it was praying to gods or to God, it was all rooted in the "what if?" mentality.

Qiao Xin took the box and went to the hospital.

Old Master Qiao wasn't asleep yet, just staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought, his breathing assisted by a respirator.

Seeing Qiao Xin, a faint smile appeared on his pale face. "Xin… what is it?"

Qiao Xin sat beside the bed, looking at her grandfather. She tucked him in and asked softly, "Grandpa, are you feeling better?"

"Heh… cough… a little better," Old Master Qiao said with a weak smile.

Seeing his granddaughter seemed to lift his spirits, but even so, he didn't want her to waste her energy on an old man like him. 

Even after a long and successful career in business, he couldn't defeat old age.

Looking back, he realized that good health was the greatest wealth.

But this illness had also opened his eyes. Only after he was incapacitated did he realize how useless and foolish his sons were.

Despite their claims of filial piety, they hadn't even visited him in the hospital.

"Grandpa, I found an ancestral remedy. The female patient with the same condition as you has shown significant improvement after taking it…" Qiao Xin said.

Old Master Qiao seemed to understand her intentions and patted her hand gently.

"It's fine… you've done enough, no one will blame you, Xin'er."

"I'm old. If I were ten years younger, I would have cleared all the obstacles for you."

He sighed deeply, then noticed the box in Qiao Xin's hand. "Is that it? Let me take it."

Qiao Xin shook her head. "Grandpa, we need to have it tested first."

After all, they didn't know the ingredients. To be safe, she wanted to have it tested.

"It's fine… even if it's poison, it doesn't matter. I don't have much time left," Old Master Qiao said indifferently.

He was already in such a bad state; he could die any day. Things couldn't get much worse.

He planned to take the medicine and then reassure Qiao Xin that it was working.

It would give his granddaughter some peace of mind and prevent her from worrying too much.

Qiao Xin understood what her grandfather meant. The test results would take time, and who knew how long he had left.

"Then, Grandpa… I'll get you some water," Qiao Xin said, knowing she couldn't change his mind. She poured him a glass of water.

"Heh, thank you."

The hospital bed slowly raised the old man to a semi-reclined position. 

Old Master Qiao swallowed the pill and almost gagged at the foul taste. But he was a man who had seen the world and quickly washed it down with water. Just as he was about to speak, he choked.

His pale face flushed red.

"Grandpa, are you choking?!" Qiao Xin was terrified and was about to call a nurse.

But before she could turn around, Old Master Qiao grabbed her arm and shook his head. "No."

The old man took a deep breath, and his cloudy eyes seemed to clear slightly.

"Why… do I feel so much better?"

He felt a surge of strength in his previously weak body, an unbelievable sensation he had never experienced before.

Qiao Xin froze. Better?

Could the medicine work that fast?

She was about to say that it wouldn't be so quick, but seeing the color returning to her grandfather's face, she stopped herself.

What was this…

Could it be a placebo effect?

Qiao Xin didn't think so; the change in his complexion seemed too real.

"This is… miraculous. Even better than all those expensive medicines from the hospital," Old Master Qiao said, exhaling slowly.

Then he started coughing.

"Grandpa…"

"I'm fine," Old Master Qiao waved his hand and asked, "Is there more of this medicine?"

For some reason, this medicine gave him hope.

Who would want to be bald if they could have hair?

He had built such a large empire, and now the company was in turmoil. 

If it weren't for his health, he wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed, watching helplessly as others wreaked havoc.

"Yes… yes, that person is willing to sell it to me," Qiao Xin said, her voice filled with excitement, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.