Chapter 60: This Little Booger Is Really Cute

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: This Little Booger Is Really Cute

The crowd erupted in even louder discussions.

"A two-story house?! Does the Zhang family’s eldest son’s job pay that well?"

"Maybe. I heard Granny Zhang mention something about year-end bonuses before."

"Deng Zhiqing, you were supposed to have a share of that two-story house."

The village chief’s wife coughed heavily. "Anyone who wants to fan the flames can get out. Don’t force me to scold you during the New Year."

Deng Yuyuan casually played with the golden lock hanging around Tuantuan’s neck and replied offhandedly, "Would you want this kind of blessing for your own daughter?"

Tuantuan was already a rare chubby baby in the village. The golden lock was surprisingly as big as her fist, and the chain was thick. Her strong, chubby little hands, plump as lotus roots, pulled at the golden lock around her neck, making onlookers tremble in fear that the chain might snap. Hearing the suggestion of giving this "blessing" to their own daughters, the gossiper immediately fell silent.

Although the Zhang family was now the first in the village to build a two-story house, apart from families looking to sell their daughters for money, ordinary people truly couldn’t bear to let their daughters live a life that looked glamorous on the outside but was full of suffering on the inside. The two-story house would mostly be built using Zhang Jiahua’s wages, yet the entire family would live together. Granny Zhang had already told the neighbors that she and her eldest son would live on the first floor for her retirement convenience, while her youngest son’s family would live on the second floor.

A biased mother-in-law, a younger brother who leeched off his older brother, and an older brother who talked a good game but was actually cowardly—this family was truly a nightmare to deal with. Even if a tough and unreasonable daughter-in-law married in, with a husband who sided with outsiders and a couple that wasn’t united, she would still end up doing the most work while getting the least.

Faced with the familiar silence, Deng Yuyuan understood completely. It seemed that Zhang Jiahua’s share of this two-story house would be minuscule.

"The little golden lock belongs solely to Tuantuan, and that two-story house has absolutely nothing to do with us." Deng Yuyuan held Tuantuan and smiled radiantly. Her plump apple cheeks lifted into a perfect curve, and the happiness in her eyes couldn’t be faked.

What she didn’t know was that the two-story house actually did have something to do with her. All the potential matches arranged for Zhang Jiahua had fallen through. Granny Zhang was constantly mocked by the neighbors for driving away a good daughter-in-law, saying her eldest son would end up a bachelor.

She didn’t dote on her eldest son, but she cared deeply about face. Living in this world was all about fighting for one’s pride. Besides, with her eldest son working in town, she had broadened her horizons, and she had more money in her hands. To build a two-story house, her private savings combined with her eldest son’s advanced wages would be enough to get it done.

At first, no one understood Granny Zhang’s actions.

"A two-story house? Mom, we have enough room to live in right now. Why not save the money for Xiaobao’s future marriage?" her younger daughter-in-law asked, holding Xiaobao, completely baffled.

With the eldest brother moving out to live in a thatched cottage, this big house was solidly going to belong to the second son’s family. It was more than enough for a large family to live in. Since they lived with their mother, her husband could coax her private savings out of her. But if they built a two-story house, the eldest brother would definitely move back in. That meant one more person and another rival fighting for the property.

Zhang Jiahua also didn’t understand his mother’s move. But on second thought, he assumed it must be because he rarely came home; his mother had remembered his good qualities, couldn’t bear to be without him, and yet couldn’t swallow her pride, so she was using a roundabout way to get him to return.

His heart, which had been like a pool of stagnant water, no longer expecting any familial love, suddenly came alive again. He was moved to tears. As soon as Granny Zhang asked, he took out all his savings and even went to his superior to ask for an advance on his wages. Unfortunately, since he was now working in town, he couldn’t go home to help build the house.

The second son’s family still wanted to object, but Granny Zhang gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Your oldest brother is paying for it. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the benefits."

