CHAPTER 449: CHAPTER 447: GOSSIP BEHIND ONE’S BACK

So, once Wan Chu’er and the villagers of Huangjia Gully had left, the military wives gathered and started buzzing with discussions.

"Do you think Captain Jiang’s spouse will really take out the two hundred thousand yuan for Huangjia Gully?"

"Two hundred thousand! My goodness, it would take our men three to four years to earn that much without spending a penny on anything else, not to mention the household expenses."

"Right, let alone two hundred thousand, even if they asked me for two hundred yuan, it would cause me a heartache to death."

"Maybe Captain Jiang’s family is rich and doesn’t care about the two hundred thousand."

"Rich? If Captain Jiang was rich, he wouldn’t be staying in these backwoods. He could use his influence to get a good position in a big city."

"I guess they have a little money, but having a lot seems pretty unlikely."

"I feel that Captain Jiang’s spouse won’t be able to come up with the money in the end. Oh my, she promised so much to them, what will she do when the time comes?"

"Those villagers are not easy to deal with; they say hard places breed tough people. If she can’t produce the two hundred thousand when the time comes, those villagers certainly won’t let it go. We might end up getting dragged into this. No, we can’t let this go; we need to report it to our superiors. It’s not right that she gets all the attention and we end up suffering because of it."

The woman speaking was Chief of Staff Ma’s wife, Wang Hongmei. Wang Hongmei came from the countryside and loved going around gossiping every day, and she had said plenty behind Wan Chu’er’s back.

However, there were also families of higher caliber, such as Camp Commander Xie’s daughter-in-law Zhang Yuhuan.

Zhang Yuhuan said, "Captain Jiang’s spouse is not someone who just talks big. Just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean others don’t. She is doing this out of kindness. Since we can’t help, we shouldn’t be gossiping here."

Although she didn’t name anyone, everyone knew she was referring to Wang Hongmei and a few other families who were envious of Wan Chu’er.

Wan Chu’er stood out in the community of military families, quite different from the rest.

From her fashion to her behavior, she emanated an air of detachment and nonconformity. She wasn’t particularly close to the other families in the community, and although she owned a seven-seater sedan and often took her twin children out, she never once offered to give the other kids in the community a ride.

Therefore, some of the families were quite jealous of Wan Chu’er, speaking sourly of her behind her back. This incident thrust Wan Chu’er once again into the limelight of the community.

Whether it was those who disliked Wan Chu’er, those who preferred to not talk about others, or those who admired and envied her like Zhang Yuhuan, they all felt that Wan Chu’er’s offer of the two hundred thousand was too rash.

Such a big issue should have been discussed with her husband first. Some people even spitefully thought that if Jiang Ke knew about it, he would definitely give Wan Chu’er a good lesson.

Such a waste of money!

Wan Chu’er was unaware of these thoughts and discussions among the spouses. After sending off Village Chief Huang and Accountant Zhou, she hurried back to the infirmary, where Xiao Huaili and her two little ones were.

Approaching the infirmary, she didn’t see Chuanqi and Hunter outside, her eyes darkened a bit as she entered the infirmary.

"Chuchu, you’re here," said Dr. Xiao Lan, who happened to be carrying an IV bottle as she came out of a ward and saw Wan Chu’er. "Your two darlings are inside, accompanying that little boy."

After hearing this, Wan Chu’er relaxed, and smiled, "Thank you for your trouble. How is the child doing now?"

Dr. Xiao Lan answered, "His cast has been put on, and he’s been given an anesthetic; he’s still unconscious. Probably won’t wake up until evening, but there’s nothing serious. Children are growing fast, so they recover quickly."

"The child is suffering from severe malnutrition, and now with this injury, proper nutrition must be provided going forward."

At this point, Dr. Xiao Lan curiously asked: "This child doesn’t look like one of the kids from our compound." There are only seven or eight children in the compound, all pre-school age. "Where did you find this child?"

Chuchu let out a bitter laugh and said, "I took Chuanqi and Hunter to play in nearby Huangjia Gully, where Chuanqi accidentally broke the boy’s arm, so we had to bring him back."

Dr. Xiao Lan pondered for a moment and questioned, "Although Huangjia Gully isn’t very affluent, they shouldn’t lack food, right? Every household has a yard full of vegetables and fruits, and there are crops in the fields, how could they let a child starve like this? That child’s arm, it’s even thinner than Chuanqi’s arm."

Chuchu recalled what Xiao Huaili had said before. He had mentioned that he went out to find a way because his sister wanted to eat fruit. When his sister wanted something, the adults at home didn’t figure out a way, but left it to him, a frail ten-year-old child.

And when Xiao Huaili was getting beaten by Zhang Xiaoqiang, no child went to call for Xiao Huaili’s parents, which probably means Xiao Huaili’s family situation is somewhat special.

Chuchu said, "I guess the family must be having difficulties. Alright, you go ahead with your work, I’ll go in and check."

"Sure, just let me know if you need anything," Dr. Xiao Lan said with a smile.

Chuchu walked toward the hospital room. As she approached the door, she heard Chuanqi and Hunter talking inside. The door was slightly ajar, allowing the voices to be heard clearly.

"Brother, this little brother looks so pitiful. When mom comes, let’s bring back some tasty food for the little brother."

Hunter agreed wholeheartedly, "Yeah, let’s give the little brother apples and grapes."

A smile appeared on Chuchu’s lips; these two little ones were truly kind-hearted. She pushed the door open and walked in.

"Mama," Chuanqi immediately threw himself at his mother when he saw her.

Hunter pouted his mouth, remembering his dad’s admonition that he should act like a man and not always throw himself at mom like his sister does. So he stayed put, sitting and looking at Chuchu with longing eyes.

"Mama, the little brother hasn’t woken up yet. Dr. Xiao Lan said we need to feed him tasty food for him to get better. Let’s go home and get something tasty," said Chuanqi.

"Okay," Chuchu gently agreed.

She walked over to Xiao Huaili and saw that the boy wasn’t sleeping peacefully, with his brow constantly furrowed, wondering if he was worrying about his sister.

Guessing that he wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, and since the child was now in her care, she might as well go all the way as a good Samaritan and bring him some more food.

Chuchu carried Chuanqi in one arm and held Hunter’s hand with the other, whispering, "We’ll go home and cook some food for the little brother, and bring it back later."

So the three of them told Dr. Xiao Lan before leaving for home.

They lived on the third floor of the family building, in a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment.

Chuchu opened the fridge, took out some ribs, and decided to make a rib soup for the boy, as well as cook some other dishes.

Soon, the sound of men returning from work could be heard from outside.

As soon as Jiang Ke Chu entered the family compound, he immediately noticed that there were more family members than usual in the yard; the women usually waited at home for their men, and a few of them even cast glances in his direction from time to time.