Chapter 55: The Shadow Was Him All Along

Leng Hui ran out to check, and seeing that it was Qi Nuanyang, she froze for a moment. "Good morning, Uncle Qi."

"Good morning. Huihui, are you cooking? There's no need. I was just passing by a restaurant and brought some steamed buns and fried dough sticks."

Qi Nuanyang placed the breakfast he was carrying on the table.

Leng Hui looked toward Tang Lin. Although she wanted to eat the large meat buns, she couldn't bring herself to accept a favor from someone without a reason.

Tang Lin sighed inwardly, stepped forward, and took the breakfast out of the bag. "Vice Factory Director Qi, you really don't have to do this. I am just a minor technician at the factory; it's not worth you going to such lengths for me. Next time you come to help, please don't bring food."

Food was precious in this era, and no family had surplus grain. Qi Nuanyang's salary and benefits might be better than hers, but if he spent his money and food on them, he would have to cut back on his own family's expenses.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind next time," Qi Nuanyang agreed with a smile.

After breakfast, Leng Hui witnessed how people of this era installed glass. They set the glass into the wooden window frames and secured it directly with small iron nails, wedging it into place.

Simple and crude.

Originally, Leng Hui had planned to use small wooden strips to fix it in place before using a nail gun, which would have been both aesthetic and sturdy.

Seeing that Qi Nuanyang was handsome and capable with his hands, and knowing she couldn't be of much help here, Leng Hui ran to the vegetable garden in the courtyard to find Tang Lin.

"Have they all taken root?"

"With my care, as long as they haven't withered, they'll survive."

There were over a dozen chili seedlings, a few eggplant seedlings, and she had also brought a lot of sponge gourd seeds, all of which had just been planted.

Through the nourishment of her Wood-type ability, the vitality of the seeds had been enhanced.

In the future, they would basically be free from pests and diseases, and with her using her ability to promote growth whenever she had time, they would grow even better than others' plants.

"It's just that there aren't many chili seedlings, and the varieties are limited."

The vegetable garden in the courtyard was about a few *mu* in size, so these few types of seeds and seedlings certainly wouldn't fill it. She would have to find a way to get more.

Leng Hui said, "I heard from Auntie Qin that the farmers' market has a lot of unwanted leek roots and water spinach roots. If you want to plant them, you can pick some up. Also, near the trash heaps, because the garbage contains vegetable seeds, some seedlings grow every spring—things like bitter melon, sponge gourd, and winter melon seedlings."

Tang Lin glanced at her. "I see you've been getting along well with Auntie Qin lately. What kind of gossip have you picked up from her?"

"Do you really want to hear it?"

"Who wouldn't want to hear gossip?"

Leng Hui turned to look at Qi Nuanyang, who was installing the glass behind them, then leaned in close to her with a grin and whispered

"I heard people at the factory say that the man in there is currently single and has a ten-year-old boy at home. His original wife was sent to the Great Northwest due to her family background, and they divorced before she left. As for the specific reason for the divorce, it's unknown."

Tang Lin frowned slightly. "Where are you picking up all this hearsay?"

"Everyone at the factory knows."

"How come I didn't know?" Tang Lin was speechless. She hadn't inherited the original host's memories, which made things a bit troublesome.

If something was widely known, she wouldn't know it unless someone mentioned it.

Leng Hui shook her head. "He's quite handsome and has a refined temperament, but he has a marriage history and a son. I reckon if he remarries, it's just to find an old maid to take care of the family and, incidentally, a bed partner."

Tang Lin tapped her on the head. "Listening to you talk, I feel like you've seen it all and are incredibly experienced. Do you know men that well?"

Leng Hui covered her head and blinked innocently. "Men look for women for no more than three reasons: to warm the bed, to bear children, and to be a free nanny."

"Stop watching those messy videos. Every stage of life has its own experience. If you see through everything like this, how can you fully immerse yourself in the passion of dating?"

Leng Hui was speechless.

She had never experienced the taste of romance, so she didn't know how to argue back.

Besides, she didn't even have the means to watch such videos nowadays.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

The courtyard gate was knocked on again.

Leng Hui and Tang Lin looked at each other. Who could it be this time?

"Leng Hui, Leng Hui! When did your family finish installing the courtyard gate? Why are you closing it in broad daylight?"

Well, no need to guess.

She could tell from the voice it was that kid, Jiang Jingtao.

"Are you trying to summon a soul! I told you before, you should call me Sister Hui. Why can't you remember every time!"

Leng Hui opened the gate and glared at Jiang Jingtao.

Jiang Jingtao wasn't angry by the glare; he just grinned and pointed to the basket hanging on his bicycle. "I heard people say there are many mushrooms on the mountain lately. It's the weekend, let's go picking mushrooms together. Are you coming?"

"Picking mushrooms?"

Last time, Auntie Qin had picked a lot of mushrooms. She had heard that mushrooms were delicious whether stir-fried or made into soup, and Leng Hui had been craving them for a long time.