With Granny Zhang overcoming all objections, the house-building plan was finalized for right after the New Year. Once it was built, they would throw a grand housewarming banquet and then quickly marry off Zhang Jiahua to a virgin girl.

"A grand banquet?!" Zhang Jia Shu circled around his mother. "Why spend that unnecessary money? Wouldn’t it be better to save it and buy food for ourselves? Besides, Xiaobao is still young. We’ll need money for a lot of things in the future."

Granny Zhang lightly smacked him. "What do you know! Everyone in the village is laughing at our family right now, saying we drove away a money tree and that our family brings bad luck to her! Just listen to that—is that acceptable? We have to do this in grand style to completely overshadow Deng Yuyuan."

Zhang Jia Shu couldn’t understand his mother making such a huge fuss just for the sake of face, but since he wouldn’t have to spend a single penny and would get a new house to live in, he held back his wife who wanted to argue further. Following Granny Zhang’s tune, he said, "Mom still sees the big picture. You have a backbone. We can always earn more money later, but we can’t let that petty villain gloat."

Hearing her youngest son’s words, Granny Zhang felt a bit more comfortable. She glared at Zhang Jiahua. "It’s all the fault of that troublesome wife of yours!"

Hearing the word "wife," Zhang Jiahua’s heart, which had been blinded by familial affection, suddenly cleared a bit. "Mom, can you return ten yuan to me?" He still hadn’t paid Tuantuan’s child support.

"Ten yuan?!" Granny Zhang glared at him fiercely. "Why don’t you go rob someone!" She was already in pain over subsidizing the house construction, and now her ignorant eldest son was making exorbitant demands.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Jiahua had to borrow ten yuan from a friend.

It was this very friend who, on the second day of the Lunar New Year at the village chief’s house, ran into a comfortably living Deng Yuyuan. Thinking of his impoverished best buddy and wanting to stand up for his friend, he brought up the fact that Zhang Jiahua’s family was building a two-story house, intending to make this bewitching female educated youth regret her choices.

He scoffed inwardly. A single woman raising a child and managing to get her this chubby—who knew if some wild man was secretly supporting them. Looking again at Tuantuan’s soft, bouncy little cheeks as she hugged her milk bottle and happily drank from it on her own, the man coldly snorted. "Even a pig doesn’t eat as much as she does."

Tuantuan heard this. Tuantuan caught the keywords.

She put down her milk bottle and responded with an especially loud babble. Generously, she offered her milk bottle in the man’s direction, opening her mouth wide to reveal sweet dimples and pink gums. Tuantuan’s baby brain couldn’t yet process human sarcasm. Her mother was always calling her a little pig, and now this man was saying "pig" and talking about her eating, so she thought she was being praised.

The man was completely flustered by her reaction. Under the condemning glares of everyone present, he awkwardly pushed the milk bottle back toward her mouth. "You go ahead and eat. I won’t eat it."

"Ah! Ah!" Tuantuan pushed the bottle back. *No need to be polite, it’s Tuantuan’s treat!*

"No, no, Uncle really won’t eat it." In his panic, the man grasped her soft, boneless little hand. It was entirely made of squishy flesh, so soft that he didn’t dare exert any force, genuinely afraid he might leave a red mark or hurt Tuantuan.

He couldn’t help but think that this little thing really was quite cute.

He didn’t dare look at Deng Yuyuan. He clumsily helped Tuantuan adjust her drinking posture, then thought for a moment before fishing out the spoils of his morning of visiting houses—a large handful of candies, peanuts, and melon seeds—and placing them on Tuantuan’s round, bulging belly.

"Here... hold onto these, Tuantuan, and eat them when you get home," he said. The man then stood up and quickly left, completely forgetting that a child this young couldn’t even eat those things.

"Quick, quick, gather them up," the village chief’s wife urged Deng Yuyuan. But Zhang Ci Hao ran over a step ahead of her.

He used a handkerchief to wrap up all the snacks, wiped Tuantuan’s clothes, and checked both of her hands to make sure she hadn’t secretly grabbed any.