Chapter 190: Saving a Life
Gu Jiaojiao didn’t want to argue, but Zhou Mei refused to let it go. "Jiaojiao, why are you two back so late?"
Seeing how persistent Zhou Mei was, Gu Jiaojiao could only reply, "Shu Ci and I went shopping and ran into a friend of his. We had a meal together, and then his friend gave us some local specialties, so we got back a bit late."
After speaking, Gu Jiaojiao gave Zhou Mei a meaningful look and started pushing the wheelchair straight toward her own front door.
With a hurt and aggrieved expression, Zhou Mei looked at Su Shuochi and said, "Brother Su, I don’t think I did anything to offend Jiaojiao, did I?"
"Jiaojiao and I don’t even know you. How could we have possibly offended you?" Su Shuochi didn’t even spare her a glance.
Zhou Mei’s lips moved, but she couldn’t utter a single word. She could only watch helplessly as Su Shuochi went inside.
Only then did she drop her pitiful, aggrieved act, the corners of her lips twisting into a vicious smirk.
But she felt as disgusted as if she’d swallowed a fly. ’That sickly little weakling really knows how to put on an act,’ Zhou Mei cursed inwardly.
"Meizi, the show’s over! Aren’t you going to bed? You have school tomorrow," Mrs. Zhou called out from the living room.
"I know! Can’t I just get some fresh air?" Zhou Mei snapped viciously.
Mr. Zhou and Brother Zhou were speechless.
It wasn’t like they were deaf. They had heard everything—what Zhou Mei said on the balcony and what Su Shuochi had said downstairs.
Mr. Su, Mr. Gu, and Second Brother Gu carried the items from the car into the living room, where Su’s mother and Mrs. Gu then sorted them and put them away in the kitchen.
The car was mainly filled with food; Gu Jiaojiao had already put the medicinal herbs into her space during the drive.
Eldest Brother Gu had already gone to bed, as he still hadn’t fully recovered. Grandpa Gu was also helping out with whatever he could.
Just like Mr. Gu, his mouth watered at the sight of a bucket of river snails. "Shuo Ci, your friend bought river snails and loaches!"
"Mhm, I specifically asked him to buy them the last time I called. Grandpa likes them. Once Jiaojiao is on summer break, we’ll make another trip to Feng’en County."
Su Shuochi said cheerfully. Actually, they had river snails and loaches in his hometown, too, but he didn’t want to go back before his legs healed.
After they had a phone installed at home, his mother had called his eldest younger sister a few times. She said everything was fine at home.
She hadn’t asked about their current situation, so Su’s mother was too embarrassed to say that their family was now eating meat every day.
Su Shuochi had one older and one younger paternal uncle, and two paternal aunts, all living in the countryside. They had come for his and Jiaojiao’s wedding.
When they saw that Su Shuochi was completely unable to stand, they grew afraid that Mr. Su would try to borrow money from them, so they left without even staying for the wedding banquet.
Since they didn’t stay for the banquet, they naturally didn’t have to give a wedding gift. So, after Mr. Su "struck it rich" with his stall, he never called them back either.
"I’ll go too when the time comes! Once summer break is over, we have to go back to the Imperial City."
"Once you’re in the Imperial City, Grandpa, we’ll have time during summer and winter breaks. We can go wherever we want then," Gu Jiaojiao said with an amused smile. ’He must just want to ride in my car.’
"Jiaojiao’s right, but I’d still like to go see Feng’en this time."
Grandpa Gu said earnestly. He had spent so many years on the farm without ever seeing the surrounding villages.
"Alright. In any case, Eldest Brother Gu isn’t well yet, and Second Brother Gu can’t bear to part with his *jianbing guozi* stall.
Mr. Su and the others can’t bear to leave their *liangpi* stall either. They felt awful just for taking half a day off last time.
I have the day off tomorrow, so I’ll take Grandpa for a drive to Qing City and check on how Song Zijie is recovering."
