Chapter 88 Another Ghostly Encounter in the Middle of the Night
When Yu Junsheng returned from get off work that evening, Cheng Jiajia told him everything that had happened in the compound after he left that day, the rumors she had heard at the scrap yard, and the whole series of things she had done while pretending to be stupid.
Yu Junsheng's lips twitched as he listened, and he gave a thumbs up, "Wife, you're really something!"
Cheng Jiajia raised her head arrogantly, "Hmph, as long as I don't admit it, I won't live in compound number 35!"
With what little conscience she had left, Cheng Jiajia hesitated, "How about we bring Grandpa Wang some cigarettes and alcohol next time?" Poor Grandpa Wang really thought his memory was playing tricks on him.
Yu Junsheng forced himself to suppress his laughter; no, he couldn't laugh.
"Sure, you can bring it if you want. I'll go to the factory to get some tickets. But how are you going to explain it to him?"
"Are you going to go and admit to Old Man Wang again that you do live in compound number 35?"
Cheng Jiajia rolled her eyes at him, "How could that be? I really wouldn't dare say I live in this compound when I'm out in public anymore. You didn't see it, those old ladies were looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo, it was so embarrassing!"
She considers herself thick-skinned, but even she can't stand this.
Yu Junsheng imagined it for a moment and also felt that it wouldn't work; he couldn't bear such a scene himself.
So he happily decided to do the same as Cheng Jiajia.
From now on, when you're outside, just pretend you don't know anything and never admit that you live in compound number 35!
I'll stay anywhere, just not number 35!
People are afraid of becoming famous, just like pigs are afraid of getting fat. Even if their compound becomes famous, it won't do them any good!
After discussing their future plans for traveling, Yu Junsheng suddenly said, "It seems that Qingshu's marriage is really going to be difficult."
To be honest, Zou Qingshu's personal conditions are really quite good. He is a formal employee of the machinery factory, and Grandpa Zou is an eighth-grade worker in the factory, earning more than 100 yuan a month. Grandma Hao is also easy to get along with.
If she were in another compound, she would definitely be a hot commodity in the marriage market, and would probably have been snatched up by sharp-eyed girls long ago.
It's a pity I was born in their compound.
Why!
Cheng Jiajia was helpless about this matter. She didn't know any young women, otherwise she could have introduced them to Zou Qingshu.
However, Cheng Jiajia was still quite satisfied with the commotion caused by the Qin family.
"Although this matter might hold Qin Weimin back for a few days, you still need to be careful in your actions at the factory, lest he take advantage of you," Cheng Jiajia instructed Yu Junsheng. She didn't expect this family matter to keep Qin Weimin occupied indefinitely; who knew if he might suddenly go crazy?
...
Grandma Hao was also talking about this at Grandpa Zou's house in the front yard.
Aunt Hao went to the hospital with the Qin family in the morning and then came back, but news of what happened at the hospital spread very quickly, and soon the whole area knew about it.
Aunt Hao had some friends in other courtyards, and when they chatted, she naturally heard about Wu Meifang's "heroic deeds," and she had been frowning ever since she came back.
Grandpa Zou was also puffing away at the welding fumes, looking worried!
The only solution to this situation is to move.
Moving now is not as simple as it is in later years. Nowadays, most people live in houses allocated by their work units, and even if they want to buy a house, they have nowhere to buy one.
Renting a house doesn't comply with policy requirements, and someone could easily report you for it.
If I want to move, I'd have to change jobs, work my way up in seniority, and wait for my new job to be allocated housing, which would take forever.
In summary, moving is not an option; we can only put up with it.
Living in the same compound as this group of people, his family has really had a terrible time!
What will happen to his son?!
Aunt Hao became determined and slammed her hand on the table. "No way! I must find Qing Shu a partner as soon as possible!"
Poor Zou Qingshu, knowing nothing about it, began his daily life of blind dates—but that's another story.
...
It must be said that Wu Meifang's incident left a considerable shock on the residents of the compound.
Not only are some people worried that the reputation of the compound will be further damaged, but several other families have also been deeply affected.
The front yard.
At Ma Gaosheng's house, Hu Mei touched her stomach with a complicated expression.
She and Ma Gaosheng have been married for so many years but still don't have children. How come Wu Meifang is so lucky? She got pregnant after just one affair with Qin Ziwen before marriage?
Seeing his wife looking a little downcast, Ma Gaosheng immediately comforted her, "Honey, let's try harder, we'll definitely get pregnant."
Hu Mei was a little discouraged, "It's been so many years, if I was going to get pregnant, I would have been by now!"
