Chapter 40: Aunt Liu

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Aunt Liu

Deng Yuyuan had carefully selected this escape route.

Passing a crossroad, vaulting over a wall, passing another crossroad, jumping over a wall and then jumping right back, switching to another wall and jumping over... As long as she kept her distance, she could shake her tail by simply breaking their line of sight.

The man in black, wearing sunglasses and a hat, stared blankly at the three walls in front of him. He carefully inspected the footprints on the walls, only to find traces on all three.

He wondered if his target wasn’t just a middle-aged woman. How could she be so agile? Or was he really just that out of shape? Lost in thought, the man in black pondered if they could have an effective conversation next time. It seemed he couldn’t approach the person involved directly; he needed to take a roundabout approach.

Taking off her jacket and disguise, she couldn’t just casually toss them away this time. Deng Yuyuan turned the jacket inside out, bundled everything into a package, and slung it over her shoulder. After leaving the town, she found a deserted country dirt path and burned them.

She complained inwardly. Why was it that her farming game clearly had extra inventory slots, yet she couldn’t put her own physical belongings in them?!

[Because we are a farming game, not a spatial storage system.]

Arriving back in the village, she caught the villagers just finishing their lunch break and heading to work. After exchanging a few greetings and learning that Deng Yuyuan had gone to town for lunch again, they couldn’t help but show envious expressions.

"She really is a lazy woman. Eating and drinking like that every day, even the biggest family fortune would be eaten away."

"I think Granny Zhang is the one who’s truly going to live a good life. I heard she gets several yuan a month now, all from her eldest son’s salary."

"Wouldn’t Deng Yuyuan die of regret if she knew? Her husband makes so much money every month, and she doesn’t get to spend a dime of it."

"That’s not necessarily true. After all, more than half of the salary goes to Granny Zhang. Even if it reached his wife’s hands, how much would be left?" Deng Yuyuan argued with a beaming smile.

The villager was about to retort, but upon turning around and seeing Deng Yuyuan’s face, they turned pale with fright. Chuckling awkwardly and murmuring a few words of agreement, the group quickly scattered.

When they regrouped later, they still had lingering fears, acting rather jumpy. However, as they resumed chatting and thought about Deng Yuyuan mentioning the salary being handed over, they couldn’t help but agree that she made a fair point. Still, as the old saying goes, once the mother-in-law died, the salary wouldn’t need to be handed over anymore, and wouldn’t she be able to live a good life then?!

When it came to living one’s life, one had to take the long view. You couldn’t just look at a fleeting moment; you had to look at a lifetime.

"Why did you scare them like that?" Aunt Liu walked over and teased her.

Deng Yuyuan raised an eyebrow. "Just telling the truth, that’s all."

"Look at you." Aunt Liu tapped her on the head. "Living life with just the two of you might be a bit freer and happier, but lacking a grown man in the house just isn’t the same."

Aunt Liu began recounting her past blood, sweat, and tears—how difficult it was for a widow to raise a son. The only reason her bitter days had finally borne sweet fruit was that her son had grown up. But Deng Yuyuan didn’t have a son; how would she ever see the light at the end of the tunnel?

"For a man to do what Zhang Jiahua has done, he’s decent enough. Everyone says he’s filial, yet he’s willing to withstand Granny Zhang’s pressure to remarry for your sake, not even able to return home. He has you in his heart, he has a good salary on hand, and you have a strong personality. You wouldn’t lose out going up against Granny Zhang. Just ask for the salary back, and you young couple can raise the child. Wouldn’t life be comfortable then?

"I heard you two even discussed some kind of child support. But once his heart truly grows cold and he marries a new wife, if he stops giving you money, there’s nothing you can do about him, right?"

Deng Yuyuan shook her head. "That’s not true, Aunt Liu. It would be illegal for him not to give me the money."

Aunt Liu chuckled dismissively. "How would that be illegal? There were plenty of cases like this in the countryside before, and you never saw any of them get taken away. You can’t be blindly optimistic about some things."

"That’s because before the founding of the country, they couldn’t call the police. And after the founding, they forgot they could call the police."

Aunt Liu looked up, staring at her in shock, as if she were some heinous, venomous woman.

"But his salary really is quite a lot. He hands it over to Granny Zhang and even gives a portion to you so you’ll come over and persuade me," Deng Yuyuan said. "Don’t bother. Tell him to hurry up and find a new wife. Tell him to stop pining for me, it’s impossible."

"Sigh, you child, why are you so stubborn?" Aunt Liu grabbed her to stop her from leaving. This time, her words were much more sincere, and an uncontainable gossip-hungry gleam flickered in her eyes. "You keep refusing. Did you find your next match? Who is it?"

"I really haven’t. Aunt Liu, if you had ten yuan every month and you already had a child, would you want to find another man just to serve him?" Deng Yuyuan countered.

"That’s not how the logic works. Without a man of the house to act as a pillar, this family is incomplete..." Aunt Liu frowned, disapproving. In the next sentence, she took a sharp turn. "Where do you get that much money every month? Did that man you saved give it to you?"

"No, it’s my distant aunt—the one who returned from studying abroad. She heard I’d suffered so much and was willing to let some good things slip through her fingers for me." Deng Yuyuan rolled her eyes playfully. "Since it’s impossible to go without a husband at home, how about I find one for you, Aunt Liu?"

"How could I!" Aunt Liu jumped in fright, quickly recovering her wits. "A stepfather would definitely plot against my son. I can’t marry, I can’t marry. When it comes to husbands, the original is still the best!"

"Oh, but Zhang Jiahua doesn’t protect Tuantuan, so getting him back is useless anyway."

"How is that possible? He looks like someone who dotes on children."

Aunt Liu didn’t believe it, so Deng Yuyuan selectively recounted the events of the day they fought over the watch.

After hearing the story, Aunt Liu completely defected. "Tuantuan was crying, and he was still there going ’Mom, Mom, Mom’? Oh my, so old and still tied to his mother’s apron strings. What kind of marriage is that, honestly?"

Aunt Liu’s true bottom line was children; husbands only came second.

"Since leaving him, Tuantuan has become much livelier. Aunt Liu, if you have time, you really must come to the Knowledge Youth Institute to see her. She’s plump and fair, and you can tell at a glance that she’s full of good fortune."

Aunt Liu felt a bit embarrassed. Raising a child as a widow, her social circle was always narrow. In her early years, she used to borrow money from neighbors all the time and was always secretly looked down upon. She felt that Deng Yuyuan and she were of the same kind, which was why she had accepted the job of persuading her.

This was the first time in years she had been invited to see someone’s child. Everyone else thought she was bad luck.

"Can I really?" She widened her eyes, somewhat in disbelief.

"Of course you can! Tuantuan really loves playing with her aunties too."

Aunt Liu beamed with joy. "Zhang Jiahua gave me one yuan. I... I’ll use this money to buy Tuantuan a toy."

Deng Yuyuan hastily waved her hands. "One yuan?! A little child wouldn’t even know how to play with such an expensive toy. Keep it. Just buy yourself some nice clothes or good things. If you really want to give something, could you help make a few pieces of clothing for my Tuantuan?"

After bidding farewell to Deng Yuyuan, Aunt Liu’s steps became much lighter. She praised Deng Yuyuan’s goodness to everyone she met.

Her son found it extremely bizarre. "Did she feed you some sort of magic potion?"

Aunt Liu smacked her son on the back of the head and shot him a glare. "Don’t get too close to Zhang Jiahua in the future. It’ll get in the way of your mother making friends."