Chapter 35: Poaching

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Poaching

Before leaving, the police officers exchanged a glance with the village chief and spoke with Deng Yuyuan in hushed tones for a moment. "Considering this is a first offense and the victim has agreed to a settlement, we’ll give you a lighter sentence for disturbing the social order. Five days in jail."

"What social order? I don’t even know what that is, so how could I have disturbed it?" Granny Zhang loudly cried foul.

"Enough. Someone in prison will explain it to you," the policeman intimidated her. "There’s ideological education every day. If you fail your ideological correction, you’ll have to stay a few extra days."

Granny Zhang fell perfectly silent.

As they watched the police take her away, everyone prepared to head back to their respective homes. Since it was working hours, there hadn’t been many onlookers to begin with.

Deng Yuyuan handed the wristwatch to the village chief. He looked at her in confusion.

"I want to... donate this watch to the village. Just consider it my contribution, so things might be more convenient in the future."

Tuantuan’s eyes tracked the wristwatch’s movement. Seeing her mother give it away, she didn’t fuss. Nestled against her mother’s chest, she mumbled words that only she could understand, even clapping for herself whenever she got excited.

The village chief smiled bitterly. "You’ve really handed me quite the dilemma." This hot potato had been tossed right into his lap. However, a massive leap in the village’s economy would far outweigh the trouble of fending off prying eyes. It was just that he probably wouldn’t have a moment of peace for the rest of the year. Sigh, time to prove he was still going strong in his old age.

Zhang Jiahua suddenly reached out, grabbing Deng Yuyuan’s wrist before she could pull it back. Deng Yuyuan looked up at him in confusion. Under the room’s dim lighting, Zhang Jiahua’s normally upright and dignified face appeared somewhat gloomy as his brows furrowed. The two of them were locked in a sudden stalemate.

"Zhang Jiahua, what are you doing? You’re divorced, so act like it! Are you really going to stop her from leaving?"

Zhang Jiahua ignored the voice. He carefully traced Deng Yuyuan’s features with his eyes. Having not seen her for over a month, she had become plumper and even more beautiful, radiating a sense of happiness that usually only belonged on vintage wall posters.

"Why?" His tone was flat, blending pain and guilt together.

Deng Yuyuan glanced down at Tuantuan, who was zoning out in her own little world. "What?"

"Why did you target my mother?" He finally mustered the courage to say it out loud. "I know our family wronged you, but why did you have to be so ruthless? Did you really have to get her arrested?"

"I don’t recall holding a knife to your mother’s neck to force her to steal it." Deng Yuyuan avoided his gaze, looking down at her wrist instead. "Let go."

As their eyes met again, nothing remained but sheer disappointment.

"Brother Jiahua, let go! Mr. Deng’s wrist is turning red from your grip!" Zhang Ci Hao anxiously stepped in, trying to pry his hand away.

Zhang Jiahua looked at Deng Yuyuan and the baby in her arms. Neither the adult nor the child was looking at him. Finally, he slowly let go.

"Right, you didn’t force her. But since you were going to donate it to the village anyway, what would it have mattered if my mother held onto it for a few days?"

SMACK!

Deng Yuyuan slapped him hard across the face, asking coldly, "Are you awake now?"

Zhang Jiahua raised a trembling hand to cup his cheek, staring at her in absolute disbelief.

The doctor, who had been trying to make himself invisible, quickly found an excuse to get busy. He walked briskly to grab an ice pack, offering it to Zhang Jiahua. He was no good at breaking up fights, but he was an expert at treating injuries. Then again, this clinic was supposed to be his home turf...

Several sturdy men exchanged wide-eyed glances, grimacing at the village chief as if asking whether they should intervene. The village chief was deep in thought. On the one hand, he was trying to figure out how to persuade Zhang Jiahua to realize his place; on the other hand, he was afraid his youngest son would be far too thrilled by all this.

In the heavy silence, a round of seal-like applause suddenly rang out. In her mother’s arms, Tuantuan clumsily imitated her mother. She clapped her hands, then patted her own little face, making her two chubby cheeks jiggle in the air—JIGGLE, JIGGLE.

