Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 23: Minimally Invasive Surgery

Houzi scrambled into the main room and clapped a hand over his mom’s mouth. "If you keep spouting nonsense, even I won’t be able to protect you!"

"Mmmph... Mmmph..." Mrs. Zeng was nearly suffocated by her son.

Gu Jiaojiao didn’t hear what Mrs. Zeng was trying to say. When she saw Su Shuochi arrive, she flew over to him as if she’d been reunited with a long-lost relative.

"Su Shuochi, his leg tendon is torn, but not completely. I want to perform a minimally invasive procedure for him. It’ll take about an hour. Do you think we should do it today, or some other time?"

The man, who had been simmering with a dark aura, instantly felt a wave of relief wash over him, especially as Gu Jiaojiao leaned in to speak by his ear.

Her warm breath ghosted against his ear, sending a tingle through his entire body. Her sweet scent made him feel feverish, and his ears turned so red they looked like they might bleed.

"Let’s do it today."

’Whenever you say is fine,’ he had wanted to say, but he knew a man should be the one to make the decision.

He was a former scout with keen powers of observation, and he was intelligent. Most importantly, he focused all his attention on her.

That was why he could accurately guess what she was thinking. Even if he got it wrong, he’d just correct his approach the next time.

It was precisely this decisiveness and persistence that pleased Gu Jiaojiao immensely. She said with a beaming smile,

"Alright then, we’ll do as you say."

The two exchanged a smile, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Another corner of the icy wall around Su Shuochi’s heart crumbled away.

After she spoke, Gu Jiaojiao unzipped the backpack on Su Shuochi’s back. The bag was empty, just as they had planned.

When she needed to pull something out of thin air, she would pretend to take it from the backpack.

Su Shuochi instructed Houzi and his mother to go boil some water, while he stood guard over his wife as she performed the minimally invasive procedure in the main room.

Gu Jiaojiao administered general anesthesia to Mr. Zeng. "Su Shuochi, you can assist me by handing me the tools."

"Okay. Is he asleep?"

"Pretty much. I gave him general anesthesia, though I could have just used a local."

"Jiaojiao, when it’s my turn for surgery, I only want a local anesthetic. I want to watch you operate." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Alright."

Gu Jiaojiao agreed readily. ’Su Shuochi already knows my secret, after all. I could do it without any anesthesia, as long as he could take the pain.’

Even though Su Shuochi had mentally prepared himself, he was still stunned when he saw the exquisite surgical tools.

’Items from an Immortal are truly extraordinary,’ he thought. Though a storm was raging inside him, he remained as stoic and expressionless as ever, looking impossibly calm.

Gu Jiaojiao found herself admiring his ability to accept and adapt to the situation.

The procedure was finished in just forty minutes. Mr. Zeng was still unconscious when Houzi and his mom came in, carrying a bucket of hot water.

They saw Su Shuochi gently wiping sweat from Gu Jiaojiao’s brow. His focused and tender expression stunned Houzi.

Gu Jiaojiao had already returned the advanced equipment to her space, leaving out only a few pairs of forceps, scissors, and some gauze.

These were all items one could find in a major hospital. Meanwhile, Mrs. Zeng had learned about Su Shuochi’s identity while she was boiling the water.

Now, she stood off to the side, shrinking back with her hands pressed stiffly to her sides, not daring to approach.

"Boss, Sister-in-law, the surgery is done already?" Houzi asked in disbelief.

"Yes. When your dad wakes up, he can try moving his leg. He’ll need to do rehab exercises every day, and in about two months, he should be able to walk normally."

What Gu Jiaojiao didn’t mention was that if the injury had been recent, he would have been able to walk immediately. ’But Mr. Zeng hasn’t walked in years.’

’That’s why he needs the rehab.’

Houzi fetched a basin of hot water for Gu Jiaojiao to wash her hands. She had already used disinfectant, so now she just washed them again thoroughly with soap.

"Sister-in-law, the soap you’re using smells amazing! Where did you buy it?"

"A relative of mine brought it back from abroad. Do you have connections to sell it?" Gu Jiaojiao was ecstatic.

