Chapter 8: Jiang Yang & Lin Shu & Liu Qingqing (End) – Daily Gossip in the Courtyard of the Sickly Young Aunt

Chapter 8 Jiang Yang & Lin Shu & Liu Qingqing (End) - The Sickly Young Aunt’s Daily Drama in the Compound

"Hello! Is this Ms. Lin Shu, Jiang Yang’s wife?"

Lin Shu was still asleep when she was suddenly dragged downstairs to answer the phone, looking annoyed. "Who is it?"

"Ms. Lin, your husband Jiang Yang is currently at Jiang City People’s Hospital. He broke both legs, and he needs 2,000 yuan for surgery. Please send the money as soon as possible!"

Lin Shu hesitated and glanced at the phone. "You’ve got to be kidding! My husband went out to strike it rich—how could his legs possibly be broken?"

"..." There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

This made Lin Shu even more suspicious of the call's legitimacy.

"You con artist, don’t think you can trick me out of my money just because my husband isn’t here!"

Lin Shu slammed the phone down.

She even complained to the woman running the phone booth, "Seriously, what kind of scams are people running these days? Jiang Yang went to make money—how could he suddenly break his legs?"

The woman at the phone booth was somewhat envious of Jiang Yang’s wealth, but given the situation, she hesitantly asked, "But... what if it’s real?"

Lin Shu was momentarily stunned by the question, but she quickly shook her head. Impossible—how could it be?

"Ring, ring, ring!" The phone rang again.

Both of them looked at the phone. The ringing seemed to foreshadow something, and Lin Shu suddenly felt afraid to answer.

The woman quickly grabbed the phone, listened for a moment, then glanced at Lin Shu with a mix of smugness and sympathy before handing the receiver back to her.

Lin Shu hesitated before taking it, her mind racing for a way out.

Could what the caller said earlier actually be true?

Lin Shu answered the phone again—it was the same person as before.

Perhaps afraid she would hang up again, this time, after confirming Lin Shu was listening, he blurted out the whole story of how Jiang Yang’s legs were broken.

After hearing it, Lin Shu felt like her world was crashing down.

How could this be?

How could this happen?

Suddenly, it hit her—Jiang Yang had been robbed. All the goods he had, which meant everything he had, was gone...

It was all gone...

And now they were asking her for 2,000 yuan? Where was she supposed to get 2,000 yuan? She’d been counting on Jiang Yang to come back and give her money! How could she have that kind of money?

"I don’t have the money—I don’t have that much!"

The woman was stunned. Lin Shu had no money?

How was that possible?

Was this the same Lin Shu who shopped every day and showed off?

Or was she just being stingy?

"...If Jiang Yang's legs don't receive timely treatment, he could end up with lasting damage!"

Lin Shu panicked! But what the hell could she do? She really couldn't come up with that much money!

"Hold on—just hold on! I’ll get the money, I swear!" Lin Shu hung up the phone as soon as she finished speaking.

She was banking on Jiang Yang to strike it rich—there was no way she could really abandon him now.

She turned and ran toward Jiang Da Sao's house, but halfway there, she suddenly stopped.

No, she couldn’t use Mother Jiang's money. Why should she be the only one paying? Jiang Yang had been giving money to that slut Liu Qingqing too—probably not a small amount either. No damn way was she letting that witch skate free!

Lin Shu ran to find Liu Qingqing and immediately demanded money from her.

Liu Qingqing looked at her like she was insane. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

"What do you mean? Jiang Yang is injured and needs money urgently, and you, this gold-digging bitch, won’t cough up?"

Liu Qingqing’s face went pale. "What? Brother Jiang Yang is hurt? How? Is it serious?"

"Hmph! Oh, *now* you care? Hurry up and hand over two grand—now."

Liu Qingqing hesitated, searching Lin Shu’s face for lies. Seeing that she didn’t seem to be lying, she didn’t dare to waste any more time. She bolted to her room, grabbed the cash, and raced back.

Lin Shu held out her hand, but Liu Qingqing looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Give me the money!"

Liu Qingqing hid the money behind her back. "Just tell me where to send it—I’ll wire it myself."

"Pfft~ I’m not scamming you, what are you afraid of?" Lin Shu rolled her eyes at her.

In the end, the two of them wound up trudging to the post office together.

Lin Shu had wanted to claim that the recipient only knew her and change the sender’s name to herself, but Liu Qingqing wasn’t falling for that.

"Just call them again—how hard is that?"

Afraid that Jiang Yang might really be delayed, Lin Shu reluctantly made the call.

...

Jiang Yang underwent surgery there and was sent back only after resting for over a week.

The money they wired arrived just in time—his legs didn’t suffer any lasting complications.

Even so, Jiang Yang became much gloomier. Throughout his recovery, whenever anyone asked what had happened, he’d explode.

The only one he didn’t snap at was Liu Qingqing, because he had learned from the person who called that it was her who sent the money.

After this incident, Mother Jiang no longer wanted Jiang Yang to travel far again. Jiang Yang himself wasn’t keen on it either, but he couldn’t say it outright—Mother Jiang’s nagging gave him an out.

Lin Shu grew increasingly anxious. After his injury healed, she kept badgering him about when he would go out to make money again. Getting no response, she was climbing the walls.

Jiang Yang wasn’t going back out? How was he supposed to earn money? Were they doomed to scrape by again?

Lin Shu didn’t want that—she’d be damned if she let that happen!

In contrast to Lin Shu’s agitation, Liu Qingqing remained cool as a cucumber. Money had never been her thing with Jiang Yang. The more Jiang Yang compared them, the harder he fell for Liu Qingqing.

Although Jiang Yang didn't want to go out working anymore, he also couldn't stand living without money. So, he started thinking about ways to earn again.

Seeing Jiang Yang regain his motivation, Lin Shu stopped pressing him and waited for him to strike it rich again.

However, things weren’t as simple as Jiang Yang had imagined. Over the years, he had been focused on flipping merchandise, failing to notice how much the streets had changed. New shops were everywhere, and the competition was cutthroat.

He'd barely picked a niche when he discovered others doing it better than him. All the goods he had carefully prepared ended up gathering dust.

Not one to quit after a setback, Jiang Yang started over again.

After several attempts, he was back to square one.

Beaten down by failed ventures in middle age, he turned to alcohol to numb his pain.

Lin Shu had reached her limit with such a frugal life. Once she confirmed Jiang Yang had no ability to make a comeback, she decisively served him divorce papers, not even taking any of the children with her.

The divorce dealt Jiang Yang an even heavier blow, sending him into a downward spiral. Only Liu Qingqing remained steadfastly by his side.

"You should leave too! I don’t want to drag you down!" Jiang Yang slurred through the alcohol haze to Liu Qingqing.

"How could I? No matter what, I won’t abandon you!" Liu Qingqing met his eyes with that same soft look.

In the end, the two got married!

Jiang Yang gave up on business ventures and settled into an ordinary life with Liu Qingqing...

After divorcing Jiang Yang, Lin Shu repeatedly tried to land a wealthy husband, but she never succeeded.

The wealthy men weren’t fools—they might play around outside, but when it came to marriage, they preferred someone young and interesting. Why would they want someone over the hill?

...