Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 41: Female Confidante

After hearing what Su Shuochi said, Gu Jiaojiao was too embarrassed to look back.

"Let’s hurry home and see how well the buns sold today."

"Okay."

The two returned to the residential compound. It wasn’t quitting time yet, but the streets were still full of people hurrying along.

Some people were heading home early from work to cook.

Regardless of whether they knew the couple or not, everyone who saw Gu Jiaojiao and her husband automatically moved to the side of the road, their eyes filled with envy as they stared at the fish and pork filling Su Shuochi’s hands.

Their gazes were drawn even more to the two cloth sacks of rice and flour piled on his wheelchair. No one said a word to their faces.

But once they had passed, the gossip erupted. It was all along the lines of, "Marrying a cripple isn’t so bad after all. At least you’ll never have to worry about food."

Especially Su’s mother’s former colleagues. "That old woman from the countryside has no skills, yet she was getting paid for doing nothing."

"I thought she quit?"

"Hmph, she should have quit ages ago. With a son as capable as hers, she had no business shamelessly freeloading at the factory."

"Her son was injured. It’s perfectly normal for the organization to have arranged a job for her," someone who didn’t work at their factory chimed in.

"Have you all heard? The Dong Family’s youngest daughter is coming back," a woman said in a conspiratorial tone.

"What’s her coming back got to do with us?"

"It might not be our business, but there’s going to be a good show to watch. Before Su Tuan was injured, the Dong Family’s youngest daughter was openly pursuing him."

A woman’s eyes darted around, her voice rising and falling with dramatic flair.

"Let me tell you, I live right next to the Dong Family. Back in the day, Dong Yuanyuan even declared she wouldn’t marry anyone but Su Tuan. Then, after she saw he was injured...

She went crying to her dad and two older brothers, searching everywhere for a famous doctor to treat his leg.

But later, they heard from Divine Doctor Jiang that not only were Su Tuan’s legs disabled, but he had no feeling below the waist.

So Dong Yuanyuan went south to perform, and she was gone for half a year. I hear she’s coming back in the next couple of days." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"So you mean Dong Yuanyuan left to perform because she didn’t want to marry him?" a young wife asked curiously.

"They weren’t even engaged. If she didn’t want to marry him, she could just say no. Why the need to flee? Since she wasn’t willing then, coming back isn’t going to change anything."

Another, slightly older woman said nonchalantly.

"Before Su Tuan was disabled, plenty of girls wanted to marry him. Your younger daughter was one of them, wasn’t she?"

"Sigh, if I had known he’d still be so capable even after being disabled, my daughter should have married him."

Instead of feeling embarrassed, the woman who was put on the spot sighed with shameless regret.

The fact that she was bold enough to say it proved her daughter really had wanted to marry Su Shuochi.

It was just that the able-bodied Su Shuochi had been impossible to catch, and the disabled Su Shuochi was someone they didn’t want to marry.

What none of them knew, however, was that all the chicken, duck, fish, and meat Su Shuochi carried home every day were actually bought by Gu Jiaojiao.

Both Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi had excellent hearing. Even though they had walked some distance away, they could still hear everything clearly.

"Tsk, tsk. Listening to them talk... Su Shuochi, you seem to have quite a few admirers."

Su Shuochi glanced back at his wife. "I never discussed marriage with anyone, and I certainly never had a fiancée."

"Are you disappointed?"

Su Shuochi stopped his wheelchair and looked at Gu Jiaojiao, speaking seriously, word by word.

"Jiaojiao, it wasn’t me they liked, just my promising future back then.

If there’s a shortcut in life, who would choose to trudge through the mud?

After I became disabled, they naturally kept their distance. So what’s there for me to regret?"

Gu Jiaojiao was speechless.

’He sees things with such clarity!’

’Back then, Song Zijin had been so in love with the original Gu Jiaojiao, but didn’t he cruelly dump her the moment the Sheng Family’s true heiress returned home!’