’I have dozens of boxes in my space. Turning them into cash would be perfect.’

"I think so. Foreign goods are really popular in Qing City right now. I’ll go see if I can find some leads this afternoon."

Houzi figured a soap that smelled this good would be an easy sell.

After Gu Jiaojiao finished washing her hands, Su Shuochi handed her a towel. "Jiaojiao, take ten bars of soap from your backpack and let Houzi see what he can do with them."

"Okay."

’Back in my time, this soap sold for over five yuan a bar in department stores,’ Gu Jiaojiao mused. ’Compared to high-quality rice, that’s about the price of a pound of rice.’

"You can sell them for five mao a bar. I’ll charge you three and a half mao."

Mrs. Zeng didn’t dare speak out of turn, but she could still hear perfectly well. ’Five mao for a single bar of soap? Who would buy that?’

’But if he manages to sell a bar, my son would earn one mao and five fen. That’s almost the price of a pound of rice!’

’My heavens, this Divine Doctor is really something else.’ The smile on Mrs. Zeng’s face grew wider.

Just then, Mr. Zeng woke up. He moved his leg slightly. "Ah! I can really move it... and it doesn’t hurt!"

’Heavens knew that before, even the slightest movement sent excruciating pain shooting through his leg. How could he possibly dare to stand on it?’

"Uncle Zeng, don’t make any large movements for now. Rest for two days, then slowly try to stand up, and after that, practice walking..."

Gu Jiaojiao patiently gave her instructions, and the three members of the Zeng Family listened attentively. Mrs. Zeng asked cautiously,

"Little Divine Doctor, do we still need to go to Tongji Hall?"

"Yes, you still need to get your prescription filled. You’ll need medication to help with your recovery, and I don’t have any here."

’I have medicine in my space,’ Gu Jiaojiao thought, ’but I don’t have a medical license. I can’t just cut off someone else’s livelihood.’

This was exactly what Mrs. Zeng wanted to hear. She still felt uneasy and wanted to go to Tongji Hall to have Doctor Li take a look as well.

Su Shuochi accepted sixty yuan from Houzi. That left an outstanding balance of one hundred and twenty yuan, but Houzi was out of cash.

He’d have more money after he sold the five hundred fifty pounds of rice and noodles. Yesterday, Houzi had made seventy yuan and given ten to his parents for medicine.

"Sister-in-law, I’ll pay you the rest of the medical fee later," Houzi said, not even asking about the total cost.

"Okay, we can talk about it later," Gu Jiaojiao replied, not mentioning the price either.

Su Shuochi didn’t plan on buying any meat this time; after all, they still hadn’t finished what they’d bought yesterday.

He took Gu Jiaojiao to a nearby state-owned restaurant for a meal, and afterward, they explored a few of the surrounding streets.

His new wheelchair was incredibly convenient, a far cry from the old one that had required a Herculean effort to push.

He hadn’t left the house since his injury, terrified of seeing the pity in other people’s eyes.

Now, when Su Shuochi saw those same pitying looks, he could face them with composure.

He was even secretly pleased. ’Go ahead and look, all of you. What I’m using is an item from an Immortal.’

The incredibly excited Su Shuochi wasn’t the least bit tired sitting in his wheelchair, but Gu Jiaojiao had been walking the entire time, and she was exhausted.

She pulled out a carton of eggs, a bag of rice, and an eleven-pound bag of noodles, and suggested they head home.

’They needed to let the people in the compound see that they’d been out shopping. It would also reassure Su’s parents that they weren’t short on food.’

It was only then that Su Shuochi realized Jiaojiao was tired from all the walking. "Jiaojiao, want to go see a movie?"

"There’s a movie theater in the compound. We can go another day. Let’s head home for now."

They had been out for the better part of the day, so they managed to miss the evening rush hour.

It was a little after four in the afternoon, and there weren’t many people out and about in the compound. Gu Jiaojiao leisurely pushed the wheelchair along a tree-lined path.

There was a large pond up ahead. She pushed the wheelchair toward it, planning to sit down for a moment and catch her breath before heading home.

Just as they rounded a bend, they saw a large crowd gathered under a willow tree on the far side of the pond.