Chapter 44: Your Eldest Daughter?

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Your Eldest Daughter?

The village head’s wife rolled her eyes and handed her youngest son a bowl of hot water. "Can you eat a little slower? You’re embarrassing yourself in front of the child. I don’t even want to sit with you anymore."

"No. COUGH COUGH! Mom, look over at Comrade Deng Yuyuan."

The village head’s wife glanced over and immediately felt something was off. If Deng Yuyuan was truly having a fit of goodwill, it wouldn’t be good if she got entangled with *her*.

Gou Ya’s uncle and aunt hadn’t been willing to take her in at first. It was Gou Ya’s grandmother who had forced their hand by threatening suicide—after losing her intellectually disabled daughter, she finally had an awakening and decided to treat her daughter’s daughter a little better.

Once, one of the village women had taken pity on Gou Ya and given her a few bites of food. The very next day, the girl was dragged to her doorstep by her relatives, who told the woman to just take her home and raise the child herself. The village head’s wife dared to offer relief because she knew those relatives wouldn’t dare cause a scene at the village head’s home.

But Deng Yuyuan was a different story. Even with her strong personality, ruining relations with the villagers over an orphan simply wasn’t worth it. Besides, the girl had a peculiar temperament and might not even remember Deng Yuyuan’s kindness.

The village head’s wife approached, finally hearing what the two were up to.

"Your voice isn’t sweet enough. Beg again."

"Sister Deng, I’m begging you. Please give me a bite to eat. I can help you with chores." Gou Ya stood at attention like a soldier. Her voice was as hoarse as a duck’s quack, yet she was trying her absolute best to sound delicate and sweet.

"What ’Sister Deng’?" Deng Yuyuan stood there with her arms crossed, lifting her chin.

Gou Ya froze on the spot, wondering what she meant by that. Her hands anxiously twisted together in front of her stomach as she stared down at the ground.

Deng Yuyuan was forced to give her a hint. "Praise me."

"The prettiest Sister Deng," Gou Ya whispered, looking up.

"Louder! Say the whole thing!"

"The prettiest Sister Deng, I’m begging you, please give me a little food to eat. I can help you with chores."

Deng Yuyuan reluctantly approved of this sentence. She took the girl to eat two steamed corn buns, washed her hands clean, and then lay back down in the courtyard, thoroughly enjoying the leg massage Gou Ya gave her.

One had a look of pure enjoyment, while the other, long accustomed to the strange gazes of onlookers, massaged with intense focus. Tuantuan lay in her mother’s arms, clumsily mimicking Gou Ya. Her little hands pressed here and there on her mother’s thighs, tickling Deng Yuyuan.

The village head’s wife twitched her lips. Whatever, let her mess around. She would learn her lesson once she suffered the consequences.

After work that afternoon, the children were all picked up by their parents, while Gou Ya was escorted back by the village head’s wife.

Come dinnertime, a knock sounded at the door of the Knowledge Youth Institute. The knocking wasn’t loud, clearly betraying the person’s hesitation. The door knocker lightly bumped against the wooden planks from time to time, producing a series of soft THUDS.

"[Go open the door.]"

Deng Yuyuan sauntered over. Standing outside the door was a tiny little squirt.

"The prettiest, prettiest, prettiest Sister Deng, can you take me in for one night?" The little squirt’s voice was still grating to the ears. Her toes were cramped awkwardly inside her worn, hole-ridden shoes.

Deng Yuyuan looked at her faintly. "Sure."

The little girl breathed a sigh of relief and handed her a one-yuan bill.

Deng Yuyuan took it in confusion. It was real, alright. "Where did this come from?"

"My uncle’s. I just grabbed it." Gou Ya’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

"Alright, this is your medical fee." Deng Yuyuan had just been thinking about finding time to take Gou Ya to the town hospital. This was a perfect opportunity dropping right into her lap.

Gou Ya was confused, but Gou Ya didn’t ask.

