But this trip would turn out to be a disaster.
Xiaonian's wife saw Qingmu enter the workshop. A moment later, for some unknown reason, Jinling went in as well. An idea struck her. She scanned her surroundings; the workshop courtyard, lit by a few torches, was now empty. Only a few women were still in the latrine. She quickly ran over, latched the main workshop gate from the outside, and then hurried out of the courtyard, greeting the gatekeeper, Uncle Lin, as if nothing were wrong.
A little while later, the other four women came out of the latrine and left for home. Unexpectedly, the only person left in the workshop was Jinling—and, of course, Qingmu. He had come to do an inspection and was in the adjacent supervision office, looking over the day's production records.
