Chapter 218: Gossiping – Daily Melon Eating at the Sickly Aunt’s Courtyard

Chapter 218 Gossip Chronicles: The Sickly Little Aunt's Daily Drama in the Compound

When Cen Xi and Lin Qing returned home, it was already the early hours of the morning, just two or three hours before dawn.

"Yawn~~" Lin Qing yawned, her excitement waning, and sleepiness came rushing in.

"There are still two or three hours until dawn, let's catch some more Z's together!" Cen Xi pulled Lin Qing towards the bed.

However, Lin Qing didn't go straight to bed but froze in place, "Wait, wait. Let's air out the stink first. It was so smelly outside just now, I feel like our clothes have soaked up some of that stench." Lin Qing felt like her nose was broken, as she could still smell the stench no matter what.

Cen Xi, seeing her yawning repeatedly but unwilling to go to bed, suggested, "How about we change our clothes? Would that help?"

"Hmm?" Lin Qing blinked, unsure.

"Alright, let's change our clothes together!" Lin Qing finally agreed.

Perhaps it was subconscious, but after changing into fresh clothes, she felt the stink didn't seem as bad and didn't linger around her body as before.

Lin Qing finally relaxed, feeling less overwhelmed by the smell, and was willing to go to bed.

Cen Xi, seeing her climb into bed, quickly cuddled up.

Both were truly tired and fell asleep quickly.

For others, it was a night without sleep. After returning, they couldn't forget the treasure Wang Gousheng had mentioned.

The toilet on their street had collapsed, and Mother Li had to let the neighborhood manager know. However, since it was the middle of the night and the office wasn't open, Mother Li had to round up folks to wash off those who'd fallen into the pit.

They had to wash; in the heat of summer, the longer that gunk stayed on them, the worse it'd stink.

Not wanting to suffer, and perhaps out of gratitude for the entertainment provided, every household grabbed their basins to douse them with cold water.

They all used cold water.

Even so, with so many people washing, it took more than half an hour.

Of course, there was one exception: Wang Gousheng. No matter how much they tried to talk sense into him, while others were washing off the filth, he was still digging around in the pit like a madman.

Mother Li and the neighborhood manager, enduring the stench, took turns trying to persuade him, but he was stubborn, firmly believing his hidden treasure was there.

In the end, Mother Li and the others threw up their hands, letting him do whatever.

Did those who fell into the pit ever think it might collapse?

Perhaps they had, but the lure of the treasure blinded them, making them ignore the possibility.

"Brother Jiang, do you think what Wang Gousheng hid is really a treasure?" Lin Shu, after getting back, couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Jiang Yang, lying flat on the bed with his hands cradling his head, replied, "So what if it is? So what if it isn't? By the time it gets to us, it's just a heap of rocks." His face was equally gloomy.

"..." Lin Shu felt increasingly resentful.

She understood Jiang Yang's words.

The treasure Wang Gousheng had hidden might have existed, but someone had swapped it, and by chance, they found it, only to end up with a pile of stones.

Ahhh! How could this happen?

She was heaven's favorite; she suddenly realized this whole thing was supposed to be her big payday, but someone had to go and mess it up. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

Lin Shu suddenly remembered—could it have been that night, the night she overheard Wang Gousheng talking to a woman? Could it have been that woman who switched them?

The more Lin Shu thought about it, the wider her eyes grew. A guess gradually formed in her heart, followed by a spreading sense of regret.

Ahhh! So the heavens did favor her, but she just blew it.

Lin Shu's face was a picture of regret.

...

The next day, Lin Qing and Cen Xi still woke up early as usual, both with heavy bags under their eyes.

Not just them; everyone Lin Qing and Cen Xi met outside looked the same.

After all, it wasn't just one or two people involved yesterday—it was the whole street!

"Wow! Qing Qing, why do you look so tired?" Wang Jiaojiao exclaimed as soon as she saw Lin Qing.

"Sigh~" Lin Qing yawned and sighed, "Don't mention it. Something major happened on our street last night."

The people in the office were immediately intrigued, all eyes on her eagerly. "What big thing?"

"Oh, I know what happened!" This person lived on the street behind Lin Qing’s. Since the public toilet on Lin Qing's street had collapsed, they had to use the toilet on the back street this morning.

"Their street's public toilet collapsed." Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, it was clear this was a big deal!

"What? Something that big really happened?"

The toilet collapsing is a huge deal!

Everyone's gaze shifted back from the person who just spoke to Lin Qing.

"Last night's events were quite dramatic; talking about it would probably take up more than half an hour of work time." Lin Qing wasn’t sure if she should tell.

But everyone's curiosity was piqued; they had to hear it, their interest was through the roof.

"Let's hear it, let's hear it! Today we'll work faster and try to squeeze out more than half an hour."

"Absolutely!"

"We're all ears!"

"Lin Qing, please tell us!"

Just then, the Director entered.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Lin Qing was about to speak but hesitated when she saw the Director, unsure if she should continue.

To her surprise, Lin Qing saw the same expression on the Director's face. "Lin Qing, go on, go on."

Lin Qing thought: So everyone really loves gossip!

Now, with no reservations, since everyone wanted to hear, she decided to go ahead.

"It all started with a scream last night..."

"What?"

"Really??"

"Huh???"

As Lin Qing told her story, she was met with a chorus of shocked screams.

After finishing her story, Lin Qing's mouth felt dry, so she quickly took a sip of water.

The office was in complete shock.

They never expected the story to be so freaking exciting!

"Why don't we live on that street?"

"Yeah, how did we miss out on such a crazy scene?"

"Man, I should've gone to that street last night to check it out."

They were all kicking themselves with regret. They had heard rumors about people going into the toilet on that street and were dying to see it for themselves, but unfortunately, they missed it again this time!

"You don’t need to regret it," Lin Qing said, knowing they shared her curiosity about the spectacle and were bummed to have missed it.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know Wang Gousheng, the treasure hunter? He’s still digging in that pit!" Lin Qing made a digging motion with one hand.

"Ah?" Everyone was stunned.

Their minds were blown—they’d never seen anyone so eager to hang out in a cesspit. It was just...