Chapter 427: The Snail Girl

Chapter 427 The Snail Girl

Sun Chao was too naive—Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t as good-tempered as he thought.

She was just usually more easygoing.

Now that Sun Chao had returned, Ye Xiaoxiao and Kong Xuelan left first.

Ye Xiaoxiao left the herbal liquor with Gao Yanfei, explaining how to use it before departing.

Outside the Sun family’s yard, the sky was almost dark. It had been overcast all day today, making the evening especially gloomy.

“I wonder if the electricity’s back on at home.”

Ye Xiaoxiao asked as they walked, “Do you have backup power or candles at your place?”

Kong Xuelan hadn’t thought to prepare those things. “There might be a flashlight—I’ll check when I get back.”

“If you don’t have candles, you can come get some from my place. I bought some today,” Ye Xiaoxiao said generously.

Kong Xuelan nodded. “Alright.”

But she felt a little ashamed. She was several years older than Ye Xiaoxiao, yet in the end, she was the one being looked after.

After spending these past couple of days together, she even felt that she wasn’t as capable as Ye Xiaoxiao.

When Ye Xiaoxiao returned home, there was still no power.

Luckily, Lu Hanchuan came back soon after. He hung up his military cap and coat. “Looks like we’ll be in the dark tonight. The power lines probably won’t be fixed until tomorrow.”

“You’re back later than usual today,” Ye Xiaoxiao said, standing at the bedroom door and looking out.

“Yeah, got tied up with something.”

Lu Hanchuan walked over and ruffled Xiao Xiao’s hair, dropping his usual stern act as he asked gently, “What did you do at home today?”

Ye Xiaoxiao: “I bought a lot of things today.”

Despite being a small island, the prices here were even higher than in the capital. Even with China’s rapid economic growth in recent years, the cost of living on the island was still startling.

Lu Hanchuan checked out what Xiao Xiao had bought and had to laugh.

“Xiao Xiao, even if you bought rice and flour, you can’t just survive on plain rice and steamed buns.”

Ye Xiaoxiao said, “There are also potatoes and radishes.”

“I remember you don’t like radishes.”

Whether it was carrots or white radishes, Xiao Xiao disliked them all. Even one bite was a struggle for her.

“Yeah, but I didn’t see any other vegetables.”

“The store might be out, but I’ve seen locals growing vegetables on the island. If you ask around, someone’ll probably sell you some.”

Lu Hanchuan didn’t care about spending the household money—as long as it made Xiao Xiao’s life a little better, it was worth it.

Her eyes widened at the reminder.

Is Lu Hanchuan actually a genius?

That possibility had never crossed her mind.

"But we don’t need to buy groceries now, do we?" Lu Hanchuan didn’t think Xiao Xiao could cook by herself, and he didn’t have time either—getting groceries now would be pointless.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Says who? I can practice cooking. It’s just tossing in some salt and soy sauce, right? I can handle it."

Lu Hanchuan, seeing her determination, said, "Alright, just watch your fingers when you chop. Don’t cut yourself."

Ye Xiaoxiao went quiet when he said that.

"What’s wrong?"

Lu Hanchuan thought she was upset.

Ye Xiaoxiao pursed her lips: "I forgot to buy a kitchen knife today."

The thought hadn't even occurred to her that chopping required a knife, and she didn’t have a cutting board either.

The kitchen at home only had some cabinets—not a single cooking utensil.

Lu Hanchuan chuckled, "Well… no hurry. Those potatoes and radishes can last a few more days."

Ye Xiaoxiao sighed. She had wanted to show her determination to learn, but now Lu Hanchuan probably had even less faith in her.

"I’ll go buy them tomorrow."

Since there was no electricity at home, Ye Xiaoxiao handed Lu Hanchuan a flashlight so he could wash up first.

After tidying up, the two lay in bed.

Lu Hanchuan reached out and hugged Xiao Xiao—his sweet, soft wife was pure perfection.

Ye Xiaoxiao was still thinking about what to buy tomorrow, but it was too dark to jot anything down.

"Don't interrupt my train of thought," Ye Xiaoxiao said seriously.

Lu Hanchuan lowered his head, whispering close to her ear, "Stop thinking. We can hire a cook—no reason for you to bother."

Ye Xiaoxiao pinched Lu Hanchuan’s arm, but his muscles rendered her attack completely ineffective.

She put on her fiercest voice, "No hiring! This is a lack of trust in my abilities. Besides, everyone already thinks I'm splurging for buying so much. If we hire a cook, they’ll really think I’m completely helpless."

After she finished, Lu Hanchuan paused.

Her pinching didn't even register.

What bothered him was how Xiao Xiao suddenly had such thoughts.

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Did you see someone today? Did someone give you trouble? We make money so you can spend it. Who said you were wasteful?

And everything you bought serves a purpose. Nobody does it better than my wife."

Lu Hanchuan was always first to pick up on Xiao Xiao's moods, he murmured.

She never paid much mind to others' opinions before, but now with Lu Hanchuan's words, Xiao Xiao felt even more assured.

"You're right, I am capable. I even went and bought vegetable seeds. Tomorrow I'm gonna till the soil in the yard and plant them."

Ye Xiaoxiao rolled over as she spoke, "I'm going to sleep now—gotta save up my energy!"

Lu Hanchuan: "..."

What he'd said was meant to reassure her, not encourage her to do manual labor.

Though hard work is a virtue, his wife didn't need to go through that.

Lu Hanchuan also turned over and hugged Xiao Xiao tightly, making a bet with himself she'd sleep in the next morning.

The next day, a little past five AM, Lu Hanchuan got up and got to work tilling the soil in the yard with a shovel.

It had rained the day before, so the damp earth turned easily.

It was actually the perfect time to plant vegetables.

After finishing the work, he picked up breakfast from the mess hall. When he returned, Xiao Xiao was still asleep.

Lu Hanchuan ate by himself, left the breakfast on the living room table, and then reported for duty.

When Xiao Xiao woke up, her eyes went straight to the food on the table.

Knowing it was brought back by Lu Hanchuan, Ye Xiaoxiao wasn't rushing to eat. She brushed her teeth and washed up first.

Once she'd cleaned up and leisurely finished her meal, she prepared to check the garden.

Much to her surprise and delight, Xiao Xiao discovered the soil in the garden had already been tilled—she could plant the seeds right away.

Who was this diligent? Was this some kind of magical helper?

Ye Xiaoxiao only had to think a second before realizing no one else would come to their yard early in the morning to till the soil. It must have been Lu Hanchuan.

She hadn’t expected him to be so enthusiastic about gardening, and she absolutely couldn’t waste his effort.

She knew how to grow medicinal herbs, so veggies were no challenge.

Back when she lived at her grandfather’s house, she had grown all sorts of vegetables.

She grabbed the hoe to neaten up the garden, evenly scattered the seeds, and lightly covered them with a thin layer of soil. Barring any problems, sprouts would appear within a week.

While Ye Xiaoxiao was gardening, Kong Xuelan next door was doing some housecleaning.

Standing in her own yard, she could see Xiao Xiao bent over, hard at work.

"Xiao Xiao, what are you doing?"

"Planting some veggies!"

Ye Xiaoxiao was nearly done. She stood up, holding the hoe.