Chapter 235: Trickery – Daily Gossip in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Aunt

Chapter 235: Tricks - The Daily Gossip of the Sickly Young Aunt in the Courtyard

The next afternoon, Lin Qing returned late after buying some groceries from the co-op store.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Su Shengnan sitting at the door of the west wing. Lin Qing glanced at her and then quickly averted her gaze, her eyes flickering with curiosity. So, she's moved in already?

Lin Qing walked past her without so much as a glance.

However, this time, Su Shengnan didn't act as she had the day before. Instead, she took the initiative to strike up a conversation. "Ms. Lin, you're back?"

Lin Qing nodded coldly.

Su Shengnan clenched her teeth in annoyance. "Ms. Lin, I haven't told you yet, but starting today, I'm living with the Jiang family."

"Oh," Lin Qing nodded again, her tone still indifferent.

"Why are you alone? Where's Cen Gong?"

Lin Qing shot her a cold glance. Hmph, she never changes!

"He's pulling overtime. For now, I'm the only one at home. Why? Do you need something?" Lin Qing's suspicious gaze lingered on her.

Lin Qing's stare made Su Shengnan squirm, and she quickly denied, "No, no, I don't need anything. It's nothing!"

"Oh, good. Then I'll head back now," Lin Qing said, averting her eyes and heading home.

Su Shengnan watched Lin Qing's retreating figure as she walked back to the main house, her teeth clenched in anger.

As she walked the short distance back to the main house, Lin Qing's mind raced.

Had Wang Qiaomei next door come back yet?

I wonder what expression she'll have when she sees that troublemaker has moved into the courtyard?

Lin Qing admitted she felt a bit of glee, but she couldn't help it. Neither of these two were any good, and let them fight it out.

Speaking of Wang Qiaomei, Zhou Qin had to be mentioned. He and Qin Xianglian had gotten a hundred yuan in compensation for their injuries. After resting for a few days, they had returned to work.

Mother Su had already gotten a hundred yuan in compensation, but that wasn't enough for her. She even planned to swindle the hundred yuan from Zhou Qin.

Unfortunately, Wang Qiaomei wasn't foolish. Why would she lift a finger for someone she couldn't stand?

She directly handed the entire sum to Uncle Zhou. She knew that Uncle Zhou, as the father-in-law, was more responsible with money than Zhou Qin. Giving the money to Zhou Qin would be like throwing it down a well. It was better to give it to Uncle Zhou!

Although she really wanted to keep the money for herself, the Zhou father and son had been treating her indifferently lately. She needed to do something to win them over, and this money was part of her plan.

Wasn't she proving she wasn't greedy or materialistic?

Sure enough, when the entire sum was handed to Uncle Zhou, he was a bit more friendly toward her.

When Zhou Qin returned from the revolutionary committee, he didn't see any trace of the money. He had asked about it, but Wang Qiaomei hadn't paid him any attention. He thought she had taken the money for herself.

Even though he was the one who had been injured, not a single cent had ended up in his hands.

Now that he saw the money had been given to his father, although he still felt a bit unhappy, it was better than before.

"Dad, you should hold onto this money. It's a bit too much for me to handle on my own."

"Alright, alright! I'll save it for you." "Good," Wang Qiaomei nodded in agreement.

Zhou Qin stood by, somewhat displeased, but he dared not oppose his father, so the matter of the money was finally settled.

---

As soon as Wang Qiaomei walked into the yard, she saw her nemesis sitting at the door of the west wing, and her face instantly darkened.

"Why are you here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Seeing Wang Qiaomei's cold face, Su Shengnan's mood inexplicably brightened.

Lin Qing had been paying attention to the outside of the window. As soon as Wang Qiaomei entered the yard, she noticed her and immediately moved her chair to the window, waiting comfortably for the drama to unfold.

Here we go, here we go, finally! She had been waiting for quite a while!

"You don't belong in our yard," Wang Qiaomei pointed at her angrily.

"But from now on, I will be living here!" Su Shengnan's tone was particularly irritating.

Living here? Is Su Shengnan going to live here starting today? You've got to be kidding!

"This is my buddy's place, what's wrong with me staying here for a few days?"

"You..." Is this witch moving in just to get a front-row seat to my humiliation?

Lately, they've been at each other's throats at the factory! This made Wang Qiaomei suspect that her moving in was solely for this purpose.

"You're full of it!"

"Who's lying? If you don't believe me, go ask Lin Shu!" Lin Shu would surely back me up, otherwise, neither of us would gain anything.

"Hmph! Who in their right mind would invite a stranger into their home? You must have greased some palms!" Wang Qiaomei's voice also raised significantly, she did it on purpose.

She was well aware of how much the aunties in the yard couldn't stand each other. If others found out that Mother Jiang had profited from this, they would surely make a fuss.

The bottom line is, if I can't have it, no one else can either.

Lin Qing, watching from home, quickly understood Wang Qiaomei's intention.

Tsk tsk, as expected of sworn enemies, they really pull out all the stops!

Mother Jiang, hearing the noise inside the house, rushed out and scolded Wang Qiaomei, "You little witch, are you trying to stir up trouble in my house?"

"Who's stirring up trouble? I'm just pointing out that what you're doing is wrong; renting out houses isn't allowed these days."

Mother Jiang's eyes darted around, feeling a twinge of guilt. Of course, she knew, but compared to these, five yuan was worth the risk.

She shot back, "Who said anything about renting? Miss Su is clearly a friend of my second son, she has something to do and is staying at my house for a while, what the hell business is it of yours?"

Wang Qiaomei's face turned green and white, "Hmph! You must have received benefits, otherwise why would you let her stay?"

"Of course she brought something, she brought her own rations, otherwise how could she have the face to be a guest at my house?" Mother Jiang subtly hinted at getting something out of it for herself.

Having said this, Su Shengnan would have to make a show of bringing some food back from outside, right?

Su Shengnan was initially happy to see Mother Jiang charging ahead, but when Mother Jiang started hinting at getting benefits from her, she felt a bit unwilling.

"I spit, is Mother Jiang such a good person?" Mother Gu came out of the room and criticized Mother Jiang.

"My kindness, how could you possibly know?" Mother Jiang directly glanced at her.

Lin Qing muttered behind the window, "Mother Gu really doesn't know Mother Jiang's kindness, because Mother Jiang has never been kind to her—not once. So how could she know?"

"Jiang, what you're doing is not right. We should just stick to being decent folks!" Mother Su came out of the room and said softly.

"What's it to you? I said she's here to stay for a while, so she's here to stay for a while. Do you have any evidence that I took her benefits? If not, shut up!" Mother Jiang had it all planned out.

"..." Mother Gu and Mother Su were indeed left speechless by her.

There was definitely something shady, but with Mother Jiang standing her ground, what could they say?