Back to the 1980s: Transmigrated as the Bigshot's Pampered Wife-Chapter 65: Up the Mountain to Dig for Treasure

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Up the Mountain to Dig for Treasure

"Dad, you wouldn’t know this, but Gu Jingtai told me he’s going to open a restaurant chain in the future. He’s even going to register a company."

With that, Sheng Shiwu picked up his spicy sticks and strutted away, full of vim and vigor.

Mr. Sheng was left speechless.

He stared blankly at his younger son’s retreating back. ’The Gu family is truly something else!’

He had only just received news this afternoon that the Imperial City was now allowing private businesses and individual company registration.

The Su family didn’t have a phone, and Old Sir Gu and his son hadn’t left the house. Clearly, the Gu Family had known about this for some time and had already made plans.

Mr. Sheng stood in his study, completely stunned. Little did he know, these were all ideas Gu Jiaojiao had planted in her second brother’s mind.

「The next morning.」

A knock on the door startled Gu Jiaojiao from her sleep. "Who is it?" ’So disruptive!’

"Jiaojiao, I’ll get the door." His voice was rich and deep, tinged with a hint of sleepy pleasure.

She glanced at Su Shuochi beside her. He had just opened his own drowsy eyes, clearly having only just woken up himself.

"Mmm-hmm..."

’I just woke up and don’t feel like moving anyway. Besides, my husband may be disabled, but his spirit is strong.’

Su Shuochi opened the door just a crack, with no intention of letting the person in. "What is it? It’s so early."

"’Early? It’s already seven-thirty," Song Zijie retorted in disbelief.

Seeing that the man had no intention of speaking again, he had no choice but to continue, "The farm managers have prepared breakfast. We’ve been waiting for you for a while now."

"Go tell my father-in-law that they should eat first. We’ll head over as soon as we’ve washed up."

He then shut the door with a sharp SLAM.

Furious, Song Zijie threw a few punches at the closed door. ’I’m going to find a girl and get married, too!’ he fumed internally.

The breakfast at the farm today was lavish; they were treating Mr. Gu’s group with the same hospitality reserved for distinguished guests.

There was a thick, fragrant millet porridge, pickled cucumber strips, steamed soup dumplings and fried dough sticks bought from town, hard-boiled eggs, and more.

Mr. Gu wanted to wait for his precious daughter and son-in-law, and the farm manager accompanying them didn’t dare to press the issue.

That’s why Song Zijie had volunteered to go knock on their door. By the time he returned, Su Shuochi and his wife had arrived as well.

"Dad, Uncle Geng, so sorry about that," Gu Jiaojiao said. "We overslept. You really should have started without us."

"It’s no problem. Jiaojiao was exhausted from driving all day yesterday. It’s good for her to get some extra sleep," Mr. Gu said with a benevolent smile.

He naively assumed his daughter was simply tired. Since his son-in-law was paralyzed from the waist down, the other possibility never even crossed his mind.

"Hmph!"

Song Zijie shot Su Shuochi a look. ’What a lack of self-control,’ he thought. ’Doesn’t he even care that his dear young wife is tired from driving?’

In reality, Song Zijie had completely misunderstood. The young couple had only shared a few kisses.

Not that Su Shuochi would ever explain. The mere act of holding his wife’s hand was enough to send a thrill through him.

Besides, they had kissed last night while she was wide awake, a memory that now made him feel invincible.

’My wife is completely mine now. She will never, ever leave me. This is the great thing about having an overactive imagination!’

He ladled a bowl of porridge and passed it to Gu Jiaojiao with a look of deep affection. "Here, darling, have some porridge. And a steamed dumpling, and your favorite fried dough sticks..."

Mr. Gu watched his son-in-law attentively placing one food item after another onto his daughter’s plate. Though he wanted to do the same for her, he was delighted to see how considerate his son-in-law was.

So, he picked up a steamed dumpling and placed it in his friend’s bowl. "Ruixian, you have some more, too."

"Thank you, Cheng Zhou. You eat up as well." Geng Ruixian had no idea that Mr. Gu had been eating quite well at the Su family’s home.

He had slept soundly the previous night, so he felt much more energetic this morning.

