Chapter 412 – No Smiling Allowed, Wifey

When Jiang Hong heard what he said, a smug smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He patted Hong Shuo’s shoulder seriously and said, “Good disciple, if you want to learn something, just tell your master directly. As long as your master knows it, he’ll teach you everything.”

Hearing this, Hong Shuo was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to dust. He gritted his teeth and spat out, “Thank you so much, Master.”

“No need to be polite, good disciple,” Jiang Hong said, barely holding back a laugh. “As your master, I’ll definitely be a good teacher. Of course, that’s only if you’re smart enough.”

Hong Shuo’s face turned green with rage at his words, but for the sake of his future wife, he could only swallow it down and snapped impatiently, “Alright, enough nonsense. Just teach me already.”

“Alright. Once we get back, I’ll write you a special recipe for making this wild veggie porridge. I promise you’ll get it at a glance.” With that, Jiang Hong walked off with a grin.

Left standing there, Hong Shuo clenched his jaw in fury before reluctantly following him.

On the other side, the group sat together. Even though it was just wild vegetable porridge, the taste wasn’t bad at all.

“Who would’ve thought? Not only is Commander Jiang great at soldiering, but he’s also a terrific cook. You really can’t tell just by looking at him.” After tasting the porridge, someone couldn’t help but praise him.

So when Jiang Hong returned, he was greeted by a flurry of compliments from the group as if their lives depended on it.

Li Yiyi watched the man beside her, his face slightly flushed, and couldn’t help but smile.

The moment Jiang Hong saw the curve of her lips, he gently squeezed her hand and whispered, “No smiling, wifey.”

Li Yiyi quickly wiped the smile off her face and replied seriously, “Alright, I won’t smile.”

“But Comrade Jiang Hong,” she teased, “your cooking has really leveled up. Today’s porridge is a hit with everyone.”

Jiang Hong glanced around, then leaned closer and whispered, “Can I ask… did today’s pot of porridge win my wife’s heart?”

Li Yiyi looked around and answered quietly, “It won my heart too. It was really delicious.”

With that praise, Jiang Hong’s smile grew even brighter than when the others were praising him earlier.

“Did you eat yet?” After finishing a bowl of porridge, she suddenly realized and asked, feeling a bit guilty.

Jiang Hong smiled and gently squeezed her hand. “I already ate. You should eat more. I made this breakfast especially for you—they just got to tag along.”

Li Yiyi almost choked on her porridge from laughing and quickly covered her mouth to avoid embarrassment. She gave his arm a light nudge and muttered, “Stop talking.”

Jiang Hong watched his wife’s face turn red from holding back her laughter. The corners of his lips lifted again, and he gently wiped a small smear off the corner of her mouth.

Their little interaction didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone around them saw it but chose to act like they didn’t. After all, they were a married couple, and thanks to them, everyone had managed to survive this journey. So no one said a word, simply focusing on their own bowls of porridge.

Not far away, Liu Caifeng sat and watched the couple with a sour expression. She had a good job, and she wasn’t bad-looking, so why was it that no man seemed interested in her? It was maddening.

“So shameless,” she muttered under her breath. “Flirting like that in front of everyone—don’t they have any shame?”

Despite her bitter words, Liu Caifeng didn’t dare raise her voice. She knew full well that in this team, Li Yiyi had already become someone everyone wanted to protect.

If she dared say that out loud to Li Yiyi, the others would probably drown her in spit.

Wu Xianting, sitting beside her, clearly heard what Liu Caifeng said.

She opened her mouth to say something but, remembering Liu Caifeng’s temper, thought better of it. If she said something Liu Caifeng didn’t like, she’d probably get cursed out on the spot.

After all, she wasn’t Comrade Li—Li Yiyi wouldn’t be afraid of her, but she definitely was.

Thinking that, she decided to swallow her words. She’d already made up her mind: once they got back, she was going to stay as far away from Liu Caifeng as possible. No need to get dragged into trouble.

After breakfast, Dazhu arrived with a few villagers.

“Doctor Li, our villagers are ready for the free clinic. When do you want to start?” Dazhu asked respectfully.

“Let’s start now. Has everyone in the village arrived?” she asked.

“They’re all here, don’t worry. With the village chief speaking up, no one dared to skip. Even the newborn from this month was brought here for a checkup,” Dazhu replied with a smile.

When Li Yiyi and the others arrived, over a hundred villagers had already lined up in a long queue.

“It’s her! This is the big sister who gave me that sweet-tasting pill yesterday. After I took it, I pooped out tons and tons of long worms. It was so scary!” As Li Yiyi approached, she heard a boy in the crowd excitedly pointing her out to his friends.

“Doctor Li, sit here.” Dazhu led her to a chair that had been set up in front.

Once everything was arranged, Dazhu turned and shouted to the villagers, “Everyone, when Doctor Li starts the checkups, let’s have the elderly and children go first. We young folks will wait until the end. Don’t worry—Doctor Li will see everyone.”

“Sure, no problem. The elderly and kids come first—we all understand that. We don’t mind waiting,” a few villagers quickly responded in agreement.

And so the free clinic officially began.

After seeing all the elderly and children, Li Yiyi’s expression grew a bit more serious. Because their bodies were weaker than those of the younger villagers, their conditions were often worse.

“Granny, take this note over to the educated youth camp. They’ll give you medicine to drink. Don’t be afraid—just drink it. If anything comes out afterward, just burn it with fire. That way you’ll be safe and sound,” she instructed carefully after examining the last elder.

Only then did she begin checking the younger adults.

Perhaps because their bodies were stronger, even though they also had parasites, their conditions weren’t as severe.

“Doctor Li, do I have those worms too? The ones you found yesterday?” a middle-aged man who’d just been checked trailed after her anxiously, bombarding her with questions.