If it weren't for repairing the house, she would have run to the mountains long ago.

"Yes! Wait for me, I'll tell my mom."

"I'll go in and say hello to Auntie as well." Just as he stepped into the courtyard, Jiang Jingtao saw Qi Nuanyang coming out of the house.

He froze for a moment, pointed at Qi Nuanyang, and turned to ask Leng Hui, "How should I address him?"

"Vice Factory Director Qi from the Machinery Factory. He came over on this weekend to help us install the window glass."

Jiang Jingtao picked at his ear. He hadn't misheard; it was the Vice Factory Director of the Machinery Factory. "Are all factory directors this approachable nowadays?"

Leng Hui shrugged; it was hard to say.

Jiang Jingtao quickly adjusted his expression, greeted Tang Lin, and finally walked quickly up to Qi Nuanyang to shake his hand and introduce himself

"Uncle Qi, my name is Jiang Jingtao. I'm Leng Hui's high school classmate and also her good friend."

Qi Nuanyang smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Jiang Jingtao grinned and pointed at the unfinished windows. "Thank you for your hard work. I've invited Leng Hui to go mushroom picking on the mountain this morning. When we get back, I'll treat you to mushroom soup, Uncle Qi."

"Then I'll thank you in advance for your kind hospitality."

Leng Hui carried a bucket out of the house. Seeing Jiang Jingtao grinning from ear to ear, she frowned slightly. "If you're not talking about going mushroom picking, are you still going or not?"

Qi Nuanyang hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about this: why don't you two wait for me? The glass will be finished soon. It's been a long time since I've been up the mountain; I'll go for a stroll with you."

Leng Hui looked at Tang Lin and then nodded.

If they left, only Tang Lin and Qi Nuanyang would be left in the courtyard. A man and a woman alone together could easily lead to misunderstandings. The fact that he considered this showed that Qi Nuanyang was a very thoughtful man.

The remaining glass was quickly installed, and the four of them prepared to set off. Looking at the equipment everyone brought, Tang Lin asked, "One basket and one bucket won't be enough to hold them, will they?"

Jiang Jingtao laughed. "Haha, Auntie, do you really think the mushrooms on the mountain are just waiting for us to pick them? We'll be lucky if we can fill this one basket and one bucket today."

However, Leng Hui knew Tang Lin's capabilities. As they passed the entrance to the farmers' market, she bought two large wicker baskets from a shop at the entrance and hung them on both sides of the bicycle.

Jiang Jingtao looked at the two large baskets in shock. "I say, Leng Hui, do you know how many mushrooms it would take to fill these two big baskets?"

Leng Hui rolled her eyes at him. "It's called being prepared, understand!"

"You call this being prepared? In my view, this is like buying a basin just to hold a single bean. It's too exaggerated."

Seeing Jiang Jingtao arguing with her, Leng Hui lost her temper too. "Hey, kid, are you looking for a beating? Let's make a bet today. If we fill these two baskets today, from now on, you have to obediently call me Sister Hui whenever you see me!"

"You want me to call you 'Sister'? You must be dreaming."

"Stop talking nonsense and just say whether you dare to bet or not!"

Jiang Jingtao brushed the hair from his forehead and smiled triumphantly. "Using provocation on me, are you? Fine, let's bet! Who's afraid!"

Since he was born, he had never seen anyone pick two large baskets of mushrooms; after all, they didn't grow them themselves.

Seeing Leng Hui's childish side, Tang Lin shook her head with a smile. "The bet is made. Now, let me ask, which mountain are we going to?"

Unfamiliar with other directions, Leng Hui suggested going to the mountains where they had previously gathered bamboo shoots.

Jiang Jingtao had no objection to this.

The mountains they had visited before were located in the northern suburbs of the city. To get there from Fu Rong Street, they would have to pass through half the city.

In other words, they would have to pass near their old residential compound. Tang Lin prayed in her heart that they wouldn't run into the "extraordinary" members of the Leng family.

Because every time they met the Leng family, it was either an argument or a fight, always a chaotic scene. Tang Lin found it mentally exhausting.

Three vehicles, four people, heading north.

Sometimes things are quite mysterious; what you fear most is exactly what you encounter.

"Leng Hui, look at that cousin of yours. Even with a limp, she can't stay still. Whose house is she visiting now?"

Leng Hui followed his gaze and saw Leng Mei entering a small courtyard.

"Xiao Mei is here."

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Grandma Qi, who was sitting under the eaves, noticed her.

A smile tugged at the corners of Leng Mei's mouth. "Grandma Qi, is Qi Da home?"

"Qi Da isn't feeling very well today; he's resting in bed. Do you have business with him?"

"I have something to discuss with him."

Grandma Qi didn't make Qi Da get up to see Leng Mei, but instead pointed toward the house, letting Leng Mei go in to find him herself.