He attributed it to the miraculous malted milk and had immediately prepared a cup upon waking.

It wasn’t as fragrant or as sweet as the one from last night. The container of malted milk in his room was a gift from the farm manager.

Gu Jiaojiao wasn’t a picky eater; she ate whatever her husband placed on her plate. And the steamed dumplings from this era were truly delicious.

The fried dough sticks, in particular, were large, thick, and doughy. A single bite revealed a soft, fluffy texture that was incredibly tasty—nothing like the dry, crispy ones from her future.

Song Zijie glanced from one doting pair to the other. ’Right, I’ll just serve myself then!’

The farm manager, ever observant, used the serving chopsticks to place a steamed dumpling in Song Zijie’s bowl. "Mr. Song, please, have some more."

"Thank you. Everyone, please, help yourselves. Don’t stand on ceremony." Song Zijie’s mood brightened considerably, and he, too, used the serving chopsticks to serve Mr. Gu and the others.

"Uncle Gu, Uncle Geng, please have more." He didn’t dare put any food on Gu Jiaojiao’s plate.

One look at the way Su Shuochi was hovering over her like a mother wolf protecting her cub, and he knew not to provoke the couple.

After breakfast, Mr. Gu went to pack up their things. In reality, there was almost nothing to pack—just a few sets of tattered clothes.

Seeing the squalid conditions her father and his family had been forced to live in, Gu Jiaojiao couldn’t stop the tears from welling up.

The dilapidated hut didn’t have a single decent piece of furniture. It was certainly no place to hide any family treasures.

’No wonder Grandpa said the few antiques we have are buried under a tree on the back mountain!’ she thought.

Geng Ruixian was also destitute. As for the few pots of wildflowers and weeds he’d been cultivating, Gu Jiaojiao offered to put them in the car’s trunk for him.

"Since Uncle Geng likes plants so much, let’s go to the back mountain and dig up some more to take back to Qing City."

"You all go on ahead," Mr. Gu said. "Comrade Li, if you could please help my friend move these potted plants to the car’s trunk. My daughter likes wild greens, so we’re going to take a look on the back mountain."

Su Shuochi, meanwhile, asked the farm manager to take him to see the young donkeys, as he was thinking of buying one. He couldn’t go up the mountain in his wheelchair.

He knew his wife had important things to do. Though he was usually quite clingy, he wasn’t the type to pester her unreasonably.

Gu Jiaojiao and Mr. Gu each shouldered a hoe and carried a woven bamboo basket on their arm as they walked off side by side.

Su Shuochi watched them until they were far in the distance, calling after her to come back soon.

"Alright, let’s go pick out a donkey," he said to the manager. "We shouldn’t still be choosing when my wife gets back."

"Let’s go."

The area at the foot of the back mountain was barren of trees and undergrowth, all of it having been cut down for firewood.

Among their group, Gu Jiaojiao and her father were the only healthy ones. But even they were frail compared to ordinary people, so the farm manager never suspected they had an ulterior motive.

"Dad, do you remember the exact spot?"

"I do. It’s just a little ways ahead. We’ll dig it up quickly and head back."

"Dad, you take your time digging. I’m going to look around and see if I can find any unusual herbs."

"Jiaojiao, be careful. If you go any deeper, there might be wild boars."

"Don’t you worry, Dad," she said with a giggle. "Someone as weak as me wouldn’t possibly dare to go deep into the mountains."

’Wild boars? That would be perfect! In my past life, I hunted leopards in Africa!’

’What’s a wild boar to me? It’d be great if I ran into one.’ As soon as she was out of her father’s line of sight, Gu Jiaojiao quickened her pace and headed deeper into the mountains. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’I’ve always had to fight for everything I wanted. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.’

Along the way, she actually spotted several herbs that would be considered precious in the future. Gu Jiaojiao carefully transplanted them into her pocket dimension.

Saving Geng Ruixian’s life yesterday had earned her another cubic meter of black soil in her dimension, which filled Gu Jiaojiao with a manic energy.

Perhaps she was moving too quickly, or perhaps she was too focused on finding even more valuable herbs.

She paid no attention to the path beneath her feet. All she heard was a sharp CRACK from behind her before her entire body pitched forward...