Chapter 599: Casual Gossip – Daily Gossip in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Aunt

Chapter 599: Casual Chats and Gossip—The Sickly Young Aunt’s Daily Gossip in the Compound

After Lin Qing stopped going to work, she found herself with a lot of free time on her hands. However, she still hadn’t quite adjusted to it. In the mornings, after finishing breakfast, she would often sit on a stool, zoning out.

Lin’s mother noticed this and thought it wasn’t doing her any good, so she decided to take her out for a walk. “Sweetie, let’s go out for a stroll. Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

Lin Qing paused. Go out for a walk?

It had been ages since she’d last gone out, hadn’t it?

Maybe she should get some air?

Suddenly, Lin Qing lowered her gaze to her puffy legs. Was she even up for a walk in this condition?

Lin’s mother noticed her hesitation and immediately realized she might have said the wrong thing. She quickly backpedaled. “We won’t walk too much, just a little stroll outside. There’s actually plenty going on outside—how about it?”

Lin Qing felt like she was getting stuck in her head, but she didn’t want her mother to worry, so she agreed.

“Alright.”

Seeing her consent, Lin’s mother grabbed her things, locked the door, and took her out.

Lin Qing didn’t need help walking yet, so she didn’t let her mother hold her. Instead, she made her way slowly on her own, while Lin’s mother followed carefully behind her.

“Oh, Auntie Lin, taking your daughter out for a walk?”

“Yes, she’s getting close to her due date, so I thought I’d take her out to get some fresh air.” The older generation might not have had the most formal education, but they knew a lot of old-school know-how.

“That’s good—walking helps when it’s time to give birth.”

“Exactly!”

“But isn’t your daughter working today?”

“Work? With her belly this big? My son-in-law didn’t want her straining herself, so he pulled strings to get her off work early.” Lin’s mother chuckled cheerfully.

Just as someone was about to say something unpleasant, the person beside them quickly stopped them—mainly because they knew that person always had something nasty to say.

Couldn’t they see the situation? Did they really need to comment?

Cen Gong’s salary alone was more than what their entire family earned combined. They weren’t even in the same league.

Did they really think a pregnant woman needed to slave away right up until labor?

Better not say anything that might offend.

“Your son-in-law is a real keeper!”

“Oh, he’s not bad himself. Isn’t yours just as good? I remember he brought you something just the other day!” Lin’s mother beamed.

The others listening also perked up. “Yes, yes! I told him not to bring anything, but he insisted.” Her son-in-law really was a good one.

“Hey, hey, I remember there are a few other pregnant women in our west compound, right?”

“I know, I know.”

...

As Lin Qing listened to their cheerful chatter, it felt like she had returned to the past. The emptiness she’d felt earlier faded, and she began to tune in to their gossip.

Little did she know, these people were all talking about people she knew.

There was Jiang Li, Lin Shu, and Bai Xinger.

"Have you heard? The one from Building Four who won't stop going on about how obedient, sensible, and perfect her daughter-in-law is."

"I know, I know, Old Lady Gu, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's her."

"What's up with her?"

Lin Qing was also curious—what happened to her?

"Didn't she used to go on and on about how virtuous and filial her daughter-in-law was? Well, after her daughter-in-law got pregnant, she kept playing the 'I don’t feel well' card and refused to do any housework."

Lin Qing wondered—there’s no way Old Lady Gu would put up with that, right?

The next second, someone answered her question.

"Bet that drove the old bat up the wall, huh?" The person who said this had always disliked Old Lady Gu.

Who'd put up with her? Ever since Old Lady Gu moved here, she never shut up about how capable her son was and how high his salary was!

On top of that, she’d always poke fun at people. With that kind of attitude, who’d want to associate with her?

"Haha, no kidding!"

"I heard she even complained to her son, but he didn’t take her side."

"Hahaha! Serves her right! Some 'good son' he turned out to be!"

"Hahaha!"

"And there’s more—the family in Building Five, I heard the first wife’s family started stirring up drama again."

"Oh! The one with the man surnamed Jiang, right?"

"Yes, yes, that’s the one."

Lin Qing tilted her head—this was the first she’d heard of it.

She clearly remembered that Jiang Yang’s first wife’s family had stopped coming around ever since Jiang Da Sao came at them with a knife. Why were they suddenly back?

"Yikes, what a disaster! I heard the two kids from his first wife have been taught by their maternal family to be so rebellious—they’re raising hell at home nonstop!"

"With the current wife pregnant, that place must be a total nightmare."

Suddenly, someone had an epiphany. "You think that’s their game?"

To stop the current wife from giving birth.

The idea gave them the creeps.

Lin Qing shuddered, rubbing her arms—could it really be like that?

"Mom?"

Mom Lin gave her arm a reassuring pat. "Don’t worry. That Lin Shu’s no pushover."

Sure enough, someone chimed in, "I heard that the daughter-in-law of that family recently ended up in the hospital and is still there on bed rest for her pregnancy!"

"Then who’s managing things at home? His ex-wife's family?"

"Definitely not! I heard they called his mother over—the one from Building Two, who often hangs out with the old lady from the previous family."

"Oh, I remember now, that woman!"

Suddenly, someone had an epiphany, "Hey, with the pregnant woman staying in the hospital, isn’t she just dodging all her duties? Is she really unwell, or is she faking it?"

No one actually knew the answer to that.

Lin Qing instantly understood what her mother meant.

After all, Lin Shu had always been sharp-witted and selfish—of course she'd look out for herself first.

As they chatted, they suddenly noticed a pregnant woman among them who was hanging on every word, so they quickly found a place to sit.

Lin Qing also took a seat nearby.

Then, they started talking about Bai Xinger.

While other pregnant women were discussed mainly because of unusual pregnancy-related incidents, Bai Xinger came up because the Zhou family had previously become notorious.

Earlier, Auntie Zhou had gone through great trouble to buy two lamb balls, but no one in the family knew how to cook them—they’d never dealt with this kind of food before.

Asking for help would’ve been embarrassing, so in the end, Auntie Zhou and Bai Xinger decided to just boil them in water.

After all, it's not like they had to eat them.

Lamb balls are incredibly rank, and since they didn’t prepare them at all—just tossed them straight into boiling water—you can imagine how overpowering the smell was.

Word was the stench reached the entire floor, as well as the corresponding floors in the facing buildings.

Back then, Lin Qing had heard her mother say how so damn grateful she was that they’d already moved out of the tenement. Otherwise, she couldn’t even imagine how they would’ve stood it there.