Chapter 448: Road Construction

Chapter 448 Road Repair

Forget about the taste for now—the two bowls of noodles were a feast for the eyes.

Lu Hanchuan first complimented Xiao Xiao on her cooking, then proceeded to clean his bowl, leaving not a single strand of noodles.

His portion was much larger than Xiao Xiao’s, topped with two eggs. Noticing he was still hungry, Xiao Xiao said,

"There's more in the pot."

Lu Hanchuan went to scoop up the remaining noodles from the pot. After finishing them, he washed the pot and bowls before leaving.

Before heading out, he kissed Xiao Xiao’s forehead. "If nothing else comes up today, I'll get back early."

"Sure."

Though Lu Hanchuan might return early, Xiao Xiao wasn't so sure about herself.

After straightening up the house, she headed to the medical clinic.

When the medical clinic wasn't too busy, it operated with a rotating shift system.

Lately, not everyone had been showing up for work.

"Dr. Yang needed to take care of her kids, so she's staying home these days."

Only then did Ye Xiaoxiao learn that Dr. Yang had a five-year-old and a seven-year-old at home.

"Once this busy period is over, you'll all get time off," the Head told everyone.

Ye Xiaoxiao was focused on her work—she didn't care about time off. She needed to fix up her house first.

"Head, did your house leak during the rain?"

The Head: "Of course it does. When it really pours on this island, no house stays dry."

"You should take advantage of the good weather to patch it up before the next rain comes."

Ye Xiaoxiao added, "The rain isn't the worst part—because of the wind, some of the roof shingles at my place blew off."

The Head said, "Typhoons aren't an everyday thing, and this was actually a mild one. I've seen worse—waves reaching dozens of meters high. Now that was terrifying."

Ye Xiaoxiao had never witnessed such a thing and couldn't even imagine it.

She just hoped the typhoon would pass soon.

...

At Kong Xuelan’s home, she had slept in a little longer that morning.

Li Linghui had the morning off and stayed home with her all morning.

"I think you should go back to the medical clinic for an IV drip. You seem worse staying at home."

Kong Xuelan protested, "No, I don't. I feel much better today than yesterday. Besides, it's all because of this godforsaken island. Back home, even when I wasn't feeling great, I didn't get sick so often."

She truly despised this place.

The storm two days ago had scared her, and the living conditions were awful.

It took Kong Xuelan a long time to adjust when she first started teaching at the school.

Though the curriculum was similar, her expertise was more than enough.

However, the children on the island were completely different from those at her previous school. She had to break things down way more—if she went even slightly faster, they wouldn’t understand.

Because of this, she discussed teaching methods with Teacher Xu Li for a long time before grasping some patterns.

Just when she thought she could settle into life on the island, life threw her another curveball.

Now, Kong Xuelan wasn’t just physically unwell—she was emotionally drained too.

After hearing his wife’s words, Li Linghui thought she was being unfair.

"Xuelan, what do you mean? You chose to come here with me. If I’d known you’d keep getting sick after arriving, we should’ve stayed put."

Though Li Linghui cared for his wife, he couldn’t help the edge in his voice.

Kong Xuelan snapped. "Oh, so now you’re sick of me? Just because I’ve been sick a few times? If you’re so capable, go marry someone who never gets sick!"

Li Linghui stood up and paced around the room. "I was just joking—why’re you freaking out?"

Kong Xuelan lobbed a bedside object at him. "Who’s joking with you?"

In the end, Li Linghui pulled her into a hug, saying sorry. "I’m sorry, dear. I was wrong. Even if you’re upset, don’t punish yourself over this. Let’s go to the clinic for an IV."

After some back-and-forth, Li Linghui finally managed to take Kong Xuelan to the clinic.

The nurse got the IV going and then left the room.

Ye Xiaoxiao could tell things were tense between Li Linghui and Kong Xuelan—it seemed like they’d had a fight.

Even when Li Linghui left, Kong Xuelan didn’t give him a single smile.

Ye Xiaoxiao approached the ward. "You guys fighting?"

She knew it wasn’t her business, but since Kong Xuelan didn’t seem well, she asked anyway.

Instead of minding Xiao Xiao’s curiosity, Kong Xuelan flipped the question around.

"Do you ever regret coming to the island? Do you miss your family?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Of course I miss my family, but I don’t regret coming here. If I had to choose again, I’d still stick with Lu Hanchuan."

Ye Xiaoxiao had always been firm in walking her own path.

Hearing this, Kong Xuelan gave Xiao Xiao an envious look.

"I wish I could be as easygoing as you."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Don’t stress about it. As long as you’re eating, you’re fine."

Kong Xuelan shot Xiao Xiao a tired smile.

"I’ll figure it out."

As they talked, a little girl ran in.

"Teacher Kong, what’re you doing here?"

The little girl was quite young and didn't notice Kong Xuelan was getting an IV at first. When she finally saw it, her face lit up with worry.

"Teacher, are you sick?"

"Oh, Fengxia!"

Kong Xuelan recognized her as one of her students and answered softly.

Fengxia nodded. "I came with my mom. Get well soon, Teacher!"

Kong Xuelan: "Okay, I’ll get better fast and be back teaching soon."

Fengxia nodded again and left only when her mother called her from outside.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "The island still has its charms, right? Look how adorable the kids are."

Kong Xuelan didn’t disagree—the children were indeed lovely.

……

Baishi Village.

Ye Changjun’s wedding was approaching, and his family planned to set up a few banquet tables in the county town. The bride’s relatives were all in the county, so it’s easier for them to come.

As for the groom’s side, everyone who could make it was welcome. Villagers who couldn’t make the trip would wait for a separate banquet to be held in the village.

Ye Changjun had bought a house in the county town, and they’d also kept a new home ready for them in Baishi Village.

The family had been doing well these past few years; money wasn’t an issue.

Even the two married daughters sent some money to their parents every month.

The Ye family was the talk of the village.

Ye Changqing was back in the village for a reason too.

The road connecting the village to the outside world had been a mess for years. This time, he came back to discuss with the village chief and party secretary, volunteering to pay for fixing the road.

Repairing the road wouldn’t just help the village—it would also provide job opportunities for young people from several nearby villages.

Once the road was completed and wages were paid out, it’d be a nice payday.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rengui grabbed Ye Changqing’s hand.

"Changqing, you mean it? You’re really willing to pay for the village’s road repairs yourself?"

Ye Changqing nodded. "Yes, Uncle."

"This is huge! If we can fix the road, our village could finally get ahead."

As the village chief, Zhang Rengui was the most eager of all.

At the same time, he thanked Ye Changqing for his kindness. "The entire village, young and old, will be grateful to you."