Chapter 290: Non-stop Excitement – Daily Melon Eating in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Lady

Chapter 290: Nonstop Drama—The Sickly Little Aunt’s Daily Gossip in the Compound

After attending Fu Huihui’s wedding banquet, Lin Qing returned from the Li family, stopping by the general store on the way to buy ice pops and orange soda.

Before she even stepped into the courtyard, the familiar sounds of commotion immediately caught her attention—there was drama unfolding again.

Their compound truly never had a dull moment. Though Lin Qing usually had work, her mom stayed there every day, and whenever she returned, Mom would always fill her in on the latest gossip and happenings. There was always something going on.

What was happening today?

Lin Qing walked in and tsk'ed. She didn’t recognize most of the people gathered in the outer circle—it seemed the residents of their compound had gotten into it with folks from another courtyard.

Lin Qing listened carefully.

“We caught this thieving little punk red-handed, so you have to compensate us! Otherwise, I’ll call the police!”

Lin Qing immediately picked up on the key phrase—*thieving little punk*. There was no need to guess—it had to be Su Dazhuang, the notorious small-time thief.

Had he finally picked the wrong mark this time?

Without alerting anyone, Lin Qing weaved through the crowd and made her way back to her own doorstep.

She patted her mom. “Honey!”

“Sweetie, you’re back?” Mom turned and saw her daughter, who had gone out earlier that day.

“Yeah. What’s going on here?” Lin Qing glanced at the group surrounded in the middle.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! My Dazhuang didn’t mean any harm… It’s just… our family is struggling so much—a single mother trying to get by. He was just too hungry, that’s why he…” Mother Su wiped her tears as she spoke pitifully.

Many people were actually buying her sob story. “Yeah, their family’s situation is really tough. Just let it go—it’s not like you lost anything.”

“Let it go? Why should I? He didn’t steal from *your* house, so of course you don’t care! I demand compensation, or I’ll call the police and have him sent to juvie!”

Su Dazhuang, who usually feared nothing, had never faced real consequences before. Now that he heard he might be sent to juvie, he actually felt a twinge of fear.

“Granny, Granny, I don’t want to go to juvie!”

“Okay, okay, you won’t go, you won’t go.” Mother Su quickly comforted her precious grandson before turning and kneeling before the woman demanding compensation. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I'm on my knees begging you—please forgive him!”

The woman jumped back. “What are you doing? Are you trying to curse me with bad luck? That's evil!”

Mother Su: “……” She had genuinely just wanted to plead for mercy.

Seeing Mother Su kneel, Qin Xianglian followed suit, kneeling on the other side where the woman had dodged.

“What the hell?!! What are you two doing? I just asked for compensation—why are you cursing me? Do you want me to die early?!” The woman immediately started throwing a fit.

In her mind, the act of kneeling was equivalent to wishing death upon her.

Qin Xianglian, perhaps afraid the woman would dodge again, hugged her legs tightly while kneeling.

“Aah! Let go of me! Someone pull these crazy women away—they’re trying to curse me to death!”

Lin Qing and her mom couldn’t help but laugh along with the crowd, and the scene suddenly turned comical.

Truth be told, most people could tell that the Su family women were kneeling to pressure the other party into dropping the matter. But the woman’s way of thinking was different—to her, kneeling was a curse meant to shorten her life. In other words, they had landed on her worst insult.

Mother Li shook her head and was at a loss for words. "What in the world is going on here?"

"Qin Xianglian and Mother Su, both of you get up right now! This isn’t the old society anymore, why are you kneeling so easily?"

Mother Su and Qin Xianglian hadn’t achieved their goal yet and weren’t in any hurry to get up.

But the woman Qin Xianglian was clinging to struggled violently. Unwilling to let go, Qin Xianglian held on tighter, so the woman started kicking her wildly. "Aah! Make her let go! I don’t want to die young! Waaah..."

The woman must’ve imagined something awful and burst into tears.

Laughing this hard at someone’s misery might’ve been wrong, but the onlookers just couldn’t hold back!

"Hahaha!"

"What are you laughing at? Get her off me already! Waaah..."

Mother Li had finally seen enough—or perhaps she didn’t want the victim to cry too miserably—so she stepped forward to save her from the mess.

Qin Xianglian still refused to loosen her grip, but Mother Li yanked her hands apart.

The moment she broke free, the woman bolted behind the nearest onlookers, hiding behind someone and wailing, "Your whole family’s no good! The young one’s a habitual thief, the old ones curse people to die early—none of you are any good! Pay up right now!"

Mother Li also felt that if someone didn’t straighten out the Su kid soon, he’d end up a lost cause. She decided they needed to learn a lesson. "Mother Su, since they’re demanding compensation, just pay up. Or do you really want your grandson taken to juvenile detention?"

Mother Su still hadn’t gotten up. Instead, she turned and knelt toward Mother Li, who, anticipating the move, quickly stepped aside to dodge it.

Though she wasn’t sure if being knelt to would shorten her lifespan, she saw no sense tempting fate—better safe than sorry.

Mother Su choked back sobs. "It’s not that we don’t want to pay—we just don’t have the money!"

Mother Li wasn’t having it. "If you can’t pay, then let the police take him to juvenile detention. This isn’t the first or second time he’s done this. Before, everyone in the neighborhood cut him slack because he was little, but instead of learning his lesson, he’s only grown worse. Maybe juvenile detention can teach him some discipline!"

"No, please don’t!" Mother Su hadn’t expected Mother Li to be so unyielding. She’d been crying earlier to guilt-trip either the aggrieved woman or the crowd into covering the compensation.

But no one budged—not even Mother Li, who was usually the softest touch. This time, she hardened her heart completely.

The moment Qin Xianglian heard her son might be taken away, she burst into tears. "No, no! How can you all be so cruel? He’s just a child! How could you let the police drag him to juvenile detention? Have you all got no hearts? None at all?"

Lin Qing, watching from the sidelines, rolled her eyes. Qin Xianglian’s accusations were utterly unreasonable! If the neighbors truly lacked compassion, the boy would’ve been hauled off to juvenile detention long ago—why wait till now?

The woman who had been crying for help earlier now lashed out venomously. "Your son’s the one who did wrong, not us. What right do you have to question us?"

"..." That was a fair point. Why had they even doubted themselves earlier?

Everyone shot them dirty looks.