Chapter 425: Sprain

Chapter 425 Sprain

Hai Yan smiled and said, "She's also married to an official and has been on the island for many years."

In truth, Hai Yan understood the meaning behind the woman's scrutiny. Usually, even if an official's wife came to the island, they wouldn’t buy as many things as Ye Xiaoxiao did all at once.

Most people were modest and thrifty. The way that woman had looked at Ye Xiaoxiao just now was as if she regarded her as a spendthrift wife.

Ye Xiaoxiao stayed silent.

Hai Yan set down the groceries and told Ye Xiaoxiao that once everything she needed was in stock, she would deliver them to her.

Ye Xiaoxiao thanked her and was about to head home when her neighbor, Gao Yanfei, came by, balancing two buckets of water.

Gao Yanfei looked slender and wiry, but she was surprisingly strong, steady under the weight of two full buckets of water.

There were a few steps on the uphill path ahead. As Gao Yanfei climbed, she suddenly lurched sideways and tumbled down.

Ye Xiaoxiao had been watching in admiration at her strength, but the sudden accident startled her.

Hai Yan, who hadn’t gone far yet while pushing her cart, hurried back to help Gao Yanfei upon hearing the commotion.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah!" Gao Yanfei was helped to sit on the ground, her face ghostly pale.

The water she had been carrying had spilled everywhere, drenching her pants.

"My foot..."

Ye Xiaoxiao crouched down to examine Gao Yanfei's ankle. Though Gao Yanfei winced in pain the moment Ye Xiaoxiao touched it, a closer look confirmed it was only a sprain, not a fracture.

"We should get her to the clinic," Hai Yan said nervously.

Though Ye Xiaoxiao could treat her, she didn’t have any bandages on hand.

"Mm." Xiao Xiao nodded, then said gently to Gao Yanfei, "It’s only a sprain, don’t worry. The bone isn’t broken, but you’ll probably need to rest for a month."

"Thank you..."

The pain in Gao Yanfei’s foot grew more intense, and she was beaded with cold sweat as she spoke.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Hai Yan supported Gao Yanfei to the clinic, where the doctor on duty immediately pressed an ice pack to the swelling.

"It looks serious. She can’t put weight on it."

Gao Yanfei was frustrated. "I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t see the moss on the steps."

In any case, Gao Yanfei couldn’t walk anymore.

After getting medicine from the clinic, Ye Xiaoxiao and Hai Yan helped Gao Yanfei home.

Gao Yanfei’s home was spotless. She had two children, both going to school on the island.

By the time they brought Gao Yanfei home, it was noon, and her two children were back from school.

Two boys, ten and eight.

"Mom, what’s wrong with your foot?"

"Mom, are you okay?"

Gao Yanfei looked at her two children and reassured them, "I'm fine, but I can't cook today. Take the meal tickets and grab dinner from the mess hall."

The older boy said sensibly, "Mom, you rest. I’ll take my little bro to the chow hall."

Inside the military housing area, there was no need to worry about the children's safety, so Gao Yanfei felt at ease letting them go on their own.

Although the military cafeteria provided meals, they required meal tickets taken from their pay, which wasn’t cheap.

Most folks cooked at home to save money, and Gao Yanfei hadn’t sent her kids to the cafeteria in a long time.

After sending the kids off, Gao Yanfei apologized to Ye Xiaoxiao and Hai Yan, "Thank you both so much today. Sorry I can’t be a better host with this foot of mine, but I’ll make it up to you another time."

Hai Yan replied, "Don’t mention it—just helping out. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head off now."

Ye Xiaoxiao also said, "I’ll go too. Just holler from the yard if you need me."

It was getting late, and Ye Xiaoxiao had to hit the mess for chow.

As she left Gao Yanfei’s house, Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but think—what luck she had.

Her neighbors on both sides—one injured, the other sick—while she was still in good health.

After lunch, Ye Xiaoxiao took a short nap.

The rain jolted her awake. The sky had gone dark with storm clouds, and a heavy downpour poured down. Neighbors were likely scrambling to cover their outdoor stuff.

Ye Xiaoxiao had just moved in, she’d just finished cleaning the house, barely, and the yard was empty.

Luckily, the roof didn’t leak.

She sat by the door, watching the rain drum on the ground. In this mess, Lu Hanchuan’s unit probably had training canceled—maybe they’d return early.

Living on base had indeed given them more time together. In the past, they might have only met twice a month.

Now, seeing each other every day was something she’d never dreamed possible.

After half an hour, the rain eased to a drizzle.

Ye Xiaoxiao eyed her groceries—some rice, flour, a few potatoes, and carrots.

If she didn’t go to the cafeteria for dinner, she could make a bland pot of potatoes and carrots?

‘No way,’ she thought, shaking her head.

Unless the rain was biblical, she’d definitely go to the cafeteria.

There were a few sticks of firewood left in the house, but she wasn’t sure if they’d be enough for cooking.

If Ye Jianguo knew she was even short on firewood, he’d have a truck here before dawn.

Since she couldn’t go out now, Ye Xiaoxiao decided to read in the study.

But with the dim light, she yanked the light pull cord—only to find it unresponsive.

No wonder Hai Yan had said the island’s power grid was spotty. Now she believed it.

It's just some rain, but it must've knocked down a power line, so we've got no power.

Thankfully, by evening, the rain had stopped.

Ye Xiaoxiao headed to the mess hall for dinner and saw Kong Xuelan as she stepped out.

"Comrade Kong, are you feeling better?"

Kong Xuelan smiled at Ye Xiaoxiao. "Yes, thanks to you, Mrs. Lu. That medicine you gave me did the trick. After resting another day, I feel much better and thought I should get out for a bit."

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "No need for formality, and you don’t have to call me Mrs. Lu—just my name is fine."

She really wasn’t used to such polite titles.

"Then I’ll call you Xiao Xiao. And no need to be polite—just call me by my name too."

"Alright, Sister Xuelan."

Since Kong Xuelan was five or six years older, calling her "sister" made sense.

This was Kong Xuelan’s first time going to the mess hall, so Xiao Xiao had to lead the way.

Today, the mess hall was noticeably packed.

Because of the rain, many households couldn’t get their stoves going, so more people came to eat at the mess hall.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Kong Xuelan also met some of the other army wives.

Noticing the two unfamiliar faces, someone came over to greet them.

Both Ye Xiaoxiao and Kong Xuelan responded politely.

Ye Xiaoxiao spotted the older woman who had sized her up before. Though the woman didn’t approach, she was still watching them.

"These military dependents are supposed to take care of their families, but these young ones look so delicate and spoiled—can't handle hardship at all. I don’t even know why they bother coming.

Seems less like supporting the troops and more like being a burden."

Though the woman said under her breath, Ye Xiaoxiao still heard her.

"We live in our own homes—who exactly are we burdening? Some people really need to mind their own business."

Ye Xiaoxiao might seem gentle, but she wasn't about to take that.

Faced with the woman’s provocation, she fired right back.