Chapter 55: I Came to Find Deng Zhiqing

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: I Came to Find Deng Zhiqing

Because the little boy was rescued in time that day, his life was saved, but he developed a slight stutter. Preliminary tests showed no cognitive issues, though given current medical standards, any underlying complications wouldn’t be discovered until he grew older.

Psychological trauma was hard to heal. The little boy still needed his family’s long-term companionship to step out of the shadows.

The Meng family helped cover the medical bills, but the rest of the expenses fell on their own shoulders. The child could not bear to be apart from adults at the moment, which meant an able-bodied worker had to stay behind to accompany him, inevitably affecting the work points they earned.

It was a time when they needed money at every turn. How could Deng Yuyuan bear to accept such a generous gift from them?

"I have already received the most important thank-you gift," Deng Yuyuan said, sweeping her gaze over the large crowd and revealing a faint smile. "I was isolated and helpless both inside and outside the village, relying solely on the selflessness of the village officials. But with you all showing up today, everyone now knows I am your benefactor. Anyone looking to cause trouble will have to weigh their options, knowing I have a large group of people backing me up.

"Go on back now. The child is still waiting for you at home."

Looking at the group, Deng Yuyuan saw both young and old. They were lined up neatly by family relations, which meant the child had likely been entrusted to a neighbor.

"Oh, right, one more thing." Deng Yuyuan stood up, hugged Tuantuan, and turned in a circle in front of everyone, making sure they memorized the little girl’s face. "This is my daughter."

She remembered that in the original novel, aside from kidnappers, there were also professional child traffickers. Having more people recognize Tuantuan’s face would be beneficial for her safety.

After all, the plot was no longer developing the way it originally did. Taking preventative measures was the most important thing.

The villagers of Dazhang Village couldn’t figure out for the life of them how Deng Yuyuan’s days were getting better and better. She had money and grain, and now she had a massive group of people backing her up. It was like night and day compared to when she was with Zhang Jiahua.

It was one thing for her to always find good things up in the mountains, but she even managed to rescue people. And both of those people were from incredibly wealthy families. Just like that, she easily and visibly struck it rich. According to insiders who had snooped around the village chief, she was given a full two hundred yuan for saving a life this time.

The only ordinary person she had saved happened to belong to a prominent, large clan in the neighboring village. From now on, if the villagers had a conflict with Deng Yuyuan and wanted to use their numbers to overwhelm her, they simply wouldn’t be able to.

They silently solidified one belief in their hearts: Zhang Jiahua and Deng Yuyuan simply jinxed each other when they were together.

After their divorce, the boy from the Zhang family had also found a good job. According to Granny Zhang, a city girl had even taken a fancy to him and chased after him every day. Although he wasn’t as wealthy as Deng Yuyuan, his method of making money was much more stable than hers.

Deng Yuyuan naturally had no idea the villagers’ imaginations were running so wild. The two of them had been apart and hadn’t bothered each other for a long time, yet people could still generate new gossip and relish talking about it.

One day, Deng Yuyuan did the rare thing of waking up early without leaving the house, bustling about in the kitchen instead.

She redeemed some baking soda from the farming game store and added it to a dough made of eggs, wheat flour, and milk. While waiting for the dough to ferment, she cracked eggs on the side, separating the egg whites from the yolks.

"You’re going to follow the old cliché of period novels and get rich by selling cakes?" the system asked.

Deng Yuyuan frowned in confusion. "Did you forget?"

"Forget what?"

"Today is the original owner’s birthday." Deng Yuyuan remembered it clearly. Her own birthday was on December 12th, while the original owner’s birthday was on December 11th. The orphanage from her past life would use the day a child was found or received as their birthday.

"So you can actually keep track of dates?" The AI customer service’s focus was entirely misplaced. "Then why did you buy New Year’s goods so far in advance? There are still nearly two months until the Spring Festival. You’re going to eat all the New Year’s goods you bought yourself."

Deng Yuyuan flashed a playful, toothy smile. "Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to."

When her cravings hit, she could at least find an excuse to coax herself into buying snacks. She was already exercising a lot of restraint.

Deng Yuyuan used her muscular arms to strenuously whip up a batch of meringue as an affordable substitute for whipped cream. She waited for the sponge cake in the pot to finish steaming. The cake she made was huge, ensuring everyone would get a large slice.

"Actually, the original owner didn’t celebrate this birthday," the AI noted. "She celebrated on December 12th; that was the birthday the orphanage set for her."

Deng Yuyuan paused. She hadn’t expected to share such a deep connection with the original owner. There was a reason the original owner had weak family ties: she was a child her family had found and brought back later in life. By the time the family reunited, the original owner was already older, naturally leading to an estrangement between her and her relatives.

Her fists clenched as a burst of furious anger washed over her. "Then why didn’t you say so earlier? You only reminded me after I finished making it."

"To watch you make a fool of yourself."

Fine. Oh, she was so furious! The AI customer service had better pray it never gained a physical body in its lifetime. If there ever came a way to purchase a physical body for it, she would be the first to buy one, just so she could beat it up every single day.

"The original owner didn’t celebrate her birthday anyway, so do whatever you want."

Deng Yuyuan cut the steamed sponge cake into small cubes, making paperless cupcakes. She garnished the tops with the meringue cream and sunflower seeds.

"How can that be? I’ll just make it again tomorrow." It would be nice to share these little cakes with the neighbors. They had sewn new clothes for Tuantuan, and Deng Yuyuan still hadn’t brought over a thank-you gift.

"Birthdays are still very important. Hey, I’ll make two birthday cakes tomorrow—one for me and one for the original owner."

"That’s so weird. You’d be better off making one birthday cake and one bowl of longevity noodles. It wouldn’t arouse as much suspicion."

"If AI could reproduce, you’d only be allowed to have one child," Deng Yuyuan lectured, diving into her parenting philosophy. "It’s not the lack of things that causes trouble, but the unequal distribution. When two people are celebrating a birthday, it’s best to prepare two identical things rather than trying to be fancy by making different things for them to choose from.

"Doing that makes it too easy to start a fight." Deng Yuyuan nodded, satisfied with her own conclusion.

"The person is already gone, and you’re still trying to coax her?"

"Just for a clear conscience."

After a long while, Deng Yuyuan suddenly heard a sentence echo in her mind. "If the original owner had met you first, perhaps she wouldn’t have been so dead set on Zhang Jiahua."

"Then she would be dead set on chasing down a Daoist to exorcise ghosts."

"..."

Deng Yuyuan handed out the little cupcakes to the educated youths and Gou Ya. Just as she opened the door, she saw a familiar young woman standing outside. It was the girl she had encountered at the black market last time, the one standing next to Zhang Jiahua.

A flash of amazement and pure admiration crossed the young woman’s eyes. She wondered how there could be such a refined beauty in a rural village.

Deng Yuyuan took the initiative to hand the girl a cupcake, kindly reminding her, "Who are you looking for? This is the Knowledge Youth Institute, you know." She knew that Zhang Jiahua wasn’t here.

The young woman accepted the cake and expressed her thanks in pleasant surprise. Her face flushed, and her original imposing aura diminished significantly. "Hello, I’m looking for Deng Yuyuan at the Knowledge Youth Institute."

"Eh?" Deng Yuyuan tilted her head. "But Deng Zhiqing just left. She usually doesn’t come back until the afternoon. If you need anything, I can pass on a message."