"Wonderful! That’s wonderful! HAHAHA..." Grandpa Gu laughed joyfully.
The next day, after breakfast, Gu Jiaojiao drove Grandpa Gu and Su Shuochi to the clinic to see Song Zijie.
As they drove down the compound’s main road, they saw a crowd of people gathered in the middle, blocking their car.
It was difficult for Su Shuochi to get out of the car, and Grandpa Gu wasn’t as agile as Gu Jiaojiao.
So Gu Jiaojiao opened the car door to take a look. As she approached the crowd, she saw an elderly woman frantically shaking a little boy whose face was turning blue as he clutched at his throat.
Gu Jiaojiao immediately rushed forward, and without a word, she pulled the little boy into her arms and began administering the Heimlich maneuver.
"Hey! What are you doing? Let go of our Xiao Kang, now!" the old woman shouted frantically.
Seeing Gu Jiaojiao holding her grandson and forcefully pressing a fist just above the boy’s navel, she started to scream.
The crowd of onlookers didn’t see Su Shuochi, so they started verbally attacking Gu Jiaojiao, intentionally or not, they also blocked the old woman.
They were hoping Gu Jiaojiao would cause a major incident—it would be best if it turned fatal.
"Gu Jiaojiao, what are you doing? Let go of that child! I really thought you had changed for the better!"
"Yeah, I thought you’d changed, too. What, you’re dropping the act now that Su Shuochi isn’t here?"
"Honestly! How can you be so rough with a child who’s already stopped breathing? Using your fist! Are you even human?"
Gu Jiaojiao had no time to deal with the gossiping crowd. She methodically continued applying pressure to the boy’s abdomen.
The grandmother’s face was also filled with disbelief. ’This young woman looks as beautiful as a fairy, yet she’s so malicious.’
’To think she’d pound and press on my grandson like that! But these people were even more hateful, actually blocking my way.’
Just as the grandmother was beside herself with anxiety, the child in Gu Jiaojiao’s arms coughed, and a hard candy flew out.
"COUGH... COUGH... WAH! Grandma, I choked on the candy, I almost died!" The child cried out in fear, clinging to his grandmother’s leg.
The feeling of the hard candy suffocating him had been terrifying. A six-year-old knows the difference between life and death.
When the grandmother saw the color returning to her grandson’s face and that he had coughed up the obstruction, her eyes welled with tears of joy.
Clutching her grandson’s hand tightly, she sincerely thanked Gu Jiaojiao. "Thank you, young comrade. I misunderstood you just now. I’m truly sorry."
"Jiaojiao! You actually know first aid? And such a novel technique, at that!" an amazed voice exclaimed loudly.
Gu Jiaojiao knew that doctors of this era were not yet aware of the Heimlich maneuver.
Dr. Heimlich had used this method to save many people in the 1970s, and it was named after him the following year.
When Gu Jiaojiao raised her eyes and got a clear look at the person before her, she paused, stunned. It was Divine Doctor Jiang, the one who often helped treat the original owner of her body.
Divine Doctor Jiang’s hair was already flecked with gray, and his face was deeply lined. He seemed to be in a rush, which gave his expression a weathered look.
Thinking about the emergency that had just occurred, Gu Jiaojiao decided it would be good for everyone to learn some first-aid techniques.
So, she explained the technique she had just used and concluded by saying, "This is the Heimlich maneuver, which Professor Xia learned while abroad.
It’s very simple to learn. In the future, if any of you encounter someone choking, you can use this method to provide first aid. But you can’t use it on infants and toddlers."
Seeing Gu Jiaojiao selflessly teaching everyone, the crowd immediately changed their tune. "Heavens, Jiaojiao is truly amazing."
"That’s right. I never expected someone as young as Jiaojiao to be so capable."
"Two Divine Doctors came from the Imperial City, and both are friends of Grandpa Gu. How could they not teach her?"
Gu Jiaojiao was speechless.
’Weren’t these the same people who were just badmouthing me?!’