Chapter 12: Return Customers

Early in the morning, Lan Yin was practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

The gentle breeze brought a refreshing chill, but even so, it couldn’t dry the sweat soaking his body. His clothes were already damp, and sweat beads from his forehead freely fell, nearly dripping into his eyes.

“Exhale—” With the completion of the last movement, Lan Yin picked up the towel from the rack and wiped his sweaty hair.

As the eldest son of the Lan family, Lan Yin represented not only honor but also an inescapable responsibility. Only by continuously getting stronger could he bring a brighter future to the Lan family.

“Ah Li Logistics, Lan Yuan’s delivery, please come out to sign.” Someone called from outside the door.

Lan Yin chuckled; his dear younger brother was buying things online again.

Lan Yin signed his own name, and the delivery person handed the box to him.

Lan Yin raised an eyebrow; it was quite a small box.

Walking into the house, Lan Yin directly threw the box onto his younger brother’s bed. “Wake up; your delivery is here.”

Lan Yuan shuddered suddenly, rubbing his eyes. “Huh?”

“The sun is already shining on your butt. Aren’t you getting up?” Lan Yin walked to the cabinet, ready to change into fresh clothes. He was covered in sweat, sticky, and planning to take a shower.

“My delivery!” Lan Yuan suddenly realized what was happening, let out a startled cry, immediately sat up in bed, and hugged the box tightly.

“What is it? Such a precious thing.” Lan Yin casually asked.

Lan Yuan, brimming with joy, said with a serious expression, “It’s an ointment made by a divine doctor. The effect is excellent.”

“…”

Lan Yin slowly stopped his movements. He felt like he didn’t hear it clearly. “What is it?”

“Tangmen Hemostatic Ointment! The shop owner is a divine doctor, and the stuff is precious. It cost me almost half a month’s pocket money.”

Speaking of this, Lan Yuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. He only had a monthly allowance of one thousand credits, and he usually spent it on various small things. After buying the ointment, his personal little treasury had almost no money left.

Lan Yin couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth and casually ask his younger brother, “What made you think the shop owner is a divine doctor?”

Lan Yuan widened his eyes. “It’s written on the store. The owner’s name has ‘divine doctor’ written there.”

Lan Yin continued to inquire, “How do you know the ointment is effective?”

With a chubby face full of distress, Lan Yuan said, “Since it’s made by a divine doctor, the effect must be good. Unfortunately, there are no photos in the shop details; otherwise, I could see what it looks like.”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he patted the box in his arms. “Didn’t the ointment arrive? Just open it and see.”

Lan Yin chuckled twice and then turned serious. “Don’t open it. Return it in its original packaging. You must have been deceived.”

Lan Yuan was indignant. “You haven’t even looked at it. How do you know I’ve been deceived?”

Lan Yin sighed inwardly. His foolish younger brother didn’t need to inherit the family business, playing around all day and being spoiled by their parents. As a result, his intelligence seemed completely different from Lan Yin’s.

“You believe the shop is named ‘Divine Doctor’? You spent almost half a month’s pocket money. What else could it be if not a scam? Have others bought from there?”

Lan Yuan remained silent. After being questioned by his elder brother, something seemed off. “Then, let’s open it and see. If it’s not good, we can return it.”

Lan Yin coldly retorted, “What if the seller claims you used it and refuses a return?”

Gritting his teeth, Lan Yuan said, “Even if they don’t refund, I’ll give the shop a bad review. It’s just half a month’s pocket money; endure it, and I’ll have money next month.”

“Suit yourself.”

Lan Yuan opened the box, and upon seeing the contents, his heart sank. The box was square, not large to begin with, and upon opening it, the bamboo box inside was even smaller. How much ointment could there be in there?

Lan Yin didn’t add insult to injury. The harsh reality was already in front of his brother. Instead, he consoled, “Forget it; it’s just a little money. Learn from this experience, and don’t make the same mistake again.”

Lan Yuan’s eyes teared up. Despite his loud protests, he was indeed distressed over his pocket money. If the description on the page wasn’t so enticing, he wouldn’t have fallen for it. Now that the item didn’t seem good, he couldn’t admit it and could only tough it out.

Since it’s already opened, might as well give it a try. With this thought, Lan Yuan used force to open the lid.

Instantly, a faint and pleasant fragrance filled the room.

Lan Yuan mumbled to himself, “The smell is quite nice.”

The chubby guy had a whimsical idea. “Why not use the ointment as a spice? Four hundred credits for a nice-smelling spice isn’t too expensive.”

Lan Yin rushed over to his younger brother, snatched the bamboo box, and carefully sniffed underneath his nose.

“What’s wrong? Do you like this fragrance?” The chubby guy looked confused.

Lan Yin furrowed his brow. Why did he feel a sense of relief when he smelled the fragrance?

“Try the ointment.” Saying this, Lan Yin used his index finger to scoop out some, applying it to the elbow.

A few days ago, he got scratched during a martial arts competition. Although he had already stopped the bleeding with the Qi family’s hemostatic powder, the wound couldn’t be touched, or it would bleed again.

He’s going to bleed again. It’s as if he just engaged in intense exercise, and the wound immediately tore open.

