49: Chapter 49: Poverty Limits the Imagination!

49: Chapter 49: Poverty Limits the Imagination!

Treat an old injury?

Tang Xiao looked at Wu Jie with hopeful eyes, not seeming to be joking.

Wu Jie’s heart chilled.

Tang Xiao’s old injury was beyond the help of current medical means, but the system could handle it.

Just the price…

A single Marrow Cleansing Pill, priced at five million energy points.

What could Wu Jie say?

Could he say, “I have a way to cure you, but I have to wait until I’ve earned enough energy points?”

Not to mention whether Tang Xiao would doubt the effectiveness of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, simply by saying that, the secret of the Emotional System would definitely be compromised.

So, he definitely couldn’t say that.

But…

The conditions Tang Xiao had offered were indeed very tempting!

She promised her hand in marriage, and even the market value of hundreds of billions of Great Tang Industrial Group as a dowry—a real-life version of “marrying a fair-skinned, rich and beautiful woman, becoming a CEO, and reaching the peak of life.”

After much thought, Wu Jie made up his mind.

“Your old injury, the world’s top hospitals can’t handle it, and you’ve tried both Chinese and Western medicine.

I’m guessing you’ve probably tried a lot of folk remedies, too, but nothing can cure it.

What can I possibly do?”

Tang Xiao spoke despondently to herself, “Right!

What can you do?

I know it’s pointless to ask you, but I always hold onto a sliver of hope.”

Wu Jie laughed, “I get it, every time I buy a lottery ticket, I think I’m definitely going to win big, but the jackpot always goes to someone in a mask!”

Tang Xiao shook her head and smiled.

“At least with a lottery ticket, I still have a tiny chance of winning, but what about me?

My injury is beyond saving.

All I can do is use conservative treatments and try to hang on day by day.”

Tang Xiao leaned on one hand, looking at Wu Jie with a forlorn expression.

She was someone who couldn’t bear loneliness, loved to gallop across battlefields, loved to sweat in sports, loved extreme sports…

Yet, her old injury only allowed her to imagine such activities in her mind, not daring to attempt them in reality, otherwise, she’d risk her life!

Seeing her like this, Wu Jie comforted, “Don’t lose hope just yet.

Technology is advancing, medical technology is constantly improving.

You keep up with conservative treatment, and maybe one day, it might be curable!”

“Like how everyone used to think cancer was terrifying and incurable, but now some early-stage cancers can be cured, right?”

Tang Xiao’s face grew colder as she scoffed, “Your way of comforting people really is unique!

I’m not about to die.

As long as I don’t do strenuous exercise, I can live just as well as anyone else.

Why bring up cancer?

Do you think I’m not miserable enough?”

Wu Jie laughed awkwardly, “I was just trying to comfort you!

Actually…”

“Actually what?

I appreciate your kindness.

You should go back to your patrol duty, and I should get back to work!”

Tang Xiao took out some documents and began to read with a focused demeanor.

Wu Jie had the words on the tip of his tongue but swallowed them back down.

No matter, it’s better not to say anything.

Offering false hopes is the cruelest.

“Well, you’re busy, I’ll take my leave!” Wu Jie stood up to say goodbye.

“Wait!”

Tang Xiao suddenly called out to Wu Jie, who was about to leave, “Grandpa’s birthday banquet is set for Sunday at noon at Tianyuan Haiyue Restaurant.

Remember to buy a gift—any amount is fine, it will be on me but don’t spend too much; just a token of your sentiment.”

“Also, it will be the first time you meet my family on the day of the banquet.

You don’t need to wear anything too fancy, no need for deliberate dressing up, but you must be fresh and clean, especially remember to shave your beard, nothing else though.”

Wu Jie nodded slightly and asked, “Not too expensive for the gift, so what’s the budget anyway?”

“Within half a million!” Tang Xiao replied without looking up.

Half a million??

Wu Jie shuddered, feeling thunderstruck.

Damn, is that not considered too expensive?

So if one were to buy something “expensive,” how much would the budget have to be?

It’s terrifying to even think about it!

As he left through the door, Wu Jie was thinking all the way about what gift would be appropriate.

After all, this was the first time meeting the parents!

Though it was a faux relationship, acting the part well was essential, and the gift was a very important prop.

The kind of gift you give really shows what kind of person you are.

Buy gifts like gold, silver, or jade?

Vulgar!

Give medicinal materials like ginseng, deer antler, or lingzhi?

Too expensive!

So what else could he give?

At this moment, Wu Jie truly felt his imagination was limited by poverty.

He arrived at the surveillance center.

Wu Jie brewed a cup of tea, held a cigarette in his mouth, and stared blankly at the surveillance screens.

His whole mind was muddled.

Suddenly!

Wu Jie thought of the demolition nouveau riche, Xu Wei.

“Girlfriend’s grandpa’s ninetieth big birthday, what gift should I give?

Online, waiting, urgent!”

Right after he sent the message, Xu Wei responded with a bunch of question marks, followed by a voice message.

Xu Wei: “Broad daylight, sure is the perfect time to dream!

Wake up already, kiddo.

If you could have a girlfriend, I could have a boyfriend!”

Wu Jie rolled his eyes.

“For real, I’m just standing in as a boyfriend for a friend, a leftover woman of a certain age who’s never been chased, her family is worried to death, so they got me, a loser, to make do!

Anyway, she’s footing the bill for the gifts, so stop dawdling and think of something for me.”

Xu Wei: “Oh!

So that’s how it is.

Well, if it’s just for show, why don’t you just buy some fruit and milk or something?”

Wu Jie was immediately speechless.

“Err…

can’t you have a little imagination?

She’s given me a budget of five hundred thousand, think quickly!”

Xu Wei immediately called with a voice connection, and right after it was connected, Wu Jie heard a shout of surprise.

“Whoa damn!

Integrity, are you hitting some good fortune or what?

You’ve met a rich woman!

You just said she’s a leftover woman, how old?

Fifty?

Sixty?”

Wu Jie lowered his voice and replied: “Younger than that!”

“Damn!

Thirty like a wolf, forty like a tiger, be careful she’s not just using you for a show but actually wants to chase you.

Single men full of vigor are super popular with older women, but given your low status, wouldn’t it be nice to be kept by her?”

Wu Jie cursed: “Kept?

Do you think I’m a pet?

Get to the point, I asked for your advice on buying a gift, what are you babbling on about?”

Xu Wei laughed continuously: “Oh, the gift!

At the age of ninety, stuff like gold and gemstones obviously won’t impress.

You have to cater to their interests, perhaps give them a painting or calligraphy; elderly people who stay at home often enjoy that hobby!”

Wu Jie retorted: “With five hundred thousand, I can’t buy any ancient paintings, can I?”

“Then buy contemporary ones!

They don’t need to be extremely valuable, just a little thought counts.

Besides, you’ve been given a budget of five hundred thousand, spending thirty to fifty thousand on a gift should do the trick, right?

Skim off the remaining four hundred thousand and change – how cool is that!

It’s like several years worth of your labor!”

“Get lost, I need to get receipts to expense it!”

“Receipts?

That’s easy, just ask the vendor to write up more, say the tax is on you, and they’ll write as much as you want.”

“Awesome, a real veteran driver!”

“Awesome your ass?

Hurry up and send me a photo of your sugar mama, I want to see what a rich woman who even you find acceptable looks like.”

“Get lost!”

After hanging up the voice call, Wu Jie immediately prepared to search online for famous paintings and calligraphy.

Suddenly!

“Since Tang Xiao comes from a military martial family, her grandpa must have been a soldier!”

Wu Jie immediately thought of a perfect gift…