Chapter 428: Change of Attitude

Chapter 428 Change of Attitude

"This garden is huge! You’re up early today!"

Kong Xuelan said admiringly, "I had no idea Xiao Xiao was this handy!"

Ye Xiaoxiao’s cheeks flushed slightly upon hearing this. "Oh, I just woke up myself. Hanchuan tilled the soil for me—all I did was scatter the seeds."

Kong Xuelan gained a new understanding of the couple. "I never thought Regiment Commander Lu would work in the fields too."

Ye Xiaoxiao added, "I’ve only seen him chop firewood before, never use a shovel."

Turns out Hanchuan’s a jack-of-all-trades.

Ye Xiaoxiao had mud all over her feet from the field. "I’ll head in to change."

Kong Xuelan smiled. "Go ahead. I’ll keep tidying up the house—the place is a total wreck everywhere. I wish I hadn’t hauled all this junk over."

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "It’s better to have everything you need, or else you’d have to buy everything."

After chatting for a bit, they each went back inside.

Ye Xiaoxiao still needed to go to the small store to buy a few things today.

This time, she didn’t see Hai Yan there—a young guy was running the shop instead.

He was easy on the eyes, and given Hai Yan’s preference for attractive men, he was likely her boyfriend.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t buy much this time and could easily carry everything home herself.

So, she skipped the cute clerk’s delivery offer and simply walked back with her purchases.

As she neared the housing complex, Xiao Xiao saw that prickly Aunt Wu from the other day, heading home with a little boy, maybe five or six.

The boy was holding something—could’ve been candy or peanuts—and tossing it into the air as he walked, then trying to catch it in his mouth.

That’s a choking hazard waiting to happen, but Aunt Wu was oblivious.

Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was about to warn them, the little boy suddenly stopped, his face turning red as he grabbed at his throat.

"Cough… ugh…"

"Xiao Yang, what’s wrong? Get it out!"

Aunt Wu slammed her palm against the boy’s back, but it didn’t help.

Seeing that the child was choking, Ye Xiaoxiao forgot about her previous conflict with Aunt Wu, dropped her things on the ground, and rushed over.

"He’s choking—patting his back won’t help."

Ye Xiaoxiao shouldered Aunt Wu out of the way and pulled the child toward her.

She flipped the boy over her arm with his head slightly lowered, made a fist with one hand, and jabbed upward under his ribs.

Once, twice… Finally, a peanut flew out of the child’s mouth.

The boy bawled his eyes out but was breathing normally again.

Aunt Wu looked like she’d seen a ghost—the child’s face had turned completely red, and a few seconds later, and he’d have been done for.

Aunt Wu had only one child, and if anything happened to him, she’d be heartbroken.

"Don’t let your son eat like that again." After reminding her, Ye Xiaoxiao turned to grab her things off the ground.

Aunt Wu snapped out of it and rushed over to help Ye Xiaoxiao gather her belongings.

She stammered awkwardly, "Um... thank you, miss."

Aunt Wu certainly remembered that the other person was that military wife she’d once sneered at.

She had initially dismissed her in her heart, seeing her as soft-skinned and wasteful with money.

Yet today, the one who saved her son was precisely someone she had once despised.

"You're welcome."

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t expect that saving someone once would make them take back their words or change their opinion of her.

Nor was it necessary—she had helped simply because it was the right thing to do.

Ye Xiaoxiao picked up her things and walked off without a fuss.

The little boy she had just saved watched her back as she walked away and said, "Mom, that sister was so pretty."

Aunt Wu flicked her son’s head. "Don’t talk nonsense. She’s not a sister—you should call her auntie.

And!"

Her tone turned stern. "If I ever see you eating like that again, I won’t buy you any snacks anymore."

"No, Mom!"

Chen Xiaoyang’s face fell, feeling like his whole world had ended.

Aunt Wu’s husband was an officer in the navy’s submarine force, currently out at sea on duty and hadn’t returned home for days.

After taking her son home, Aunt Wu mulled it over and figured she still needed to thank the person who had saved her child.

Though she had a habit of gossiping, she knew gratitude when it was due.

People’s attitudes could flip in an instant—now, Aunt Wu no longer held any of her previous disdain for Ye Xiaoxiao.

She knew that military dependents newly arrived on the island must have a hard time adjusting, the first being food and drink.

She might not have many skills, but cooking was something she excelled at.

In the afternoon, Aunt Wu chopped the filling and rolled the dough, and whipped up a dozen stuffed flatbreads at home. She stacked them in a bowl, covered it, and took it over to Ye Xiaoxiao’s place.

Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was about to leave with her lunchbox, Aunt Wu arrived at her door.

"You came to..."

"Hey there, dear, thanks again for what you did earlier today. The island doesn’t have much to offer, so I made some stuffed flatbreads for you."

Aunt Wu beamed, which Ye Xiaoxiao found downright creepy.

Just the other day in the cafeteria, she had been all snark and scowls—now she was grinning like a Cheshire cat, which felt even stranger.

"No need, I’m headed to the mess hall." Ye Xiaoxiao truly wasn’t after her things. "You should take them back."

"Oh no, dear. This is a thank-you gift. If you refuse, are you saying it's not enough?"

Aunt Wu was stubborn. When Ye Xiaoxiao declined, she stood in the doorway to prevent her from leaving.

Ye Xiaoxiao had no choice but to accept. "Alright, but Aunt Wu, it's just me at home. We can’t finish so much. Just leave me two flatbreads."

She still needed to go to the cafeteria for food, and she didn’t know when she’d even get around to eating the flatbreads.

"I couldn't possibly. How can I take back what I’ve already given?"

Aunt Wu insisted, and Ye Xiaoxiao couldn’t persuade her to leave.

In the end, they compromised—Ye Xiaoxiao kept four flatbreads, and Aunt Wu took the rest back for her child.

Aunt Wu was usually frugal, only made meat pies once a month if that.

But now, facing Ye Xiaoxiao, she said directly, "Alright then, dear. If you ever get a craving, come by my house, and I’ll make some for you."

Aunt Wu pointed to her house. "My home is right over there."

Ye Xiaoxiao agreed, and only then did Aunt Wu leave.

After putting away the meat pies at home, Ye Xiaoxiao went to the cafeteria to pick up a couple dishes.

Coincidentally, Lu Hanchuan was back too. Though he had already eaten, Ye Xiaoxiao invited him to try Aunt Wu’s gift.

"Where did these meat pies come from? I don’t remember the cafeteria serving them today."

Lu Hanchuan was curious. He didn’t figure Xiao Xiao knew how to make pies herself yet.

Ye Xiaoxiao told him what happened.

Lu Hanchuan laughed. "So this is the reward for our Xiao Xiao’s good deed."