“Ah?!” Lan Yuan was surprised. “Why did you apply it directly? What if it’s fake? Won’t randomly applying it worsen the wound? … Huh?”

Lan Yin looked at his own elbow in astonishment. The wound had just been bleeding, and with just a bit of ointment applied—before he could even spread it evenly—he immediately felt a cool sensation, and the bleeding stopped instantly. Not only that, but the wound also developed tender, pink skin, appearing as though it had healed considerably.

“I must not be fully awake. Am I seeing things?” The chubby guy looked at the bed, then at his brother’s elbow, thinking he might still be dreaming.

“What dream? The blood I just shed is still on my skin.” Lan Yin turned his elbow to show his brother; there were faint, dried bloodstains.

Although he said that, Lan Yin was genuinely surprised. After hesitating for a moment, he did something completely against his usual demeanor—he carefully scraped the remaining ointment back into the bamboo box. At the same time, he felt regretful; if he had known the ointment was so effective, he wouldn’t have taken so much at once.

“Don’t sleep; get up. Open the address of the store you bought from; let me take a look.” Lan Yin urged

Lan Yuan, rarely witnessing his brother’s impatience, dared not stay in bed. He quickly got up, walked to the household screen, and pulled up the purchase records. “I bought it from this store. The product description praised it a lot, so I didn’t look closely.”

Saying this, Lan Yuan made way for Lan Yin to inspect.

Lan Yin browsed around for a while, frowning. “A store opened yesterday? The store name is Tangmen. Why haven’t I heard anything about it?”

Lan Yin found the product page again, and the description below stated, “Promotes tissue regeneration, accelerates recovery, and the therapeutic effect is superb! Only those who have used it would know how good it is!”

“…”

Lan Yin was a bit dumbfounded.

If he hadn’t used the ointment before, upon seeing this description, he would have immediately dismissed it as exaggerated and not bothered to explain. At the same time, he would have chuckled at the shopkeeper for bragging so overtly. However, having used the ointment and reading this passage again, Lan Yin knew that it wasn’t boasting or false advertising; this was the unvarnished truth.

Lan Yin turned back to look at his younger brother, thinking that probably only such a naive guy would believe such an outrageous description. Naive people are blessed!

Lan Yuan felt uneasy being scrutinized and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Lan Yin rubbed his younger brother’s messy hair and said with a touch of irritation, “You’ve hit the jackpot.”

“Ah!” Lan Yuan was both surprised and delighted. “Is this medicine really effective?”

Lan Yin smiled wryly. With its immediate effect on the wound, the ointment was not only genuine but also remarkably effective. Looking at it this way, the four hundred credits were practically a windfall.

Suddenly, Lan Yin thought of a problem. He rapidly clicked on the screen, his gaze concentrating. “There are still more than fifty boxes of ointment.” He turned to his brother, asking, “Do you have any private funds left?”

“I’ve… I’ve spent them all.” Lan Yuan nervously confessed. His brother didn’t appreciate his spendthrift habits, and he expected another scolding.

After some thought, Lan Yuan handed the bamboo box to his brother. “Since it’s so useful, you can have the ointment.”

People could be touchy about favors, but accepting his ointment, even if his brother scolded him, couldn’t be too harsh, right? The chubby guy optimistically thought

Calling him foolish when needed, he was clever in crucial moments, but calling him shrewd, he often acted confused. Lan Yin accepted the bamboo box, feeling warmth in his heart. “I’m not scolding you. The ointment is quite effective, and I thought maybe we could pool our money to buy as much as possible.”

Lan Yuan hesitated. “But I have no money.”

“Never mind.” Lan Yin operated the interface, intending to use his own account to make the purchase. Then he hesitated. “You do it. Use your account to buy, and I’ll pay with my card.”

“Why make it so complicated?” Although Lan Yuan was a curious baby, he was very obedient. Despite his questions, he logged into his account.

Lan Yin was not pleased. “There are many people watching me outside. If I use my own account to buy, in less than three days, the whole city will know that the medicine from this store is excellent. You’re different; you like to buy peculiar things. Even if you buy a lot, people will just think it’s some oddity.”

“…” Wasn’t his brother just indirectly insulting him for being foolish?

As the eldest son of the Lan family, Lan Yin had much more pocket money than his younger brother. However, he spent a lot too. Although he purchased medicine from the Qi family regularly, the cash on hand was insufficient.

“The money I have can only buy six boxes. Place the order first, and later I’ll request some funds from Father. Hopefully, we can buy all the ointment from this store.” Lan Yin frowned. “I’m worried. Even though I’m the future heir of the Lan family, applying for funds still involves a fixed process. If the funds are approved, the chance to secure all the ointment might be slim.”

Thus, as Lan Yuan completed the second order, he stared at his elder brother in shock. “Do I really have to write the review like this? It’s so embarrassing…”

Lan Yin tapped his head. “If you don’t write it like this, how can we justify buying all this ointment? Be good and write it as I said.” What if there’s another fool who believes the website’s information? Prevention is better than cure!

Lan Yuan wore a mournful expression. It wasn’t even his own account! What if someone he knew saw these words? He wouldn’t be able to show his face!

However, with his brother standing right there, Lan Yuan could only endure the ordeal and type the comment exactly as instructed, not daring to read it over after completing it.