The monkey half-ran and half-crawled into the main room, covering his mother’s mouth with his hand. “If you keep talking nonsense, even I won’t be able to protect you!”

“Ugh… ugh…” Mother Zeng nearly suffocated from her son’s hand covering her mouth.

Gu Jiaojiao didn’t hear the rest of Mother Zeng’s unfinished words. When she saw Su Shuoci arrive, she rushed over to him as if she had found a long-lost relative.

“Su Shuoci, his tendon is partially torn, not completely severed. I want to perform a minimally invasive surgery on him. It’ll take about an hour. Should we do it today or another day?”

The man, who had been full of hostility just moments ago, instantly felt at ease, especially when Gu Jiaojiao spoke close to his ear.

The warm breath that entered his ear seemed to flow through his entire body, and the fragrant scent made him feel as if he were burning up, his ears turning red as blood.

“Let’s do it today.”

He had initially wanted to say, “Whenever you say,” but he knew that as a man, he should be the one to make the decision.

Having been a scout, he was observant and intelligent, especially since he had been focusing all his attention on her.

Thus, he could accurately guess what she was thinking. Even if his guess was off, he could always correct it next time.

It was precisely this courage and determination of his that made Gu Jiaojiao very satisfied. She smiled and said, “Alright then, it’s up to you.”

The two exchanged a smile, and everything was understood without words. The icy barrier in Su Shuoci’s heart shattered a little more.

After speaking, Gu Jiaojiao opened the backpack on Su Shuoci’s back. It was empty, as they had agreed beforehand.

If they needed to produce something from thin air, they would pretend to take it out of the backpack.

Su Shuoci instructed the monkey and his mother to boil some water, while he stayed with his wife in the main room to assist with the minimally invasive surgery.

Gu Jiaojiao administered general anesthesia to Father Zeng. “Su Shuoci, help me by passing the tools.”

“Mm, is he asleep?”

“Almost. I gave him general anesthesia, though local anesthesia would have been enough.”

“Jiaojiao, then for my surgery in the future, just use local anesthesia. I want to watch you perform the surgery.”

“Alright.”

Gu Jiaojiao agreed readily, as Su Shuoci already knew her secret. He didn’t even need anesthesia, as long as he could endure it.

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

Items used by immortals were indeed extraordinary. Despite the turmoil in his heart, he remained expressionless, appearing calm and collected.

This made Gu Jiaojiao admire his ability to adapt and accept things quickly.

The surgery was completed in forty minutes. Father Zeng hadn’t woken up yet when monkey and his mother came in carrying a bucket of hot water.

They saw Su Shuoci gently wiping sweat off Gu Jiaojiao’s forehead, his focus and tenderness shocking monkey.

Gu Jiaojiao had already stored the advanced equipment in her space, leaving only a few clamps, scissors, and some gauze.

These were items that any major hospital would have. Meanwhile, Mother Zeng had learned of Su Shuoci’s identity while boiling the water.

Now, she stood to the side with her head bowed, hands hanging straight down, not daring to approach.

“Boss, sister-in-law, is the surgery already done?” monkey asked in disbelief.

“Yes, your father can try moving his leg when he wakes up. He’ll need to do rehabilitation exercises every day, and in two months, he’ll be able to walk normally.”

What Gu Jiaojiao didn’t say was that if the injury had just happened, he could have walked immediately. But since Father Zeng hadn’t walked in years, rehabilitation was necessary.

Monkey brought a basin of hot water for Gu Jiaojiao to wash her hands. She had already used disinfectant, but now she washed her hands thoroughly with soap.

“Sister-in-law, the soap you’re using smells amazing. Where did you buy it?”

“My relatives brought it back from abroad. Do you have a way to sell it?” Gu Jiaojiao was thrilled.

She still had dozens of boxes in her space, and turning them into cash would be ideal.

“I should be able to. Foreign goods are very popular in Qingcheng right now. I’ll look for a way to sell them this afternoon.”

Monkey thought the fragrant soap would sell well.

After washing her hands, Su Shuoci handed her a towel. “Jiaojiao, take ten bars of soap from the backpack and give them to monkey.”

“Alright.”

Gu Jiaojiao thought that in the future, soap would sell for over five yuan in stores, roughly the price of a pound of high-quality rice.

“Sell it for fifty cents a bar. I’ll give it to you for thirty-five cents.”

Although Mother Zeng didn’t dare to speak recklessly, she could still hear. Selling a bar of soap for fifty cents? Who would buy that?

If they could sell just one bar, her son would earn fifteen cents, almost enough to buy a pound of rice.

My heavens, this divine doctor is no ordinary person. Mother Zeng’s smile deepened.

At this moment, Father Zeng woke up. He moved his leg. “Ah, it really moves, and it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Heaven knows, his leg used to hurt excruciatingly with even the slightest movement, so he had never dared to stand on it.

“Uncle Zeng, don’t make any big movements for now. Rest for a couple of days, then slowly try to stand and practice walking…”

Gu Jiaojiao patiently instructed, and the Zeng family listened attentively. Mother Zeng cautiously asked, “Little divine doctor, do we still need to go to Tongji Pharmacy?”

“Yes, you’ll need to get some medicine for recovery. I don’t have any medicine here.”

Gu Jiaojiao had medicine in her space, but she didn’t have a medical license, so she couldn’t cut into others’ livelihoods.

This struck a chord with Mother Zeng. She wasn’t entirely at ease and wanted to take Father Zeng to Tongji Pharmacy for Dr. Li to examine him.

Su Shuoci took sixty yuan from monkey, still owing them one hundred and twenty yuan. Monkey didn’t have any more money on him.

He would have to wait until the five hundred pounds of rice and noodles were sold to have more money. Yesterday, the monkey had sold seventy yuan and given his parents ten yuan to buy medicine.

“Sister-in-law, we’ll pay the medical fees later,” monkey said without asking how much it would cost.

“Alright, we’ll talk about it later,” Gu Jiaojiao replied, also not mentioning the cost.

Su Shuoci didn’t plan to buy meat this time, as they still hadn’t finished the meat they bought yesterday.

He took Gu Jiaojiao to a nearby state-run restaurant for a meal, then they strolled through a few nearby streets.

His wheelchair was incredibly convenient now, nothing like the one that used to require immense effort to push.

Since his injury, he had never left the house, afraid of seeing the pity in others’ eyes.

Now, Su Shuoci could face those pitying looks with composure.

He even secretly rejoiced, thinking, “Look, everyone, I’m using items from the immortals.”

Excited, Su Shuoci didn’t feel tired at all sitting in his wheelchair, but Gu Jiaojiao, who had been walking the entire time, was exhausted.

She took out a tray of eggs, a bag of rice, and ten pounds of noodles, suggesting they head home.

They needed to let the people in the compound see that they had gone out to buy things, and also to reassure Su’s parents that they weren’t short on food.

It was only then that Su Shuoci realized his wife was tired. “Jiaojiao, should we go watch a movie?”

“There’s a cinema in the compound. Let’s go another day. For now, let’s go home.”

They had been out for most of the day, just missing the rush hours.

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

Ahead was a large pond. She steered the wheelchair closer, planning to sit by the pond for a while to catch her breath before heading home.

Just as they turned a corner, they saw a crowd gathered under a willow tree on the other side of the pond.