Chapter 68: Village Elementary School?

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Village Elementary School?

"It’s not enough to just have me. We need an educated person to help pick a nice name," Zhang Guolin said with a smile, looking at Gou Ya. Standing next to Deng Yuyuan, Gou Ya looked like a dark, plain, and rustic little duckling. However, Zhang Guolin had a sharp eye; he could tell at a glance that the little girl was a beauty in the making, just yet to blossom.

Gou Ya hid behind Deng Yuyuan, looking at the old man with her big, soulful eyes. She was shy but not afraid of him. Realizing that Zhang Guolin was observing her, she even offered a well-behaved, subtle smile.

"The second matter is about Gou Ya’s background," Deng Yuyuan said, her sharp gaze sweeping across the crowd, lingering especially on the men.

The village chief’s interest was piqued, though he couldn’t quite believe Deng Yuyuan would be so bold. "Go on."

"Everyone knows that Gou Ya’s father is unknown. Because of this, after her mother passed away, she could only be given to her uncle or her mother’s relatives to be raised."

Deng Yuyuan spoke calmly about Gou Ya’s painful past. Gou Ya lowered her head right on cue, but she didn’t feel much sorrow in her heart. Instead, she was filled with the sweetness of being cared for and cherished, as Aunt Deng was secretly rubbing her shoulder in silent comfort.

"So, if her father doesn’t step forward today, before it gets dark, we will assume Gou Ya has no father. He better not pop up out of nowhere to claim her when she’s grown up, married, or working.

"If he does, I will sue him for child abandonment. That’s a crime punishable by jail time. Furthermore, the child has the right to refuse to support her parents. Everyone here is a witness. We’ll see which shameless scoundrel dares to come out and bully a pitiful little girl then."

"Well said!" someone in the crowd cheered, and the others eagerly voiced their agreement.

"The poor girl has indeed suffered. If someone actually does that, he’s no man at all. He’d be worse than a eunuch."

"Player, there is no such law at this time," the system’s voice chimed in.

"I know. I’m betting that they are completely oblivious to the law," Deng Yuyuan thought.

Deng Yuyuan revealed a satisfied smile. As long as she could buy Gou Ya a few more years of peace to grow up, it would be enough.

She didn’t believe that the ambitious, vicious female supporting character from the original novel would willingly stay in a small village once she gained power. Once Deng Yuyuan established herself, she would bring Gou Ya over, provided the girl was willing.

By the time Gou Ya grew up and went to the city to make a living, even if her biological father in the village finally came to his senses, it would be difficult to find her. Plus, Gou Ya would have the ability to handle it herself.

Deng Yuyuan’s body suddenly stiffened. She realized a fact she had been completely ignoring: Gou Ya was also legally illiterate—and actually illiterate.

Compulsory education didn’t exist in this era, and Dazhang Village didn’t have its own primary school. Now that the college entrance examination was about to be restored, cultural restrictions would inevitably be relaxed. She needed to discuss this with the village chief. The children couldn’t go without an education; otherwise, they wouldn’t even be able to understand if they were being scammed on an employment contract in the future.

The village chief agreed to her request. If any man really did something so unconscionable, he, as the village chief, wouldn’t show any favoritism and would call the police immediately.

With the matter settled, Gou Ya grabbed the corner of Deng Yuyuan’s shirt, wanting to follow her back.

Deng Yuyuan gently held her hand, swung it lightly, and gave her a soft push toward her granduncle.

Gou Ya looked up in astonishment, tears welling in her eyes. There was a barely noticeable tremble in her voice. "Aunt Deng, do you not want me anymore?"

The tail end of her sentence drifted weakly into the air, lacking any weight, desperately hoping for a denial from the adult.

Deng Yuyuan bent down to meet Gou Ya at eye level. Looking earnestly into the girl’s eyes with her bright, radiant gaze, she made a solemn promise: "Aunt Deng will never abandon you, no matter what kind of child you are. It’s just like Uncle Zhang’s bicycle—if it’s broken, you just fix it. You don’t throw it away.

"But Aunt Deng will have to leave you for short periods of time, right? On the days when I’m not around, I hope you and your granduncle can get along harmoniously. Take this opportunity to go over and see if you can adapt to living at his house. If you can’t, Aunt Deng will figure out another way."

Gou Ya was a very sensible child. She had long understood that Deng Yuyuan couldn’t raise her for her entire life, but the news came too suddenly, catching her completely off guard.

Because Deng Yuyuan had given her some buffer time in advance, she didn’t break down into loud sobs.

Reluctantly letting go of Deng Yuyuan’s shirt, Gou Ya asked, the corners of her eyes still red, "Then can I still come to see you?"

"Of course," Deng Yuyuan nodded. "I’ll be waiting for you to come back and sleep with me tonight."

Gou Ya broke into a smile through her tears. She walked over and voluntarily hooked her arm through her granduncle’s, wanting to support him as he walked.

The old man glanced at the short little girl and told her that holding hands would suffice—he was still hale and hearty, after all.

Deng Yuyuan stayed behind at the village chief’s house to discuss the recent policy changes from above. She pointed out that there would undoubtedly be married educated youths who were unwilling to leave. With the funds from the watches added in back then, the village’s finances were still plentiful. Establishing a village primary school would face little resistance but have a massive impact.

Currently, children in the village who wanted to study could only be sent to the town, which was expensive and highly unsafe. Many children simply ran wild at home until they grew up; being able to count a few numbers and write their own names was already considered quite good.

"The children can’t possibly end up like their ancestors, digging for food in the dirt generation after generation," Deng Yuyuan sighed.

Thousands of years of history had proven that education was the greatest opportunity for children from farming families to rise above the rest.

"Rest assured, I’m already considering this matter," the village chief said, looking at her. "If the village primary school is successfully established, would you be willing to come and teach?"

Deng Yuyuan smiled faintly. "I can come and volunteer to teach for a while, but not long-term. After all, I won’t be living here in the future."

"It’s good to go out into the world. It’s good," the village chief repeated twice. "Over the past two years, my youngest son must have caused you a lot of trouble, hasn’t he?"

Deng Yuyuan didn’t reply. Lowering her long eyelashes, she shook her head abruptly in the quiet silence.

The two exchanged a knowing smile, stood up, and bid each other farewell.

By the time Deng Yuyuan returned to the Knowledge Youth Institute, Tuantuan had also come back in Zhang Ci Hao’s car. The little girl was hugging a small bag of rice that was easily more than half her size.

Tuantuan staggered a bit as she walked, but she shook her head, firmly rejecting Zhang Ci Hao’s help, gritting her teeth to carry the rice inside all by herself.

Tuantuan was so moved by herself that she could almost cry! She was truly a mature little adult, choosing survival over toys.

After days of being treated differently at the dining table, Tuantuan had reflected on her painful experience. She finally understood why her mother was doing this: only Tuantuan was doing chores, while her mother wasn’t working. Therefore, there was only enough dinner for one person. Since her mother was an adult and had to prioritize herself, she could only let Tuantuan eat the ugly food she had made herself.

But now, Tuantuan had money! She had bought a big bag of rice! Tuantuan could finally eat white rice too!

Unable to just stand by and watch, Deng Yuyuan grabbed a corner of the bag to help lighten Tuantuan’s load.

"Why did you buy rice? This kind of rice doesn’t taste as good as the one at home," Deng Yuyuan said. The rice they ate at the Knowledge Youth Institute was all exchanged from her farming game system; it was much tastier than the rice from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Upon hearing this, Tuantuan angrily put her hands on her hips. Deng Yuyuan quickly pulled the bag up to prevent it from dropping onto the ground.