Chapter 475: Uncovering Secrets – Daily Gossip in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Lady

Chapter 475: Uncovering Secrets—The Sickly Young Aunt’s Daily Courtyard Gossip

Lin’s parents and Old Man Li and Mother Li didn’t talk long—just a brief chat before Old Man Li and Mother Li went back home.

However, because they were so completely stunned, they couldn’t sleep even after lying in bed and ended up whispering to each other about it!

The next day, when Lin Qing and Cen Xi got up, they noticed the dark circles under Lin’s parents’ eyes!

"Dad, Mom, why do your eyes look so dark? Did you stay up too late last night?"

Lin’s parents shook their heads wearily. New Year’s Eve wouldn’t have done this to them!

Mother Lin yawned, "Last night, ‘something unexpected’ happened, and we got so worked up after. Couldn’t sleep and stayed up half the night!"

"..." Lin Qing and Cen Xi locked eyes upon hearing this.

What could have excited them so much?

Lin Qing, burning with curiosity, leaned in and dropped her voice, "What happened? What got you so worked up?"

Lin’s parents looked outside. The sink area was packed—too many people around to talk about it. If they got too excited and raised their voices, others might overhear. Nope, not here.

Seeing their hesitation, her curiosity only grew!

Mother Lin said, "We’ll tell you tonight after you get back from work!"

Whoa, this must be huge if they had to be this careful!

Lin Qing sighed. Guess I’ll wait till tonight.

Cen Xi was mildly curious but not enough to push. He didn’t mind waiting to hear about it and didn’t press further.

In the end, Cen Xi and Lin Qing went to work as usual, though today they decided to walk instead of biking.

Just as they stepped out, they happened to bump into Yu Liang and Zhang Yuanyuan. The two had gone to Yu Liang’s parents’ place for New Year’s Eve feast and only returned afterward.

"Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

They all wished each other a Happy New Year.

Since they met, they decided to walk together.

Along the way, Lin Qing and Zhang Yuanyuan started chatting, with Cen Xi and Yu Liang walking on either side of them.

At one point, Zhang Yuanyuan suddenly lowered her voice and complained to Lin Qing, "You wouldn’t believe how noisy the neighbors were last night—kept everyone up half the night!"

"Huh?" Which side are you talking about? The Zhang family on the right or the Jin family on the left?

Zhang Yuanyuan added, "The new family next to us. I don’t know if they took some kind of tonic or what, but they were making such a racket! They’re never like that!" It had even led to Yu Liang keeping her up for a long time too—she was dead tired.

Thinking about it, Zhang Yuanyuan’s cheeks turned pink.

Lin Qing understood. So it was the Jin family!

Casually, Lin Qing guessed, "Probably just got carried away celebrating the New Year last night!"

But in her heart, she had another thought—Jin Jianhua was practically like an animal in heat, getting worked up around anyone...

And he didn’t even care about the occasion!

"This morning, I saw Zhang Mengyun looking radiant and full of energy. Seems like that couple is a perfect match—one's a live wire, the other's game for anything. Well, well, well..." Zhang Yuanyuan couldn’t help but marvel.

When Lin Qing heard her mention Zhang Mengyun’s excellent condition, she recalled the glimpse she had of Jin Jianhua earlier—he seemed a bit off, looking... a little unsteady on his feet...

Oh-ho! Seems like Zhang Mengyun is quite something! Did she drain Jin Jianhua dry?

No, no, she couldn’t keep thinking like this—her thoughts were getting downright racy!

Luckily, they reached the factory soon enough, putting an end to their chat. Yu Liang and Cen Xi both sighed in relief—they really didn’t want to hear their wives discussing another man’s... performance. It was best to drop such topics.

"I’m off to work!" Lin Qing waved at Cen Xi and entered the office building with Zhang Yuanyuan and her husband, though each headed to different offices.

Once inside, she swapped New Year's wishes with her colleagues.

Unfortunately, since the New Year fell at the end of the month, they were still swamped with work. After just a few casual chats, Lin Qing and her coworkers had to jump right into work.

Everyone quickly got down to business.

Lin Qing’s tasks this month were particularly important. Not only did she have to help calculate the workers’ wages, but she also had to participate in the final two-day settlement at month’s end.

Those involved in the month-end settlement were usually the cream of the crop. Lin Qing now had a deeper understanding of the ledgers—she could read between the lines.

Like what she had discovered in the ledger yesterday. In the past, she might not have thought much about it, just focused on making the numbers add up. But now, she read deeper into things.

The secrets buried in the books awaited her exploration. After finishing today’s tasks, she planned to revisit yesterday’s records and continue uncovering their secrets.

Lin Qing found the ledgers increasingly fascinating. She loved putting together how the factory was really running from subtle details and even predicting its future direction—it was all so intriguing!

Her fingers danced across the abacus, and her eyes sparkled brighter.

Sister Liu beside her noticed she seemed unusually excited today.

Smiling to herself, Sister Liu didn’t disturb her. Everyone preferred uninterrupted focus while working—everyone knew better than to interrupt.

...

Lin Qing’s excitement lasted until the afternoon when Cen Xi came to pick her up after work.

The moment he saw her, he asked, "You seem excited. Did something interesting happen?"

Lin Qing shook her head. "Nothing much, just that I had a real blast with the books today!"

"Whatever floats your boat!" Cen Xi always supported whatever Lin Qing enjoyed. Doing what she loved would naturally keep her in good spirits.

Lin Qing explained earnestly, "Mhm, I liked it before, but today I suddenly like it even more!"

The truth was, she'd always enjoyed the calculations, but now she loved the hidden mysteries within the ledgers.

Cen Xi blinked in surprise at her serious explanation before nodding. "Well, that’s even better!" After all, if things had stayed the same, they might have had to stay in their positions much longer.

"Let’s go home, let’s go home!" Lin Qing laughed and started hustling them along.

Suddenly remembering that bit of gossip her mom had held back that morning, she quickened her pace.

Turning back, she tugged Cen Xi’s arm. "Pick up the pace!"

"Okay, okay!" Cen Xi quickened his pace to catch up.

They were home in just ten minutes!

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Where are you?" Before even seeing her, Lin Qing's voice echoed from outside!

"I'm here! I'm here!" Lin Qing's mother responded loudly from inside the house.

Lin Qing dropped Cen Xi's hand and immediately dashed into the house.

Cen Xi sighed and shook his head helplessly, then hurried after her.

...