Ma Gaosheng cautiously probed, "My mom has a folk remedy, why don't you try it..." He had brought up this topic before, but Hu Mei would argue with him every time he did, so he didn't dare to bring it up again after a while.
This time, Hu Mei hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, "Okay, you can go and ask tomorrow."
Ma Gaosheng looked up in shock, "Really?"
Hu Mei rolled her eyes at him. "Otherwise what?"
Ma Gaosheng immediately hugged Hu Mei with delight and pressed her onto the bed, saying, "Oh, I knew my wife was the best."
Hu Mei, her breathing unsteady, scolded, "Stop fooling around!"
Ma Gaosheng, engrossed in his work, mumbled, "Let's try harder and try to get pregnant next month."
...
Fu Jiaojiao, from Zhu Ziqiang's family, felt both sour and jealous upon hearing this.
Why can't she get pregnant even if she wants to, while Wu Meifang gets pregnant but doesn't cherish it at all?
God is really blind!
Remembering how her old hag had shared her egg with the two little ones earlier that day, Fu Jiaojiao felt a lump in her throat.
The old woman also dug out all the peach shortbread and sponge cakes that she had locked in the cupboard.
That was food she bought for herself with her own salary, why should she give it to those two brats?
Fu Jiaojiao felt wronged and angry. How could she have been so blind to be deceived by this bastard? Now her life had turned out like this.
These days, divorce is not a good thing, and divorced women don't have a good reputation and are often the subject of gossip.
Fu Jiaojiao, a native of the 1960s, never even considered divorce.
The best solution she could think of was that she had to have her own child so that everything in the house wouldn't fall into the hands of those two brats.
So she pulled Zhu Ziqiang along and started trying to have a baby.
Zhu Ziqiang tried to push her away but couldn't. Fu Jiaojiao clung to him tightly and kept groping him.
Zhu Ziqiang couldn't stand it anymore, but his movements were somewhat forced and reluctant.
He knew what Fu Jiaojiao was thinking, but he didn't want her to get her way.
He felt that having two sons was enough, and having another child would be a heavy burden on the family. He also worried that with Fu Jiaojiao's personality, having his own child would make her even more mean to his two older children.
They are doing quite well with their combined salaries supporting their two children and their mother, an elderly person. But if Fu Jiaojiao has her own child, will she still spend her salary on her two older sons?
Zhu Ziqiang doesn't think so.
However, he would never dare to say this to Fu Jiaojiao.
...
At night, the courtyard was quiet and all the lights in the houses were off, as if everyone had gone to sleep.
A dark figure crept up the gate, a dog stealthily took out a thin piece of wood, and slowly pried open the bolt, causing the wooden door to creak.
The shadowy figure smiled; thankfully, she still had this trick up her sleeve.
Then we went straight to the west wing of the second courtyard.
That's right, this dark figure is Jiang Qiubai, who escaped from the hospital today.
Jiang Qiubai didn't want to lose money, but she was also afraid that those people would come to her home to collect debts. Feeling guilty, she didn't dare to come back and could only spend the day outside.
They only dared to sneak back after dark.
Jiang Qiubai thought that since everyone in his family was asleep, he could escape this predicament.
Anyway, nothing serious happened to Ren Yongsheng, so he shouldn't need much in medical expenses.
Maybe my mother-in-law won't be so angry after I take a nap tomorrow.
She was about to use the same trick to pry open the door when she realized it wasn't even locked.
It opened with a single push.
Jiang Qiubai felt a little warm inside, thinking that his family must have left the door open for him.
Her mother-in-law and husband still care about her. In the past, when she occasionally came home late from work at her parents' house, no one would leave the door open for her. In that respect, her mother-in-law and husband treat her much better than her own family.
Jiang Qiubai felt more confident about dealing with his mother-in-law tomorrow.
She thought optimistically that since her mother-in-law had left the door open for her, it meant she wasn't too angry. Maybe she could just brush it off with a few words.
But to her surprise, the lights in the main room turned on instantly as soon as she entered.
The glaring light made Jiang Qiubai uncomfortable, so he closed his eyes.
Before she could react, her mother-in-law, Chang Dafeng, let out a loud shout.
"Well, you little slut, you're finally back! How dare you swindle the family like this, I'll beat you to death today!"
Jiang Qiubai was startled and his heart skipped a beat. Then his hair was grabbed hard and a series of loud slaps landed on his face.
"Ouch! Grandma, why did you hit me?"