In this era, which wasn't particularly open, a girl entering a boy's bedroom alone would be subject to gossip, but Grandma Qi didn't care about that.

Or rather, if she had thought of it, she was doing it on purpose.

Having been reborn, how could Leng Mei not know that Grandma Qi was a person who was sweet on the outside but bitter on the inside? However, she didn't care for such small tricks anymore.

She pushed open Qi Da's bedroom door and walked in, finding that he had already sat up.

"Your grandmother said you aren't feeling well?"

Qi Da touched his forehead and smiled bitterly. "My grandmother said I have a bit of a fever."

Leng Mei stepped forward with concern. "How did this happen? Why are you so careless with your health?"

Qi Da slumped against the headboard, his body involuntarily flinching at the thought of the terrifying scene from last night. "I'm sorry, I didn't get it done."

Hearing this, Leng Mei comforted him with a smile. "This kind of thing can't be accomplished in one night. Don't lose heart."

Qi Da knew Leng Mei hadn't understood his meaning, so he just said it directly: "It really is haunted over there. I didn't even need to pretend to be a ghost."

Leng Mei was startled. "What do you mean by that?"

Could those legends be true?

Suppressing his fear, Qi Da recounted what happened last night with lingering dread. "At the time, I wanted to run, but I kept feeling like someone was pulling at my heels from behind. In that short alleyway, I ran for a long time last night before I could get out. If I hadn't fought back with all my might, I'm afraid I would have lost my life there last night."

Leng Mei was half-believing, half-doubting. Based on her knowledge of Qi Da, he had no reason to lie to her, but this was unscientific. "So, you also think that courtyard is truly haunted?"

"But how is that possible? If it were truly haunted, wouldn't Leng Hui and her mother have been scared witless on their first night there?"

They had lived there for so many days without moving out, which suggested that the haunting was a fabrication.

"But I'm not lying to you. I really saw ghosts last night—two ghosts, one black and one white, both glowing with a green light. It was terrifying no matter how you looked at it."

At that time, the wind around them was chilling, and he had almost fainted on the spot from fright.

"So, you have a fever today because you were scared?" Leng Mei realized.

Qi Da's face turned bright red, and he stammered for a long time before saying, "Maybe I caught a chill last night."

In reality, both knew why he had a low fever. In old sayings, it was "frightened soul," and in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it was a fever caused by shock.

The former could be fixed with a ritual to summon the soul.

The latter required herbal medicine to calm the nerves.

Nowadays, rituals were criticized as feudal superstition, and there were very few practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, so Qi Da could only endure it.

Leng Mei didn't bother to expose him. She frowned slightly, thinking: *Are they really going to move into this dilapidated little courtyard of the Qi family?*

Based on her understanding of the Qi grandmother and grandson, once they moved in, Old Lady Leng would face Grandma Qi—an encounter of heavyweights. It would be another predictable life of chaos.

Leng Hui had no idea about Leng Mei's inner conflict. She had recognized Qi Da's voice from the shadow last night, and seeing Leng Mei enter the Qi courtyard today, she knew this matter was connected to her.

It seemed that when work started on Monday, she would have to ask Tang Lin to mention it to the factory's logistics department—that their dilapidated courtyard was fixed, so the factory could come and collect the house sooner.

As for leaving Leng Yongkang with nowhere to live?

Impossible. Leng Yongkang had the factory to back him up; at worst, he could apply to live in the factory dormitory.

"Leng Hui, Leng Hui!"

"Ah, what is it?"

"What are you thinking about? Don't ride your bike without paying attention, or are you trying to fall into the ditch by the road?"

Leng Hui snapped back to reality and quickly stabilized her bicycle. She looked at the bright spring scenery of the outskirts, where a gentle breeze brought the scent of fresh grass.

Leng Hui took a deep breath, feeling as if the stale air in her lungs had been washed clean.

She shook her head and couldn't help but shout to Tang Lin, who was sitting on the back seat of Jiang Jingtao's bicycle: "Mom, since we are heading up the mountain in spring, how about we sing 'Going Up the Spring Mountain'?"

"Forget it. With your tone-deaf talent, listening to you sing is worse than listening to pigs in a pigsty!"

"Pfft!"

Jiang Jingtao almost choked with laughter.

Qi Nuanyang, due to his own cultivation, didn't dare to laugh out loud.

Hearing this, Leng Hui's face instantly turned as dark as coal. "Mom, no one insults people like that! Do you say such things to all women? If I'm a pig, then what are you? Don't you become a sow?"

Tang Lin: "...Leng Hui, I think you're asking for a beating!"

In front of an outsider, Tang Lin was both embarrassed and annoyed, her face flushing red.

"Haha..." Jiang Jingtao could no longer hold it in. "Leng Hui, you actually dare to talk to Auntie like that? If you were at home, would Auntie chase you around and beat you until you jumped up and down?"

Leng Hui snorted and gave him a dangerous look. "How about this: why don't you let my mom give you a chance to demonstrate?"