"Su Tuan, Mrs. Su, you went out and bought so much meat again?" Su Shuochi’s next-door neighbor greeted them enthusiastically.

"My in-laws are visiting, so I bought some extra meat," Su Shuochi replied. "I see you’re off work."

"Ah, your in-laws are here! Of course you should buy extra meat. Hehe, well, I’ll be on my way." The neighbor hopped on his bicycle and quickly rode off.

’Su Tuan is a changed man now that he’s married,’ he thought. ’This friendly demeanor is almost jarring; I feel strangely flattered.’

In the past, whenever he’d tried to say hello, Su Tuan wouldn’t have given him the time of day. That’s why, even after riding some distance away, the neighbor couldn’t help but look back at Gu Jiaojiao and her husband one more time.

Gu Jiaojiao was stunned by the whole exchange. "Did he stop just to say hi to you?"

"Mm."

When Gu Jiaojiao and Su Shuochi got home, Mr. Gu and the others hadn’t returned from their stall yet, while the three members of the Gu Family were still diligently shelling peanuts.

"Good heavens! Grandpa, Eldest Brother, Mom, you shelled all these peanuts just this morning?"

"It’s not that many, is it? Hehe. Jiaojiao, you’re back," Eldest Brother Gu said with a laugh.

"Please, take a break. I’ll go wash some apples for you," Su Shuochi said with a smile.

’Jiaojiao’s grandfather and brother are really earnest. They shelled a whole basin of peanuts in a single morning.’

"You bought apples, too?" Old Sir Gu exclaimed in surprise.

"Mm-hm. Jiaojiao said you all need to eat more fruit for your health, so we also bought a watermelon."

As he spoke, Su Shuochi went to the courtyard to pump water to wash the apples. The watermelon was also being chilled in the cool well water.

They had bought the watermelon, but the big, red Fuji apples were from Gu Jiaojiao’s "space"—a type that was nearly impossible to find in this era.

Su Shuochi also thoughtfully pumped water for the three Gu Family members to wash their hands. He gave each of them an apple, and he and Gu Jiaojiao had one too.

CRUNCH... Gu Jiaojiao took a happy bite of her apple.

Seeing her enjoyment, Old Sir Gu also took a bite. His eyes went wide as he looked at Su Shuochi. "This apple is so sweet and crisp! Where did you buy these?"

"We got them on the black market. We also bought a few ginseng roots today. Jiaojiao wants to make chicken soup with them for everyone."

Su Shuochi leaned close to Grandpa Gu’s ear and whispered conspiratorially, though in truth, Eldest Brother Gu and Mrs. Gu could hear him perfectly well.

Hearing this, the three members of the Gu Family relaxed and ate their apples without any further worry.

They also told the couple that the buns had sold very well that morning; they had sold out not long after setting up and had come back early.

Second Brother Gu was even clamoring to make an extra hundred buns to sell tomorrow, which made Gu Jiaojiao laugh.

With Mr. Gu also out selling cold-skin noodles, Mrs. Gu spoke with a bit more confidence in her voice, now that her family was providing two working hands.

"Mom, you, Grandpa, and Eldest Brother should just settle in and relax. Focus on getting well. Shu Ci is very well-off; we’re not short on food."

"Okay, okay, Jiaojiao. Once I’m better, I’ll go set up a stall too," Eldest Brother Gu said, in high spirits.

’Eldest Brother Gu has such simple ambitions,’ Gu Jiaojiao grumbled inwardly, but she still patiently tried to guide him.

"Eldest Brother, don’t you already have a job? Once you’re fully recovered, you can go back to your old military unit."

"My health... I can still go back to the unit?"

"Of course you can. If Shuo Ci can go back, of course you can. So don’t worry about being a burden. Just focus on your recovery.

Don’t work until your thumbs are red and swollen from shelling peanuts. My only intention was to give you all something to keep you busy."

"Hehe, it doesn’t hurt at all," Mrs. Gu said sheepishly.

They were just worried that if they shelled too few, they would lose face in front of their son-in-law and the Su Family.