Chang Dafeng hadn't slept; she was waiting for Jiang Qiubai at home. Upon hearing this, she slapped him hard several times.
"Tell me why I hit you? Huh?!"
"You shameless slut, why did you go and hit Ren Yongsheng for no reason? Are you itching for a fight? I'll chop you up for you! So you won't go out and cause trouble!"
"You owe me 120 yuan!"
Having lost such a large sum of money, Chang Dafeng was so angry that her heart ached. If she didn't vent her anger, her reputation as the "number one shrew in the compound" would be ruined!
Not only Chang Dafeng, but Zheng Haiyang and Zheng Haicheng were also awake, sitting in the main room with dark faces, glaring at Jiang Qiubai.
When Zheng Haiyang got home from get off work and found out about this, he was so angry he almost vomited blood. What an idiot!
He lost almost five months' salary! Five months' salary! She just squandered it all. What a fucking idiot!
How could I have married such an idiot!
Zheng Haiyang was filled with deep regret.
Jiang Qiubai's mind went blank, and he stammered, "W-what, one hundred and twenty yuan?"
“You beat him up like that, and now they want our family to pay for his medical expenses, or they’ll call the police and have you arrested! It’s all your fault, you’re the one who’s ruined our family’s finances!”
Outraged, Zheng Haiyan also grabbed at it a few times.
So much money, so much money!
If I had bought her so many pretty dresses, I could have bought so many! Now they're all gone! Gone!
It's all because of that bitch!
Jiang Qiubai screamed in disbelief, "One hundred and twenty yuan? Are they robbing us?! Mom, are you crazy?! How can you give that to us?!"
"Pah! You shameless woman, how dare you say that? If you hadn't hit someone, would they have been able to threaten me? If they had really called the police and arrested you, wouldn't our whole family have suffered?"
Chang Dafeng slapped him again, cursing viciously.
Zheng Haiyan was filled with hatred and lost all restraint in her attack.
Jiang Qiubai was beaten so badly by the mother and daughter that he screamed.
"Good for her! She deserves a good beating!"
Zheng Haicheng and Zheng Haihua also resented Jiang Qiubai, and cheered as she was beaten.
So, that night, the residents of compound number 35, half-asleep, heard the long-lost sobbing voice of the 'female ghost' again.
Aunt Cao was half asleep when she suddenly woke up with a start.
"Holy crap! That female ghost is causing trouble again?"
Since that 'public toilet affair' incident, there has been no news of the female ghost. Everyone thought that since no one was bothering her, she had finally settled down.
Therefore, recently everyone has resumed the habit of going to the toilet at night.
I never expected this to start again.
Aunt Cao thought tremblingly, "This public toilet is still very dangerous!"
Just then, a whimpering sound came from nearby. She shuddered and darted to Grandpa Guo's side, snuggling into his arms like a little bird, muttering to herself.
"May Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Mazu protect me! Aside from being a little gossipy, a little talkative, a little stingy, and a little greedy, I haven't really done anything bad! Great Immortal, if you want to find someone, go find that old shrew next door surnamed Chang, yes, find her. She's a black-hearted woman who often extorts people; she's no good!"
"Yes, yes, and Guan Ailian from the Third Hospital, she's also a black-hearted woman, who knows what bad things she's done in secret. And that woman surnamed Yan, she's no good either. She looks honest, but she's actually wicked inside, she's no good either. Great Immortal, if you're looking for someone, go find these black-hearted old women, but whatever you do, don't come looking for me..."
Muttering and chattering.
Even Grandpa Guo, who was standing nearby, was woken up by her nagging.
Heavens have mercy, the old couple are getting on in years and haven't had sex in a long time, and they've been sleeping in separate blankets for a long time.
So when Grandpa Guo woke up in a daze and suddenly realized that there was something curled up in his arms, he was so scared that half of his soul flew out of his body.
He had no idea that this was his wife.
Grandpa Guo shoved the person away, staggered back, and screamed, "Ahhh, a ghost!!!"
The screams echoed through the sky.
Chang Dafeng, who was beating someone in the west wing, was startled and exclaimed, "What the hell?!"
After waiting for a while and seeing no sound, he cursed, "Damn it, why are you yelling and screaming in the middle of the night instead of sleeping! You have no manners at all!"
Then she continued to twist Jiang Qiubai's ear and lecture him, "Did you hear me? Don't cause any more trouble for me outside! If you cause any more trouble, I'll send you back to your parents' home and make them return the betrothal gifts, you hear me?"
Jiang Qiubai nodded with tears streaming down his face, continuing to sob and wail.
