Chapter 53: A Ghost!!

Tang Lin secretly pinched Leng Hui's arm. "Don't talk nonsense. He's the deputy factory director of our machinery plant; he was just driving me home since it was on his way after work."

"Wow, even a cadre! Not bad, Ms. Tang Lin."

As for Tang Lin saying it was just on his way, Leng Hui acted as if she hadn't heard. Would a deputy factory director be so bored after work that he'd go out of his way to drop off a minor employee?

If there were no ulterior motives, it seemed highly unlikely.

"Ouch! You brat, are you even listening to me? He just happened to run into me while I was helping carry glass!" This time, Tang Lin switched to pinching the soft flesh at her waist.

Leng Hui grimaced in pain but didn't dare let Qi Nuanyang notice.

"Comrade Tang, where should this glass be placed?"

Qi Nuanyang untied the ropes securing the glass and held the stack of cut panes, unsure of where to put them.

Upon hearing this, Tang Lin immediately forgot about lecturing Leng Hui and hurriedly pointed to the spot under the window. "Just put it there on the ground, against the wall."

Leng Hui rubbed her waist, glanced quickly at the pinch, and gritted her teeth inwardly. *You're ruthless. You pinched the flesh so hard it's turning red.*

After rubbing her aching waist again, Leng Hui approached Qi Nuanyang as he moved the glass, a sweet smile appearing on her face.

"Uncle Qi, thank you for driving my mom home today. If you hadn't been so kind, I don't know how late a woman like her would have taken to get home."

"It's what I should do. I would extend a helping hand to any comrade in need."

"Is that so?" Leng Hui muttered softly, sounding slightly disappointed. "So, you'll extend a hand to *anyone* who needs help."

Hearing her soft mutter, the smile on Qi Nuanyang's face froze slightly. *So, you actually took my polite words literally.*

Tang Lin gritted her teeth inwardly; she must have done that on purpose.

She turned to pump a basin of water from the well, telling Qi Nuanyang to wash his hands once he finished moving the glass.

As he washed his hands, Qi Nuanyang asked, "Do you have any small iron nails at home? If you do, I can help you install the glass while I'm still here."

*Oh boy!*

Leng Hui's eyes lit up instantly. She was just about to say they didn't have small iron nails, but they did have small steel nails.

She had small steel nails in her space.

However, Tang Lin reacted faster. Before she could speak, Tang Lin politely declined: "No, we don't. I wouldn't have even thought about needing small nails for the glass if you hadn't mentioned it."

With that, Tang Lin slapped her forehead in mock frustration. "Look at me, I'm so clumsy. I didn't even think of such a small thing."

Qi Nuanyang smiled. "It's fine. Since there are no nails at home, I'll head back first."

"Wait, Uncle Qi, it's so late, why don't you stay for dinner?" Leng Hui spoke rapidly, then turned to give Tang Lin a wink before adding, "Eat first, then head back."

Tang Lin couldn't lose her temper with Leng Hui in front of a stranger, so she said helplessly, "We don't have much in the way of dishes..."

"I'm easy," Qi Nuanyang said, a smile curling his lips. "I'll eat whatever you eat."

Leng Hui's eyes widened; she had just stumbled upon some juicy gossip.

As expected, this deputy factory director's special trip to drop Tang Lin off was definitely for a reason.

Since the afternoon, Leng Hui had already started simmering some multigrain porridge.

By now, the porridge in the pot was very thick. As for the dishes...

There really weren't many vegetables at home.

However, Leng Hui had some bamboo shoots she had picked from the mountain last time in her space. She took some out and peeled them.

By stir-frying them with the leftover pickled vegetables from last time, a simple dinner was sorted.

Qi Nuanyang followed them into the kitchen. Seeing Tang Lin start to chop the pickled vegetables after a quick rinse, he quickly intervened. "You should wash pickled vegetables several times. If you don't wash out the brine thoroughly, it will be too sour."

"Ah, wash them several times?" Tang Lin blinked. She truly hadn't known that.

No wonder the pickled vegetables she made last time nearly made her teeth ache from the sourness.

Qi Nuanyang unbuttoned his white shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. "Let me do it."

"Pickled vegetables that have been fermented for a long time need to be rinsed multiple times to squeeze out as much brine as possible before chopping them up for stir-frying."

Qi Nuanyang taught her while he worked. Once the vegetables were chopped, he took the peeled bamboo shoots, smashed them, and cut them into segments.

"Your wood-fired stove is very well built and practical."

Regarding the wood-fired stove, Leng Hui had extended the chimney outside the house. Even when burning wood, there was no smoke smell inside, making it naturally practical.

"Huihui built the stove today while she was home," Tang Lin said, watching intently as she learned to cook.

Qi Nuanyang praised, "Huihui is very capable."

Leng Hui smiled at Qi Nuanyang.

*Tsk, a handsome middle-aged man who is both sophisticated and skilled in the kitchen. Most importantly, he's not just high in IQ but also high in EQ. Is Ms. Tang Lin about to enter her era of romance?*

She had originally wanted to see if Qi Nuanyang would show any unusual expressions while eating such simple, coarse food.

Unfortunately, even after the meal was finished, Leng Hui found no flaws.

It was just a simple meal of one dish and one porridge, but because Qi Nuanyang's cooking was excellent, Leng Hui ate with immense satisfaction.

After dinner, once Tang Lin had seen Qi Nuanyang off, Leng Hui collapsed onto the bed, unwilling to move.

When Tang Lin returned from washing up, she patted the spot on the bed next to her. "Ms. Tang Lin, I think you've overworked yourself for me all these years. Lie down now, and I'll help you with some skincare."