"Tuantuan is so strong."

Deng Yuyuan’s casual praise made the baby ecstatic. Resting her chin on her hands, Tuantuan smiled sweetly in her mother’s embrace. She turned her little head this way and that. When she spotted Zhao Erdong and Zhang Ci Hao, she eagerly demonstrated her new trick all over again. The tense, hostile atmosphere among the adults did nothing to dampen the baby’s independent cuteness.

"How long are you going to play dumb?" Deng Yuyuan rolled her eyes at him. "You claimed you would take good care of me and Tuantuan, but in reality? You cower submissively in front of your mother, yet you strike out heavily at us. Has your brain truly degenerated to the point where you can’t distinguish right from wrong?"

The man before her had red-rimmed eyes from agitation, completely forgetting that he was the one at fault. It truly boggled Deng Yuyuan’s mind that such a piece of work actually existed in this world.

Without waiting for a reply, Deng Yuyuan turned and left with the child, leaving behind nothing but a cold silhouette. Zhao Erdong took charge of the aftermath, slamming the door right in Zhang Jiahua’s face before he could give chase.

Zhang Ci Hao quickly stepped up and grabbed Zhang Jiahua’s arm. "Brother Jiahua, just let it go. You were definitely in the wrong this time. Don’t bother Comrade Deng Yuyuan anymore. She’s been busy all morning and really ought to go back and get some proper rest."

Zhang Jiahua turned back to look at his good friend, his gaze sweeping past the lingering village chief and brigade captain. A fire was still burning fiercely in his chest, making him lose his usual good temper. "When we were in town, you said you would help me. So why is it that after coming back, you’ve been doing everything you can to hover around Yuanyuan?"

"Isn’t that exactly how I’m helping you? If I perform well, it makes you look good too," Zhang Ci Hao explained.

Zhang Jiahua spoke without thinking, "Are you helping me, or are you trying to replace me?"

Zhang Ci Hao dropped Zhang Jiahua’s arm, staring at him with wide eyes in absolute disbelief. He pointed at himself. "Brother, what kind of blind suspicions are you making? Am I that kind of person? If I wasn’t helping you, why would I be putting in so much effort?"

The village chief silently grabbed the brigade captain, who was attempting to slip away.

"Oh, you put in effort, all right! The child doesn’t even recognize me, her own father, but she recognizes you! When you were helping to take care of the kid, were you really thinking of me?!" Zhang Jiahua grew increasingly furious just looking at his foolish expression.

"Then why didn’t you go take care of Fubao?"

"That’s because I felt a connection with Tuantuan! Besides, when she was first born, she looked like a fragile little kitten, not chubby and fair like Fubao..." Zhang Ci Hao tried to explain.

What was going on in his mind? It was Deng Yuyuan, who would secretly feel tired while holding her child; Deng Yuyuan, who would lie in the shade of a tree to slack off; Deng Yuyuan, who was so dexterous she could carve wood; and the strong, gentle Deng Yuyuan who could handle any difficulty thrown her way...

It was Deng Yuyuan, who clearly didn’t know how to take care of a child but chose to shoulder the burden of the entire family anyway. It was Deng Yuyuan, who was clearly at a loss and terrified, yet forced herself to pretend to be calm. It was Deng Yuyuan, who noticed everyone around her and dared to love and hate openly.

And, of course, the adorable Tuantuan.

Zhang Ci Hao’s face flushed bright red. "Brother Jiahua, how can you be so overbearing? Just because I think about Comrade Deng Yuyuan for a moment, you assume I have romantic feelings for her!"

Zhang Jiahua was so furious his nose practically went crooked. He had treated Zhang Ci Hao as a good brother, yet this guy was poaching on his territory right under his nose.

"If you don’t like her, why are you thinking about her?!"

"I think about a lot of people! Just because I think about someone doesn’t mean I like them!" Zhang Ci Hao argued loudly.