She was fed leftover fish soup and white rice, and she slept in the storage room. But compared to her previous life, this was practically heaven. After shooing Gou Ya into the storage room, Deng Yuyuan briefly explained her situation to the other educated youths, promising that she would take full responsibility.

The educated youths thought, "Yu Yuan—Sister Yu Yuan—is truly so kind-hearted!"

They nodded in agreement. They understood. As the saying goes, a mother can’t bear to see other children suffer.

After eating, Gou Ya proactively went to wash the dishes. Deng Yuyuan checked to make sure she hadn’t licked the plates before walking away.

Back in her bedroom, she played with the one-yuan bill. "Customer Service, tell me, should I teach her a lesson about not stealing?"

No one answered her. Deng Yuyuan tucked the bill away. "I’ll talk to her about it if she steals again. But hey, what if she steals from her uncle’s house again next time? Should I say something then?"

"[None of your business.]"

Those four words effectively shut Deng Yuyuan up.

When Deng Yuyuan woke up the next day, breakfast had already been simmered, the stove wiped down, and the floor swept spotless. The hardworking little Gou Ya, like a fairy housekeeper, sat on the threshold, quietly zoning out.

Little Gou Ya was truly trying her hardest not to be abandoned.

Deng Yuyuan decided to lie back down and go to sleep, leaving Gou Ya’s hard work on full display for the other educated youths to see. Sure enough, upon witnessing all this, the thoughts in the youths’ minds underwent a massive shift.

The educated youths thought, "Yu Yuan—Sister Yu Yuan—is truly so wise!"

For the educated youths at the Knowledge Youth Institute, who currently didn’t have to worry about food or clothing, giving up an extra bite of food to have most of their chores handled was an absolute steal. Plus, they were solving a child’s survival crisis in the process.

After asking for Gou Ya’s opinion, the educated youths drew up a chore roster and added her to the rotation. She would work every other day, with the youths filling in the gaps. In exchange, they would cover her room and board.

Meanwhile, Deng Yuyuan took Gou Ya to the village head’s home to borrow an ox cart, then brought her into town for a checkup.

Gou Ya still didn’t know what was happening, assuming Deng Yuyuan just needed help carrying things. It was only when they entered the hospital that she realized something was off. Even then, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was—after all, she couldn’t read and had never been to a clinic or hospital before.

Deng Yuyuan registered her at the pediatrics department. Under the doctor’s condemning gaze, she calmly explained that this was someone else’s child whom she had essentially kidnapped to get medical treatment. She then requested that the doctor issue a medical diagnosis proving the child was in poor health, which she could use to wrestle custody away from her relatives. At the very least, she wanted to sever their legal ties so the child wouldn’t be forced to provide for her abusers in their old age after being raised so horribly.

"...What exactly is your relationship with this child? Are you her stepmother?" the doctor asked, struggling to conjure an explanation from her words.

"No, we just met yesterday."

"Complete strangers?" the doctor asked.

Deng Yuyuan nodded.

The doctor gave her a knowing look. "Go register the child for internal medicine to get another look. And while you’re at it, don’t just stand there—go get your head checked at the neurology department."

Well, that doctor was certainly quite rude.

It wasn’t until she entered the internal medicine department that she realized she was dealing with an acquaintance. Fang Zhongwen was a bit surprised to see Deng Yuyuan. When he noticed Gou Ya, his voice turned hoarse. "Is this your eldest daughter?"

He hadn’t expected her other child to be this old, nor for her to be as frail and gaunt as Deng Yuyuan had been back then. He wondered how her child could still be living like this if she had gotten divorced. Her complexion had indeed improved significantly. Perhaps they had initially agreed to take one child each, and she had brought the girl back after discovering her ex-husband wasn’t raising her well?

A single woman raising two girls—life was bound to be incredibly difficult. She truly was a great and resilient mother. In truth, he wasn’t yet prepared to raise two daughters, but if Deng Yuyuan needed him to, he was willing to try.

Seeing his strange gaze, Deng Yuyuan guessed right away that she was being misunderstood again.