Chapter 449: Missed Fate

Chapter 449: A Missed Fate

Wang Chunxia and Ye Changjun's wedding was festive and respectable. Although many, including Xiao Xiao, couldn’t make it, all the important elders showed up.

After the wedding, the couple would start by living in their city home.

Three days later, they would return to Baishi Village for a second reception.

Wang Chunxia's parents and relatives were reasonable and didn’t ask for extravagant dowries.

Hearing that the Ye family had two college graduates, they considered the family respectable and were willing to marry their daughter into it.

Moreover, Ye Changjun had a stable job, and his brothers were self-sufficient, with no financial baggage.

Such a good son-in-law—why wait and let him get away?

Thus, Wang Chunxia and Ye Changjun’s marriage went off without a hitch.

Wang Chunxia herself had a government job, lived modestly, and was no-nonsense, making her a good match for Ye Changjun.

On their wedding day, they hosted a banquet of fifteen tables at a county restaurant. In this era and such a small town, it was already a major show of prestige.

The banquet filled the large restaurant, with wedding banners and signs at the entrance celebrating the couple’s union.

Coincidentally, Zhao Xiaona, who had once gone on a blind date with Ye Changjun but things didn’t pan out, happened to pass by the restaurant entrance.

She already had one child and had another on the way.

She stopped only because the child she was holding wanted a street-side soda pop due to the heat, and the soda stall was right in front of the restaurant.

"Alright, after buying it, let’s hurry home."

The child was well-behaved and stopped crying once the soda was bought. The cap was popped off, and the child drank while walking with their head tilted back.

Suddenly, firecrackers exploded at the restaurant entrance, startling the child, who accidentally dropped the soda bottle.

"Wah..."

The child started wailing.

One of the ushers from the entrance came over, "Sorry, sorry! The bride’s just pulling up, and we’ve blocked your way. Let me buy you another bottle."

The man went to the soda stall, shelled out forty cents on two bottles, and handed them to the child and Zhao Xiaona.

Zhao Xiaona initially wanted to refuse, but the man insisted it was for good luck.

So she accepted.

Besides, she didn’t want to spend money on another bottle for the child.

The way the man handled the situation was decent of him.

Zhao Xiaona took the soda and inadvertently glanced toward where the bride was stepping out.

The bride was beautiful, dressed in a vibrant red bridal dress, stepping out of a jeep.

Few families owned cars at the time, so being able to use one for the wedding surely spoke to the family’s wealth.

At first, Zhao Xiaona didn’t think much of it—until she saw the groom standing beside the bride.

Her eyes widened in disbelief—it really was Ye Changjun.

Even though she was married now, she still remembered the strikingly handsome man she had once been set up with.

But his family had been dirt-poor back then, so her parents and relatives had all objected.

But now... he was practically unrecognizable.

Ye Changjun walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand with his wife, completely unaware of Zhao Xiaona.

He’d forgotten all about her.

Zhao Xiaona wasn’t exactly full of regrets, but seeing an old acquaintance after so many years stirred some emotions in her.

"Mom, are we going home?"

Her son grabbed her hand and blurted out.

Zhao Xiaona glanced down and mustered a smile. "Yes, let’s go home."

......

Once the typhoon blew over, they finally got a clear day.

Ye Xiaoxiao strung up all the bedding in the house on the clothesline in the yard to dry in the sun.

She even tackled the pile of laundry that had been piling up for days.

Meanwhile, Lu Hanchuan hauled a ladder up to fix the roof tiles.

Ye Xiaoxiao had circled every leaky spot in the house.

Parts of the island had gotten hit hard by the typhoon.

Everyone was busy patching things up.

When Lu Hanchuan got up on the roof, he saw tons of shattered tiles.

Luckily, he could get new ones, so once the new tiles arrived, he got to work fixing them.

As luck would have it, the neighbors were fixing their roofs too.

"Never thought I’d end up playing handyman."

Li Linghui squatted on the roof, scowling at the mess of broken tiles in front of him.

Lu Hanchuan, though, wasn’t about to complain. He started off all thumbs but got the hang of it fast.

Li Linghui and his wife were still giving each other the silent treatment.

Stranded up there, he had no choice but to gripe to Lu Hanchuan.

"Hey, Regiment Commander Lu, who caves first when you and the missus fight?"

Lu Hanchuan got the hint—marital troubles. But he didn’t have much to offer.

"We don’t really fight."

Li Linghui didn’t believe it. A woman that gorgeous has to be high-maintenance.

But outside, he was probably just saving face.

Li Linghui: "Hey, Lu, with all these years of friendship between us, you’re still not being straight with me."

Lu Hanchuan looked confused, "First off, I'm not that old, and second, I'm telling the truth."

Xiao Xiao was several years younger than him, and he usually let her call the shots.

Lu Hanchuan was different in front of his wife compared to when he was in the military.

You’re supposed to cherish your wife, not fight with her.

"You should have a good talk with your wife, and she's still sick. What’s the point of arguing?" Lu Hanchuan definitely thought it was Li Linghui's fault.

Li Linghui sat down on the roof, gave up on working, totally wrapped up in how to patch things up with his wife.

"It's not like I wanted to argue. It just slipped out in the heat of the moment, and you can't take back what's been said."

Lu Hanchuan gave a light chuckle, "Well, figure it out yourself then."

Once he’d patched the roof, he made his way down the ladder.

"Be careful."

Ye Xiaoxiao watched nervously from below.

From that height, Lu Hanchuan could’ve jumped down unharmed.

But he played it safe and took the ladder slow, just like his wife said.

Once down, Lu Hanchuan asked, "What else needs doing?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Let the chickens out in the pen to get some sun—check if any look sick."

The chicks had been acting off lately, and even the two roosters had stopped crowing in the morning. Might’ve been spooked by the storm.

"Okay."

Ye Xiaoxiao stood up, "Then I’ll head out and see if anyone’s selling seedlings."

She’d spotted plenty at the market earlier—tomato seedlings, cucumber seedlings, eggplant seedlings...

No telling if any were left after the typhoon.

"You sure you can haul them back alone?" Lu Hanchuan asked.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "No sweat, I’ll bike there."

Lu Hanchuan: "Take it easy—some spots are still rough."

Ye Xiaoxiao headed out, his warnings in mind. Perhaps because the weather was nice, the market was packed.

Ye Xiaoxiao noticed that Hai Yan's little shop also had broken glass.

But most of the goods had been sold out before the typhoon, so the damage wasn’t too bad.

Luckily, there really were some elderly folks selling vegetable seedlings.

"These actually made it through okay."

Granny: "Stashed ’em before the storm. Last of ’em—won’t get more."

Seeds’d do, but seedlings sprout way faster.

Ye Xiaoxiao paid directly and bought a lot.