Chapter 16: Bumped Her Head Too Hard!

“Commander He is really a lucky man.”

One of the military wives muttered unconsciously. Beside her, Ning Wanwan blinked her big watery eyes in confusion.

“Big sister, what did you say?”

Xu Cuihua scratched her head with a grin, trying to laugh it off.

But Ning Wanwan didn’t overthink it. She soon took out the mugwort, mint, and agastache herbs she had bought earlier.

After dividing the herbs, she and Xu Cuihua began packing them into sachets.

There were more mosquitoes in the southwest, and these sachets not only repelled insects but also smelled pleasant and helped refresh the mind.

Zhang Yun and Li Ping had helped her quite a bit the past few days, and she hadn’t had a chance to thank them. So when she went to the market last time, she had planned to make some sachets as a token of appreciation.

Ning Wanwan handed one to Xu Cuihua. “Big sister, take this sachet home for Xiaoling. If she likes it, we can make more next time.”

“Then let me thank you on Xiaoling’s behalf.”

Then, Xu Cuihua pushed Ning Wanwan to Zhang Yun’s house. The original host had never interacted with the other military wives, so Ning Wanwan’s sudden appearance flustered Zhang Yun a bit.

The husbands of Zhang Yun and Li Ping didn’t hold high positions, so their housing was on the third floor of the family compound—a small building crammed with sixty or seventy households.

Each unit was tiny, nowhere near as spacious as Ning Wanwan’s private courtyard.

“Come in, come in! Sorry the house is a mess, don’t mind it. I’ll get you some water.”

“No need, big sister. Xu Cuihua and I won’t stay long.”

Zhang Yun waved her off and soon came back with two white enamel mugs.

“Here, drink it while it’s hot. I added honey—it’s sweet! My family sent it from our hometown for New Year. I wanted you to have a taste.”

Ning Wanwan felt it would be impolite to refuse, so she held the cup and sipped it slowly.

Honey might not have been rare in the 21st century, but in the 1980s, it was considered a luxury.

Even families who had it would rarely bring it out for guests. This cup of honey water was truly top-tier treatment.

Xu Cuihua also took a sip and marveled, “This is really something! I’m lucky to be with little sister Wanwan today. First time I’ve ever had such a fancy thing in my whole life.”

There was a sound at the door. Li Ping came in holding a half-finished embroidered handkerchief, followed by two kids around seven or eight years old.

Li Ping was momentarily stunned to see Ning Wanwan, but then she warmly greeted her.

“Xiao Ning! What brings you here? Does your head still hurt?”

The two children, Tao Mei’er and Hu Wazi, gathered around, cautiously staring at Ning Wanwan.

They were Zhang Yun’s children and had been scolded by the original host before, so their eyes were full of guarded suspicion.

Ning Wanwan (internally): Oh, original host… what the heck were you doing with your life…

She gave a sweet smile and touched her no-longer-swollen forehead.

“Big sister, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It wasn’t serious. I applied medicine yesterday and I’m almost all healed.”

Zhang Yun and Li Ping clearly believed her and muttered about how lucky and blessed she was.

But Ning Wanwan couldn’t say what she really thought—the original host hit her head hard enough to pass out. Without her spiritual spring water, her forehead wouldn’t have healed in just a few days.

As they chatted, Ning Wanwan pulled out a small satchel from her bag.

She laid four exquisitely made sachets on the table.

“Big sisters, Xu Cuihua and I had some free time, so we made these sachets for you as thanks for your help these past few days.”

“I filled them with herbs that repel insects. Hope you don’t mind.”

Li Ping and Zhang Yun’s eyes widened as they stared at the beautiful sachets on the table.

“Aiya, Xiao Ning, don’t be so distant with us. These are so pretty—how could we possibly accept them?”

Tao Mei’er and Hu Wazi, curious and no longer cautious, rushed up and grabbed a sachet each.

“Mom! These are so pretty! I love them!” Tao Mei’er said in her soft and adorable voice, clutching hers tightly.

Zhang Yun scolded, “You two kids really have no manners.”

Then she turned to Li Ping and said, “Sis, let’s just accept them. It’s a kind gesture from Xiao Ning, after all.”

Li Ping nodded happily and tucked the two remaining sachets into her pocket.

Tao Mei’er and Hu Wazi ran off with theirs, happily waving.

“Mom, we’re going out to play with our pretty sachets! Call us when dinner’s ready!”

Their innocent voices made all the women in the room laugh.

Ning Wanwan looked at the handkerchief in Li Ping’s hand with interest. “Big sister, is it hard to embroider those?”

Li Ping smiled and handed it to her. “Not hard at all. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

Zhang Yun chimed in, “Yeah! It’s not difficult. If you have time, just come find us. We’ll make sure you learn it.”

Sister Xu also nodded. She was good with a needle, but not so much with embroidery, so she thought it’d be a good chance to learn too.

After about half an hour, Xu Cuihua wheeled Ning Wanwan home. Since Xu Cuihua lived far away, Ning Wanwan sent her home early around 4:30 p.m.

After she left, Ning Wanwan began worrying about what to eat for dinner. After all, Fang Shaocheng and his wife were still at the house, and eating at home would be troublesome.

After thinking for a while, she decided to eat out. There were quite a few private restaurants now, and from the original host’s memory, one nearby had pretty good food.

She took money from her stash, but just as she was about to leave, He Yunshen came home.

The man stared at her face for a long time before speaking.

“I’ve already reserved a table at the state-run restaurant. I’ll take my parents there for dinner.”

Ever since he returned to the unit that afternoon, He Yunshen had been preoccupied with thoughts of Ning Wanwan. The more he thought about her, the more confused he became.

Someone as meticulous as him had been completely distracted the whole afternoon.

Last night, he had been successfully fooled by Ning Wanwan, but today, his rational mind was back online. The way he looked at her now—it was as if she were some kind of strange creature.

He hesitated, then spoke again.

“You… should probably get your head checked at the hospital. I’ll go with you.”

Ning Wanwan looked up at his cold and stern face. It was clear the man was troubled—his brows tightly furrowed.

She replied casually, “No need. I’m not sick. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

She then began wheeling herself away.

But upon hearing that, He Yunshen suddenly became emotional. He stretched out his long arm and pressed down on the wheelchair armrest, preventing her from moving.

He lowered his head, not daring to meet her gaze, and hesitated again.

“I’m really worried about you. I suspect… you might have bumped your head too hard.”