Chapter 429: Island Survival Diary

Chapter 429 Diary of Island Survival

"If I hadn't encountered it, that would be one thing, but since I did, I had to help. It's my professional obligation."

Ye Xiaoxiao looked serious, but her hands moved deftly as she grabbed a pancake and took a bite, her eyes widening slightly.

Wow… this is ridiculously good.

Though she said nothing aloud, her impression of Aunt Wu had already shifted in her mind—from a feisty woman to a feisty woman who could cook incredibly well.

Even though Lu Hanchuan had already eaten, Ye Xiaoxiao still gave him two pancakes, since she couldn’t finish them alone.

"Try it! Isn’t the flavor amazing?"

Ye Xiaoxiao was determined—she would learn to cook like this too.

Though it was meat-filled, it wasn’t greasy at all, bringing out just the right meaty flavor. The outer layer of the pancake was just right—lightly crispy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy inside.

Lu Hanchuan took a bite. "This is from that Aunt Wu?"

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t bring up their past conflict with Aunt Wu to Lu Hanchuan—after all, they had already made up.

"Yeah, isn’t it delicious?"

Inwardly, she was plotting how she could learn to make pancakes like this.

"Yeah." Lu Hanchuan nodded in agreement—it was even better than the cooking of many chefs from home.

"By the way, are outside calls possible from the island?"

Ye Xiaoxiao noticed that the phone at home could only connect to the military base—probably an old internal line left behind.

"Only the military’s dedicated line can make outgoing calls, but we can send telegrams. Do you need to send one to your family? I’ve already let them know we’re safe."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Never mind then."

They had everything they needed here, and she didn’t need anyone to mail her anything.

If possible, she’d rather get more herbs from her master.

"Today, I saw the navy on the island, and it made me think of my brother Changyuan in Jinhai. Let’s visit him when we have time."

It was Lu Hanchuan who had arranged for Ye Changyuan to join the military.

His uncle could easily help locate Ye Changyuan.

"Sure, we’ll go when we have time." Lu Hanchuan agreed.

After finishing her meal, Ye Xiaoxiao went to wash the lunchbox and boasted to Lu Hanchuan, "Look, I’ve planted vegetables across the whole yard."

Lu Hanchuan: "I’ve already seen. Our Xiao Xiao’s quite the homemaker."

Ye Xiaoxiao beamed with satisfaction. "Once the vegetables grow, we’ll have hotpot."

Lu Hanchuan pulled Xiao Xiao close, helping her put away the lunchbox. "Then I’ll wait for our home hotpot feast. Do we even have a pot?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Just basins, actually."

Lu Hanchuan: "A copper pot and charcoal should work, they're relatively easy to get. I'll handle it."

Ye Xiaoxiao hadn’t really considered the issue of the pot. These days people use electric pots, but their island home doesn’t have one, and the electricity here is unstable—she doubted the power would last through a hotpot meal.

"Really? There’s actually charcoal here?"

Lu Hanchuan: "The mess hall must have some. Even if they don’t, it’s not hard to get."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Ye Xiaoxiao got so excited about eating hotpot that she forgot it would take another twenty days before the vegetables would be ready.

And she wasn’t even sure if the vegetables she planted would grow properly.

By mid-June, the island was gradually entering the rainy season.

The rains came more often.

A week later, the vegetables Ye Xiaoxiao had planted started poking through.

She'd probably sown too many seeds, as the seedlings grew densely packed together.

Gao Yanfei peered over the wall and said, "You’ll have to thin those out. If you keep them all, they definitely won’t grow well."

Gao Yanfei had more experience in this than Ye Xiaoxiao. She was taking advantage of the good weather to get some sun while chatting with Ye Xiaoxiao.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "But that seems so wasteful."

Gao Yanfei: "No pain, no gain."

While the saying didn't quite fit, thinning the seedlings was indeed necessary.

Ye Xiaoxiao reluctantly pulled out the overcrowded sprouts.

"What did you plant here? It looks like bok choy to me."

"There’s a lot—bok choy, tonghao (crown daisy greens), aomai cai (leaf lettuce), romaine lettuce..."

The seeds Ye Xiaoxiao bought were varied—that little store had everything but was disorganized.

"Don't let Hai Yan's little shop fool you. It’s actually the most well-stocked place on the island."

Speaking of Hai Yan, she came rolling up on her three-wheeled cart just then.

She was delivering the water boiler Ye Xiaoxiao had ordered.

However, there weren’t any high-quality electric kettles available, so Hai Yan brought a simple immersion heater instead.

Ye Xiaoxiao remembered this device—they'd banned them in her college dorm because they were fire hazards.

It didn’t have an automatic shut-off function, so if left unattended, it would keep boiling the water endlessly.

"This is all we have."

Hai Yan said matter-of-factly.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "It'll do."

She’d just need to watch it carefully.

Then the electric cooker she had been longing for wasn't available. "That kind isn’t available in small towns like this," Hai Yan said helplessly.

Most people here still cook over a fire, and electrical appliances were rarely used.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Well, is there a post office here?"

Hai Yan: "There is one, but if you want to send a letter or mail something, it could take up to a month to get there."

"Okay." Ye Xiaoxiao had already gotten used to it—but then again, she was in the middle of nowhere.

Hai Yan also brought Ye Xiaoxiao a showerhead hooked up to a water tank, where she had to boil water and add it in herself.

Now that she could conveniently heat water at home, she could finally take proper showers.

...

As Ye Xiaoxiao was fixing up her little place, Kong Xuelan next door was also getting a toilet built in her yard.

Moreover, Kong Xuelan began teaching at the local middle school.

There were only about thirty students on the entire island, and the class Kong Xuelan taught had just over a dozen, all different ages and learning at different levels.

She shared teaching duties with another teacher, also young—not even thirty—named Xu Li.

Kong Xuelan was curious about why Xu Li had come to this place.

"I got posted here and liked how simple life was, so I stuck around," Xu Li replied.

Today, Kong Xuelan's yard was a mess from the toilet being built. Xu Li stopped by to drop off some teaching materials and happened to see the lively scene in the yard.

After learning what Kong Xuelan was doing, Xu Li smiled and said, "That’ll make things a lot easier."

Kong Xuelan: "I actually learned it from the neighbor, Mrs. Lu. Guess I’m slow—took me over a week just to get used to things, while Mrs. Lu next door, who's younger than me, fit right in."

Of course, Xu Li didn’t know Ye Xiaoxiao. She glanced toward the neighboring yard.

Ye Xiaoxiao had hung many clothes to dry, along with a pretty floral bedsheet, their bright colors standing out against the island’s backdrop.

Just then, Ye Xiaoxiao poured water into the yard and, through the low stone wall, noticed the two women next door.

Xu Li accidentally made eye contact with her—first taken aback by how pretty she was, then by how young.

"Is that Mrs. Lu? She seems very young."