Chapter 56 Surgery

When He Caiwei returned home with the three of them, her mother happened to be returning from the shop in front.

"What brings you all here? Come on in and have a seat." Although He Yuping didn't know why they had all come, she still politely invited them to come in and sit down.

"Hello Comrade He, I need your help with something. Ah Zheng is having surgery this afternoon, but I haven't been able to find any anesthetic or anti-inflammatory drugs yet. The young lady said that someone in your family knows acupuncture anesthesia and penicillin, so I came here. I'm willing to pay any price to get help, Comrade He." For her brother's sake, Lu Zhining suppressed all her imposing manner and spoke humbly in order to alleviate his pain.

"Oh, so that's what it is. Comrade Lu, to be honest, I'm the one who knows acupuncture anesthesia, and I still have a few more penicillin at home. How about this, when is the surgery this afternoon? I'll come over and help with the anesthesia. You can take the penicillin with you now. Comrade Lu gave me fifty silver dollars before, so you don't need to pay any more." He Yuping didn't hide anything. Her daughter got the penicillin from the Qu family, and she didn't know how many people knew that the Qu family had penicillin. She still didn't dare to say too much, for fear that if someone found out, it would lead people to associate it with the Qu family.

After all, he is the richest man in Pingcheng, and he has met quite a few people. His little girl's face looks at least five parts like Master Qu's, so they should keep their identities well hidden.

Seeing that she didn't want anything else, Lu Zhining didn't say anything. They could think about that later; right now, the most important thing was her younger brother's matter.

With penicillin in hand, the group hurriedly left.

Dr. Wu was overjoyed to see the penicillin; with this, half the problem was solved.

Upon hearing that someone could perform acupuncture anesthesia, the expression on their face became even more interesting; that solved everything.

Dr. Wu quickened his pace; the surgery was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. When He Yuping entered, Dr. Wu paused for a moment, as did Lu Zheng, who was lying on the operating table.

He had no idea that Comrade He had this skill.

The surgery lasted for more than five hours, and Dr. Wu did not emerge from the operating room until almost 7 p.m.

Next, Lu Zheng was brought out; he appeared to be still conscious.

"How are you, Zheng? Does it hurt?" Lu Zhining's biggest concern was whether the acupuncture anesthesia would work.

"It doesn't hurt, but I can feel Dr. Wu's movements." It really didn't hurt; I could feel a slight sensation, but it wasn't very painful.

"That's good, thank you very much, Comrade He." That was all Lu Zhining could say at this point. Although saying thank you too often is meaningless, it's never a bad thing to be polite.

"No need to be polite. Since everything's alright, I'll be going now. I'm still a little worried about leaving Weiwei home alone. If Comrade Wu wants to cook for herself, she can come to my house. I have two houses, with a kitchen and stove, everything you need. You just need to buy groceries to start a fire and cook." He Yuping didn't have any intention of trying to build a relationship with them. She could tell that the woman standing so upright was probably a soldier as well. They knew Lu Zhiheng, and in this special situation, they wanted to help in whatever way they could.

"Then thank you in advance, Comrade He. I was just worried about where to make some chicken soup for A-Zheng. Sister, I'm forty-two this year, you can just call me Sister Wu. We've been here for almost a day and haven't looked for a guesthouse yet. I wonder if you know of any courtyards that we can rent, even for half a month or a month. Once A-Zheng can move around, we'll take him back to Kyoto." Wu Meifang felt that going to a guesthouse was inconvenient, and it would be more convenient to rent a courtyard so that they could take care of their own meals.

"Oh, is that so? Then Sister Wu, come with me. The yard next to my house is also mine. I used to run a dried goods shop, so I stored dried goods there. Now that the shop is closed, the yard has been empty. I'll charge you 100 gold coins a month. I also grow bok choy, green beans, loofah, and some scallions in the yard. If you want to eat, you can just pick some." He Yuping had already followed her daughter's advice and was gradually closing the shop. The reasons were very easy to come up with. Now, farming in the countryside had started to implement a work point system. Even those who went fishing at sea could be sent to the brigade headquarters to be paid according to work points, and they would receive grain at the end of the year.

She sold very little, so she took the opportunity to close down the dried goods shop. She also posted a notice in the cosmetics store saying that she couldn't find the raw materials and couldn't make or sell anything anymore. All that was left were the items on the shelves, and she would close down after selling them.

She had been thinking about renting out the two shops, but now there are very few people doing business there. Even the couple who ran the breakfast shop moved to the back door. People who know them go to the back door and do business there, which is less conspicuous.

They probably already heard rumors that the authorities were banning private businesses, otherwise they wouldn't have secretly moved to the back.

Her two shops are spacious enough, with many rooms in the backyard, and there's a well in the yard where she can grow some vegetables and raise a couple of chicks to lay eggs. It's one of the better yards in the area.

Of course, apart from not being able to do business in the front, there are no other problems. If you don't want to do business, you can turn it into something else. For example, after closing the front door, it becomes a living room or a bedroom.

Nowadays, most families have at least ten members, so it's impossible for each person to have their own room.

Those who live in tenement buildings suffer greatly. Sometimes, more than a dozen people live in a small room of only a few dozen square meters, crammed together like sardines in a can.

If He Yuping were to announce that she wanted to rent or sell her house, it would be in high demand. He Yuping went to her daughter's online space and looked up some information about Pengcheng. Although the leaders were different, the development of events seemed to be the same, so even though it was a different place, she felt it was worth referring to.

She saw on TV how promising Pengcheng would be in the future, and she couldn't bear to sell her house. She even wanted to buy more, but her daughter wouldn't let her, afraid it would be too conspicuous.

However, in the future, when many people will be homeless, if her house remains empty, it will still attract unwanted attention, so she plans to rent it out.

The area is surrounded by factories, and if she put it up for rent, someone would rent it anytime. But she was afraid that the yard would be ruined by unclean people.

After returning from the hospital that day, He Yuping never went back. Since the family members had already come, it was no longer appropriate for her to go there.

Today, after clearing out the last of the cosmetics store's stock, the door was completely closed, and a sign outside read "Closed for Business." Grandpa's liquor store is also closed, but his brewing hasn't stopped.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows that Grandpa He sells alcohol, so even if his shop in front of the store closes down, people will still come to his house to buy alcohol. So even if he doesn't open his shop, he can still make money.

Moreover, the old man is so old that it would be quite difficult for him to find work outside. Besides, the old man has money and skills, so even if he doesn't go out to earn money in the future, he can easily support himself in his old age.