The commotion at Bai Jiu’s house naturally didn’t escape the notice of her neighbors. Seeing workers arrive, some curious onlookers immediately came over to ask what was going on. Since they weren’t too familiar with Bai Jiu, they didn’t dare enter the yard without an invitation. So, the moment they saw her step outside, they started interrogating her.
"What’s going on at your house?" they asked, brimming with curiosity.
Bai Jiu didn’t feel the need to hide the fact that she was building a toilet. "Oh, we live at the very back, so it’s too far to walk to the public bathroom. I figured there’s plenty of empty space behind the house, so I hired some workers to help build a private one."
Hearing that she was building a toilet, everyone turned green with envy.
"That must cost a fortune. Your family is certainly rich," said a woman who had seen Bai Jiu hauling a cartload of things back the day before. Her tone was dripping with jealousy.
"Exactly. Did your husband even agree to this?" another chimed in.
"If you ask me, no matter how far it is, it’s just a short walk," a third added. "It’s not like you’re going to soil your pants on the way. Building a toilet isn’t worth it. With that money, you’d be better off buying more meat to give your kids and your husband a good meal."
Bai Jiu was rendered speechless by their remarks. She wondered why she had to center every decision around her husband and children. Couldn’t she just think about herself for once? Hmph.
"My husband agreed to it," Bai Jiu replied, still maintaining a polite smile.
Seeing this, the group couldn’t say much more, but some of the more shameless ones spoke up anyway.
"Well, can we borrow your toilet in the future?" an older woman asked. "I live right across from you. It really is quite a walk from here to the public one. If it’s ever inconvenient, could we just borrow yours for a bit?" She looked quite amiable as she asked.
Bai Jiu didn’t overthink it. Borrowing a squat toilet wasn’t the same as sharing a close-stool; it was acceptable enough.
"Of course, as long as it’s convenient for me," she answered, deliberately avoiding the phrase "anytime."
"Thank you so much, sweetheart!" The old woman was quite slick, immediately resorting to endearing family terms as if they were close.
However, seeing Bai Jiu agree, the surrounding onlookers all sported expressions that said they were ready for a good show. Bai Jiu would have to be blind to miss their obvious reactions, but was she scared? Hah.
Having gotten their fill of the drama, the crowd eventually dispersed. Aunt Xu came over a good while later.
"Child, I heard you’re letting people borrow your toilet?" Aunt Xu asked, seeking confirmation the moment she arrived.
Bai Jiu nodded. "Yeah, what’s wrong with that? We’re all neighbors." She didn’t take the matter to heart.
Aunt Xu let out a heavy sigh. Pointing toward a house not too far ahead—though only a corner of its roof was visible from Bai Jiu’s yard—she asked, "Do you know that family? Just because they let people borrow their toilet, they don’t even dare to go home now." Knowing Bai Jiu was a newcomer and oblivious to the local gossip, Aunt Xu wanted to fill her in.
"Why?" Bai Jiu asked, puzzled.
"Do you remember that Lin Po from yesterday?" Aunt Xu asked in a hushed voice, glancing outside to ensure no one was listening.
Since Bai Jiu didn’t have amnesia, she naturally remembered. "I do."
"It’s because of her. She lives close to that family. The couple living there are just like you two—just a pair of young kids." Youth had its perks, but their downfall was precisely their age; they were simply too thin-skinned to say no.
"What do you mean?" Bai Jiu, being human, also enjoyed hearing gossip, even if she didn’t like spreading it herself.
"The husband’s surname is Shen, Shen Zhongguo. He’s only twenty this year. Don’t let his youth fool you; he’s incredibly accomplished and is already a researcher at such a young age. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be living here with us." Aunt Xu started digressing into gossip about other people’s husbands, but quickly steered the conversation back on track. "He just got married last year. His wife is his teacher’s daughter. I heard she’s also only twenty, but she’s very capable and works as a teacher at an elementary school in the city."
Shen Zhongguo and his wife were introduced by his teacher. It was likely that Engineer Shu thought highly of Shen Zhongguo, which was why he married off his only daughter to him. Shen Zhongguo was also the only son in his family. Although his family was from out of town, they were quite well-off. The union between the two families was excellent, with both sets of parents fully supporting the marriage. Because of this, the young couple lived a remarkably blissful life.
Relying on his own abilities, Shen Zhongguo had been promoted to a researcher and was allocated a small courtyard house here. Even though it was small, it was more than enough for the two of them. The courtyard house only had three rooms, plus a private kitchen they had set up themselves. Since both were only children and came from good backgrounds, they naturally wouldn’t mistreat themselves. So, after living there for a while, they realized it was inconvenient not to have a toilet, and they hired a logistics worker to build one.
At first, things were fine. Some neighbors did come over to borrow it, but as time went on, most people felt too embarrassed to keep imposing.
However, there was one person who didn’t feel the slightest bit of shame. Not only that, but if they refused to let her family use it, she would stand right outside their door, point at Shen Zhongguo’s wife, and hurl insults. She’d call her stingy, brand her a capitalist, a hedonist, and so on. The young couple had never endured such abuse before, so they were forced into letting her use it. This person was none other than Lin Po.
Lin Po didn’t just borrow it for herself; she treated it like her own property. She had her entire family use it. Sometimes, she even left her grandson in their yard all day without bringing him back out. If the couple wanted to eat anything, they had to prepare an extra portion for the child.
After a while, they couldn’t take it anymore. They simply locked their door and moved back to the wife’s parents’ home. But Lin Po was not happy about this.
One morning, her grandson soiled himself because the neighbors’ door was locked. Lin Po, the vindictive old bat, actually shoveled all of her grandson’s feces and urine directly into the couple’s yard. By the time the couple had finally calmed down and returned, they found their home transformed into a literal cesspool. They reported it to the leadership, but Lin Po threw such a dramatic fit, threatening to kill herself, that even the leaders couldn’t do anything about her.
And there were plenty of people just like her. While they wouldn’t do something quite so vicious, they certainly gossiped maliciously behind the couple’s backs.
After hearing this, Bai Jiu finally understood the meaning behind the expressions on those women’s faces when she had agreed earlier. However, she wasn’t like that couple. If Lin Po dared to cause trouble, Bai Jiu would out-crazy her in a heartbeat. She wasn’t some refined city dweller who was too thin-skinned to fight back.
"Thank you, Aunt Xu. I’ll be careful from now on." Since she had already given her word, she naturally wouldn’t mind them using it once or twice, but if they dragged it out, she had her own ways of dealing with them.
"That’s good. And let me tell you..." Seeing Bai Jiu’s reaction, Aunt Xu breathed a sigh of relief. "Lending the toilet is one thing, but absolutely do not let anyone borrow your bathing area." Aunt Xu’s voice was very soft, speaking right into Bai Jiu’s ear.
"What happened?" Bai Jiu knew there was more juicy gossip coming.
"It’s that Lin Po again. Her entire family is utterly shameless." Just bringing the incident up made Aunt Xu feel sick. "You have no idea how disgusting that family is." Aunt Xu’s face flushed with indignation. Although she wasn’t close to Shen Zhongguo and his wife, she was a righteous person and couldn’t stand seeing such vile behavior.
"Aunt Xu, just tell me already!" Bai Jiu urged anxiously.
"Listen, one night, Lin Po’s son went next door to bathe. Sure, it was the dead of winter, and bathing indoors is definitely more comfortable, but you have to consider where you are.
"And of course, an incident occurred."