Chapter 32: Wristwatch

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Wristwatch

When Deng Yuyuan arrived at the Knowledge Youth Institute, it was in a state of utter chaos. Granny Zhang was trying to leave, but the crowd blocked her way, neither side willing to yield.

The sharp-eyed Granny Zhang spotted Deng Yuyuan blocking the doorway, and her composure shattered. She hurled a string of curses, "You lazy bum, you actually have the nerve to ask for your things back? Consider this item payment for all the food and rent you mooched off us! I haven’t even settled the score with you for turning my son into used goods, you dirty tramp!"

Deng Yuyuan slowly approached Granny Zhang under the vigilant gazes of the crowd. Trembling, Granny Zhang tried to slap her, but Deng Yuyuan intercepted the strike mid-air, gripping her wrist tightly. With her other hand, Deng Yuyuan grabbed a tuft of white hair near the old woman’s ear.

"You’ve toiled for this family your whole life. By rights, as your daughter-in-law, it is only proper for me to show you filial respect..."

Granny Zhang’s entire body relaxed. She had no time to wonder why Deng Yuyuan was suddenly so agreeable; she only felt that the woman had reverted to her familiar role as a punching bag. Raising her chin haughtily, she said, "Glad you know it. Bring the rest of the reward money directly to me later. It’s your duty to honor your elders."

As she spoke, her hand maintained a death grip on the wristwatch.

SMACK! Deng Yuyuan’s slap sent Granny Zhang crashing to the ground. Her own palm stung from the impact.

Taking a deep breath amidst the crowd’s stunned silence, Deng Yuyuan’s aura remained completely harmless and innocent. Grabbing the old woman’s hair had been nothing but a diversion—a way to gather strength while making her opponent lower her guard. Otherwise, how could a slap feel so satisfying?

Granny Zhang was driven mad with rage. Deng Yuyuan’s forceful slap forced her to feign composure as she roared at the onlookers, "You all saw her hit me! Are you just going to stand there and do nothing?!"

She dared to act so shamelessly because she knew the others would never lay a hand on her. Who could have expected that lunatic, Deng Yuyuan, to return so quickly? Granny Zhang’s face twisted into a hideous scowl. Flushed bright red, she pointed a trembling finger straight at Deng Yuyuan.

Silence fell. For a moment, no one in the crowd spoke a word.

Deng Yuyuan raised her hand. Granny Zhang instinctively covered her face, but Deng Yuyuan merely opened her palm. "Give me back the watch."

"This is for my medical bills! You can’t rob me!" Granny Zhang shrieked. She desperately wanted to lunge forward and scratch off Deng Yuyuan’s wretched face.

Having thrown her weight around for so many years, the one thing she couldn’t stand was seeing a former pushover suddenly grow a spine.

"Then I’m calling the police." Deng Yuyuan stepped forward briskly and snatched the landline phone from the front desk, pulling it into her arms. "The monetary value of this watch is immense. It’s more than enough to put you in jail for robbery and theft."

"Curse you! You drain my son of so much money every year just to raise that useless burden of a girl. What’s wrong with me taking a little back for my son so he isn’t bled dry by a woman like you?" Granny Zhang couldn’t help but cry foul, feeling immensely wronged. "We were living perfectly fine, but because of you, my eldest son kicked up a fuss about dividing the household! He went out in the middle of the night to build a thatched hut and split off from the family on his own! A perfectly good family, just torn apart like this!"

"Then go ahead and call the police on me. Let the police judge who really deserves to be arrested," Deng Yuyuan countered righteously. If leaving the family was a crime, then the first sinner was the old man, who had left the family by dying.

The Captain and the Village Head intervened, one trying to pacify Deng Yuyuan while the other reasoned with Granny Zhang. As fellow villagers who saw each other day in and day out, there was no need to make things so hostile.

Observing their placating attitudes, Granny Zhang’s eyes darted around, and her arrogance returned. "Fine, let her call the police! Let them decide!"