Tang Lin touched her face. "My skin is okay for now, at least it's better than before."

"A woman must know how to maintain herself to be loved by men." Leng Hui pulled her down to lie down. "I collected quite a lot of skincare and cosmetics in the past; it's enough for both of us to use for a lifetime."

Leng Hui didn't actually know the specifics of how to perform skincare.

She found a few sheet masks. "Mom, I see you have spots on your face. How about a spot-removing and whitening mask?"

"You decide," Tang Lin said, lying on the bed feeling comfortable and unwilling to move.

"Huh? This mask is actually black? Who are you trying to scare to death with this color in the middle of the night?"

Leng Hui applied the mask to Tang Lin, then found a whitening mask for herself. Fortunately, hers was white.

As they lay on the bed, Leng Hui thought about how their masks were one black and one white and started laughing. "Mom, do you think we look like the Black and White Impermanence (deities of death) lying here in the dark?"

Tang Lin gave her a light swat. There were already legends about this house; if she made any more noise, they might as well start a "Haunted House" legend.

Leng Hui stared at the ceiling for a while before her eyes drifted shut. "You said to leave them on for fifteen minutes. Wake me when the time is up. I'm exhausted after a busy day."

"Okay, I'll wake you later."

Tang Lin yawned.

It seemed she hadn't closed her eyes for long before Leng Hui shook her awake.

"Huihui, listen, there's something going on outside."

Leng Hui opened her bleary eyes. She couldn't see anything in the pitch-black night, but as she listened intently, she could hear a sobbing sound coming from outside—or rather, from beyond the courtyard wall.

It was faint and intermittent, making it quite eerie in the middle of the night.

"I don't know who is playing tricks outside." Although Tang Lin didn't believe in ghosts, being woken up by such a sound in the middle of the night still made her feel a bit uneasy.

Leng Hui climbed out of bed, put on her shoes, and tiptoed to the door. After listening for a moment, she realized the sound was coming from outside the courtyard wall.

Tang Lin followed her out of the room, feeling her way toward the wall.

Standing here, the sobbing was even clearer.

Leng Hui pulled Tang Lin and pointed toward the courtyard gate.

Tang Lin nodded.

The mother and daughter continued to tiptoe toward the gate, quietly opening it and stepping out into the yard.

The sound had been coming from the side of the yard, toward the back.

The two of them felt their way along the wall. During the process, Leng Hui didn't forget to take out a small green ambient flashlight from her space.

Reaching the corner of the wall, Leng Hui and Tang Lin poked their heads out to check the situation.

Sure enough, a dark figure was crouching by the wall, making occasional noises.

From the sobbing sounds alone, they couldn't tell if the person playing tricks was male or female.

Leng Hui tugged at Tang Lin.

They would go over and see if it was a person or a ghost.

Tang Lin followed on her tiptoes.

"Jie jie jie~"

The mother and daughter stood side-by-side. Just as the dark figure turned around, they suddenly pressed the green ambient flashlight against their faces.

In the darkness, Leng Hui couldn't see the terror on the figure's face, but the way he froze in shock delighted her.

She couldn't help but grin, revealing two rows of eerie, bright white teeth.

After a two-second pause, the dark figure finally let out a blood-curdling scream.

"AHHH!!!"

"A ghost!"

Instinctively, the figure grabbed a random stone from the ground and hurled it at Leng Hui and Tang Lin.

However, because the distance was somewhat far, it landed not far from them.

Tang Lin couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the figure trembling with fear.

But remembering the situation, she imitated Leng Hui's laugh to continue the scare.

"Jie jie jie~"

"Ah! Black and White Impermanence, have mercy~!"

The figure fled in a panic, falling down only to scramble up and run again. He ran repeatedly as if the seemingly short alleyway had no end. Just as his mental state was about to collapse completely, he finally reached the corner of the alley.

The figure had fled.

Leng Hui turned off the green ambient light and asked, "That sound sounded familiar. Did you recognize who it was?"

Tang Lin shook her head. "No. Did you?"

"Hmph, regardless of who it is, I scared the life out of him!"

Leng Hui snorted coldly. She touched the mask still on her face, confident that she had scared him so badly he'd lose control of his bladder and lose his manhood for ten years.

Tang Lin also touched the mask on her face. "That person really thought we were the Black and White Impermanence."

"That was exactly the effect I wanted!" Leng Hui turned the green ambient light toward her own face.

The green light shone on her pale face, immediately giving off the vibe of the underworld.

Tang Lin shuddered and gave her a shove. "Let's go back and wash our faces first. Don't go scaring people into a medical condition in the middle of the night."

The mother and daughter supported each other as they walked toward the gate. Periodically, Leng Hui mischievously flicked the green light onto her face.

If anyone had come out to use the restroom in the middle of the night and saw this terrifying sight, they would likely have peed their pants immediately, sparing them the trouble of actually using the toilet.

As it turned out, some things shouldn't be mentioned, and some people shouldn't be thought of.

What you fear most is exactly what happens.

The two of them entered the yard safely, but at the exact moment they were closing the gate, as luck would have it, Leng Hui turned on the green ambient light, and it was seen directly by Auntie Sun from next door, who had gotten up for the night.

Leng Hui and Tang Lin watched in horror as the oil lamp in Auntie Sun's hand fell to the ground and went out.

Auntie Sun let out a scream and collapsed to the ground in terror.

*Clang!*

Tang Lin moved with lightning speed to slam the gate shut, pulling Leng Hui into the house.