Chapter 402: Chapter 402: Juicer
In the hospital room, all of Xia Qiuming’s relatives had left; he had even coaxed his own mother into leaving.
All his gossipy aunts and female relatives, trying to curry favor, had bought him tons of nutritional supplements and fruit. Xia Qiuming looked at the mountain of gifts piled on the table by his bed.
He looked at Gu Jiaojiao and joked, "Master, if you want any fruit, you’ll have to wash it yourself. I’m afraid I’m in no condition to serve you."
"You two are the patients. I said I’d take care of you tonight. So, tell me, what fruit do you want? I’ll wash it and make some juice for you."
As she spoke, Gu Jiaojiao picked out some grapes and mangoes—her favorites—and went to wash them.
After washing a large plate of grapes and a few mangoes, she skillfully pulled a juicer out of her backpack.
"Watch closely. It’s time to witness a miracle," Gu Jiaojiao said, holding up the juicer and waving it in front of the two patients.
Then, she deftly plugged it in, flipped the switch, and put the clean grapes into the machine.
The juicer’s blades began to spin rapidly with a WHIRRING sound, and the fruit pulp seemed to dance joyfully inside.
Little by little, the juice was slowly extracted into the cup, a deep red color.
"Young Mistress, this thing of yours is incredible! It turns perfectly good fruit into liquid. How have I never seen one before?"
When Mu Ziquan first saw Gu Jiaojiao take it out of her backpack, he had held back from asking, afraid she would think him ignorant.
But now, he couldn’t hold back any longer. It was just too amazing, and the question tumbled out.
"You’ve never seen one, have you? I have, when I was abroad. Foreigners mostly use them to make fruit juice, but some people also use them to grind meat, mince fresh chili peppers..."
Xia Qiuming said animatedly, clearly trying to show off in front of Mu Ziquan.
Gu Jiaojiao had to suppress a laugh. ’Is a meat grinder really the same as a juicer?’
But she managed to keep a straight face and said seriously, "This was something Shu Ci came up with on a whim and invented."
He saw how much I love fruit, so he invented this. And since Professor Xia calls it a juicer, I guess that’s what we’ll call it from now on.
"Here, try this grape juice and tell me if you like it. If you do, I’ll have Su Shuochi make a few more to give to you."
"Besides, a meat grinder is different from a juicer. My Shu Ci has made one of those, too."
Whenever Gu Jiaojiao took something futuristic out of her space, she would attribute its invention to Su Shuochi.
Otherwise, she couldn’t explain why such things weren’t sold on the market, yet she had them.
But she was discreet. The things she allowed others to see were all simple and easy to replicate.
Besides, she had plenty more in her space; she had, after all, absorbed the entire small warehouse of a department store.
The medical equipment that Su Shuochi had managed to replicate through research was all things the country and its people needed.
After all, researchers would eventually develop these things as technology advanced. She was just introducing some necessary equipment a little ahead of schedule.
"If your husband has time, he could take on apprentices and make more juicers and meat grinders to sell. If you’re short on manpower or capital, I’d be willing to invest."
Mu Ziquan’s ancestors had also been in big business. Over thirty years ago, many of the Mu Family’s properties were confiscated and turned into state-owned enterprises.
Over ten years ago, even the last of their family’s assets couldn’t be saved. Now, with so many Hidden Guards to support, how could his mind not be racing with possibilities?
"Hm, that’s a possibility. Once you’ve mostly recovered, you can go buy some land to build a factory and produce some small appliances."
The moment money was mentioned, Gu Jiaojiao’s blood began to boil with excitement. "Here, try the grape juice. I’ll peel the mangoes next and make a glass of that for you to try."
"Wait for Mu Shan to get back and have him peel the mangoes. You can just teach him how to do it," Mu Ziquan said, not wanting Gu Jiaojiao to get too tired.
He really wanted to say he would have Mu Qing go buy the land tomorrow, but he couldn’t push her. ’Best to wait,’ he thought.
"Tsk, this is delicious. It tastes exactly like real grapes," Xia Qiuming said, smacking his lips in satisfaction after a sip.
"Young Master, we’re here! What did you say you wanted me to learn from the Young Mistress?" Mu Shan asked, bursting in.
He and Mu Wu both had their hands full. As Mu Shan spoke, he began placing the items one by one on the table by Mu Ziquan’s bed.
"No rush, rest for a bit first. Why are you carrying so much?" Gu Jiaojiao asked, looking at the two sweating bodyguards.
"Young Mistress, the Master had us bring this fruit especially for you to eat. There’s also chicken soup, other dishes, snacks..."
"Well now, you two brought even more than all of Professor Xia’s gossipy relatives!" Gu Jiaojiao teased, sipping her grape juice.
"Heh heh, to be honest, Young Mistress, the Master thought we brought too little. He wanted to move the entire pantry over here!"
Mu Shan said with a simple-minded grin, deftly ladling a bowl of chicken soup and offering it to Gu Jiaojiao. "Young Mistress, please drink."
Not to be outdone, Mu Wu also ladled a bowl for Mu Ziquan. "Young Master, for you. Should we offer a bowl to Professor Xia as well?"
Mu Ziquan didn’t know if Professor Xia could have chicken soup, so he looked to Gu Jiaojiao.
"Professor Xia can’t have anything oily today. You can go wash a couple of apples, and I’ll teach you how to use the juicer in a bit."
"Alright, Young Mistress, please take your time. I’ll make some apple juice for you and the Young Master later." After speaking, Mu Shan picked out a few large apples and went to wash them.
They had not only brought a lot of fruit, but also many of Gu Jiaojiao’s favorite snacks and pastries.
There was a large thermos of chicken soup, and the other dishes were exquisite, though not large in portion. Gu Jiaojiao and Mu Ziquan ate half, and Mu Shan and Mu Wu polished off the rest.
Mu Shan made a few more glasses of fruit juice. The two patients didn’t dare have too much, and Gu Jiaojiao was already stuffed, so it all went to Mu Shan and Mu Wu.
The hospital director had specially arranged the adjacent room for Gu Jiaojiao to rest. Around nine o’clock, Gu Jiaojiao instructed Mu Shan and Mu Wu to watch over the two patients.
"If either of them develops a fever, call me. Don’t call any other doctors." With that, she went to the next room.
After bolting the door, she entered her space, enjoyed a wonderful bath in the Spiritual Spring, practiced her skills for a while, and then had a lovely sleep.
At three in the morning, Xia Qiuming developed a high fever and lay unconscious in his hospital bed.
Mu Wu, who was keeping watch by his bed, anxiously shook Mu Ziquan awake. "Young Master, Professor Xia has a high fever and is unconscious!"
"Quick, go knock on the next door and get the Young Mistress to take a look!" Mu Ziquan roared at Mu Shan, who was also on watch.
The drowsy Mu Shan was startled awake and scrambled to the door, knocking loudly.
He shouted urgently, "Young Mistress! Young Mistress, open up! Professor Xia’s fever is really bad!"
In the next room, Gu Jiaojiao was sleeping soundly on the large bed inside her space when she heard the commotion outside.
She climbed out of bed, exited the space with a thought, and called through the door, "Don’t panic, I’m coming right now."
After speaking, she didn’t even bother with makeup. She changed her clothes and grabbed her bag as fast as she could, but it still took her three minutes to open the door.
"Young Mistress, you’re finally here! Professor Xia is unconscious; we were worried sick," Mu Shan said, breathing a long sigh of relief when he saw Gu Jiaojiao emerge.