Waaah, her life is so miserable!
...
Yu Junsheng's prediction was correct; the Qin family soon split up.
Wu Meifang hadn't even been discharged from the hospital yet when the Qin family split up, a move that was astonishingly fast.
At this time, family strength was valued, so most people still lived with their parents and siblings, believing that more people meant more strength and that they wouldn't be bullied.
It is very rare for families to separate.
The Qin family, which could be described as splitting up overnight, was truly the first such family in the compound.
Qin Weimin felt extremely ashamed and had been avoiding people in the courtyard for the past few days.
However, he quickly lost interest in saving face.
Because his 'beloved' woman approached him and presented him with a huge problem.
That evening, at the usual spot, behind the public toilet.
A man and a woman were expressing their deep affection for each other.
“Weimin, as you know, Xiaohui is a good girl in every way, but she's been held back. Then that incident happened a few days ago, and she was terrified. She feels incredibly guilty and doesn't even want to leave the house anymore. I can't let her stay like this all the time, so I wanted to ask you for advice. Didn't you say you could arrange a job for her? How's that going?”
Bai Zhenzhu sighed, her once endearing face now filled with sorrow, making one feel very sorry for her.
In the past, Qin Weimin would have already hugged the person and comforted them several times before agreeing to the terms.
But today Qin Weimin was in a bit of a predicament and felt somewhat embarrassed.
He originally thought that as long as he could appease Wu Meifang and get her to go back and talk to her, it wouldn't be difficult for Wu's father to handle the matter. So when Zhenzhu brought it up, he agreed to find a job for Xiaohui without hesitation.
But now, not to mention Wu Meifang's current physical condition, their family has no face to make any demands or trouble the Wu family. Even if Wu Meifang knew about Xiaohui and Lao San's affair, she definitely wouldn't agree.
What should we do?
Are you suggesting I admit to Pearl that I'm incompetent and that I can't possibly fulfill the promise I made to her?
He hesitated for a long time, and between 'losing face in front of the woman he loved' and 'angering Wu Meifang and offending the Wu family', he chose to lose face.
Pearl is so understanding; she will surely understand his difficulties.
Qin Weimin pursed his lips. "Pearl, listen to me. This is my fault. I was too naive. Originally, I was thinking of using Wu Meifang's connections to get Xiaohui a job through the Wu family, but now..."
He gave a wry smile, "You know, how could Wu Meifang possibly find a job for Xiaohui?"
Bai Zhenzhu's eyes flashed, then immediately filled with tears as she sobbed, "I know, I know, my daughter and I have put you in a difficult position. I shouldn't have come to you. My daughter and I have always had a hard life. My husband died young, and I struggled to raise Xiaohui all by myself, thinking that things would finally get better. But who knew that Xiaohui would have such bad luck, ruining her reputation and making it impossible for her to find a job. I don't know what will become of her in the future... Oh well, perhaps this is her fate..."
White Pearl lowered her head and wept, tears welling in her eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
Qin Weimin felt a pang of heartache and pulled her into his arms, soothingly saying, "Who said you have a hard life? You still have me. As long as I'm here, I won't abandon you and your daughter. Xiaohui will have a good life with me watching over her, so don't worry. Don't cry, don't cry, it hurts my heart to see you cry like this."
Bai Zhenzhu acted as if she hadn't heard, and continued to sob.
Qin Weimin felt distressed upon hearing this.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he said, "Don't cry. I'll find another way to get Xiaohui a job so she won't be left without a place to live. Don't worry anymore."
Bai Zhenzhu's crying stopped immediately, and she looked at him with teary eyes, "Really? You won't say it can't be done in a few days, will you?"
Qin Weimin choked, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Of course, don't you believe me? In all these years, when have I ever lied to you? Last time, that was a special case!"
Bai Zhenzhu finally stopped crying and smiled, leaning softly into his arms. "Weimin, you're so amazing, so good to me. Xiaohui is so lucky to have an uncle like you."
A compliment from your sweetheart is like a bottle of ice-cold soda on a hot day, making you feel refreshed and overjoyed.
Qin Weimin smiled.
If we can't rely on the Wu family, isn't there still Deng Guangming's side?
As long as I help him get things done, how could he treat me badly?
It's just a job; with Deng's abilities, it's really not a big deal.
Qin Weimin didn't see the calculating glint in the eyes of the person in his arms. It seemed that this old thing had other ways to get ahead, and he couldn't let her know yet.
But she insists on knowing!
Who knows, maybe then... then I won't have to pretend with this old man anymore.
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