With the village officials present, Deng Yuyuan was merely trying to scare her. There was no way she would actually call the cops.

"Hey, hey, hey, let’s not be rash. Going to jail leaves a criminal record. It might not matter to you at your age, but what if it ruins your grandson’s chances of finding a job?" the Captain urged.

Hearing this, Granny Zhang felt even more reassured. For her daughter’s sake, Deng Yuyuan wouldn’t dare make the call—after all, she was Tuantuan’s biological grandmother!

But Deng Yuyuan wasn’t falling for it. Even if others might hesitate out of fear of collateral damage, she was not one to second-guess herself. Granny Zhang might not care about Deng Yuyuan’s daughter, but she certainly cared about her own grandson. It was just a matter of who could out-bluff whom.

Right in front of everyone, Deng Yuyuan dialed the three-digit number. "Hello, is this the police? I am a resident of Dazhang Village. I saved someone’s life and was rewarded with a wristwatch worth ten thousand yuan, but another villager robbed me of it. Could you tell me if you can handle this matter?"

"If the situation is true, since the watch is valued at ten thousand yuan, it meets the standard for a ’huge amount’ and constitutes aggravated snatch theft. If the other party used violence, coercion, or other methods during the act—such as shoving or threatening you—it constitutes robbery, which carries a much heavier penalty. Jail time starts at a minimum of three years and goes up to a maximum of ten, and it will impact their next three generations."

Hearing her description and noting that she was from Dazhang Village, the policeman recalled the recent heads-up from his superiors. He figured someone was just jealous of a Good Samaritan making a huge profit. When it came to disputes between villagers, unless weapons and blood were involved, it was difficult to make immediate arrests. Standard protocol was to contact village officials for mediation first.

Often, when villagers called the police over conflicts, it was simply because the other party was acting too shamelessly, without any intention of forging a lifelong feud. When Deng Yuyuan made the call, her voice possessed a rare calmness, completely devoid of bone-deep hatred or terror. Clearly, this was a situation that called for courtesy before force.

By intentionally exaggerating the severity and consequences over the phone, he hoped to intimidate the offending villager. If they repented in time, a minor punishment would serve as a major warning. But if they remained stubborn, their only option would be to enjoy some jailhouse tea.

Upon hearing these words, Granny Zhang’s face drained of color. "This is a family matter! How can it be robbery? It is perfectly justified for a mother-in-law to take her daughter-in-law’s things! Even the police can’t... can’t interfere with that, right?"

"Even among family members, you cannot arbitrarily take another person’s belongings," the policeman advised through the phone. "Not only is it still an illegal act, but it will also drive a wedge between relatives and turn you into a laughingstock for outsiders."

The village officials kept silent, well aware that these two were no longer family. If they stated the truth, they feared Granny Zhang would cause a bigger scene. If they urged Deng Yuyuan to endure it, they might gladly receive a tight slap themselves. They decided to wait and see if the police could resolve it first; if not, they would brace themselves and step in.

"She is not my mother-in-law. Her son and I are already divorced," Deng Yuyuan said.

"An ex-mother-in-law does not constitute a familial relationship. Comrade, has she returned your wristwatch? If not, we will depart immediately to make an arrest."

Deng Yuyuan cast a dark, piercing look at Granny Zhang.

Granny Zhang was backed into a corner. She absolutely loathed the idea of being manhandled by her daughter-in-law in front of so many people again, but this was about going to prison!

"If I go to jail, will this watch be mine?" she asked the Village Head.

The Village Head shook his head in utter speechlessness.

"Mom!" The door was flung open from the outside, and a travel-worn Zhang Jiahua burst into the room.

"Son!" To Granny Zhang, he was like a savior descending from heaven. "Your wife wants to throw me in jail!"

"Why are you taking Yuanyuan’s things? Give them back." Zhang Jiahua’s face was etched with profound exhaustion. "I’ve found a job. I will provide for you myself, isn’t that enough?"