Chapter 77: Getting Off the Train

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Getting Off the Train

Deng Yuyuan reflected on whether she had dressed Tuantuan too shabbily today.

The old couple waiting for the train nearby, who had also stepped aside to avoid the crowd, laughed heartily. The old woman cracked open a hickory nut, bent down, and tucked it into Tuantuan’s hand. "Let the child have it. As for the money, you and your daughter can just give it away to a beggar on the road later."

The two of them were dressed in decent satin fabrics. The man’s hair was already graying, and he held a briefcase, looking gentle and refined. The woman’s face bore the gentle lines left by time, radiating a generous and tender aura. They were a kind-looking elderly couple. Both exuded a deep, scholarly elegance from the inside out, with steady temperaments and warm, enduring gazes.

"If it was just a misunderstanding by a well-meaning stranger, then consider it passing on a good deed. But if it was a deliberate trick to separate you from your child—a diversionary tactic—then you’re incredibly lucky you didn’t chase after them."

The old woman watched Tuantuan obediently pop the hickory nut into her mouth and eat it. Then, she looked at Deng Yuyuan—whose face was covered except for her eyes—who was still standing there obliviously, waiting for her to continue. The old woman spoke with pointed meaning, "Things given by strangers, even money, shouldn’t be taken lightly. It would be terrible if they were laced with drugs. This is especially true for food from strangers; you absolutely must not accept and eat it carelessly.

"Bad people don’t have ’villain’ written on their faces. Most scammers look exactly like great philanthropists."

Being out and about, she originally hadn’t wanted to say too much. But encountering a young mother with such a bright and adorable child softened her heart. The woman was dressed in simple peasant clothing, and the little girl’s outfit was ordinary, yet the child was fair and chubby, which was enough to show how deeply her mother loved her.

Several people were secretly keeping an eye on this mother and daughter duo, and for some reason, she didn’t want the smile to fade from this little girl’s face.

"Thank you, Granny. Tuantuan will remember!" Tuantuan replied in a crisp voice. "But you aren’t a bad person, Granny, which is why Tuantuan ate it."

Tuantuan smiled slyly. "Look, Tuantuan ate it all and is still perfectly fine."

The old woman hummed in agreement and said with a smile, "Come sit next to Granny."

"Okay!" Tuantuan placed her half-eaten sweet potato back into her bowl and scooted her little bottom over inch by inch. Knowing the girl would get her little hands dirty if she tried to stand up from the ground on her own, Deng Yuyuan reached out and scooped her up.

The group chatted casually for a bit. The old couple had come here to visit former colleagues at the Agricultural Research Institute and were now heading back to their hometown.

Deng Yuyuan’s train arrived before theirs. She lifted Tuantuan back into the woven basket. Not daring to wear the basket on her back, she hugged it tightly to her chest as she boarded the train. Only after settling in did she place Tuantuan on the seat.

The carriage was crowded and noisy. As the train doors closed, the sounds of adults calling for their children and shouting about stolen money faded into the distance. Tuantuan curiously pressed her little face against the windowsill, watching the scenery pass by.

"Mommy, we’re going to Grandma’s house, right?"

Deng Yuyuan gazed at her tenderly. "Yes, we’re going to see Grandma’s house and pick up a few things, but we probably won’t stay there. Mommy is going to take Tuantuan to an unfamiliar place. Are you scared?"

Tuantuan turned her head and earnestly pulled her mother’s hand, wrapping her own tiny hand inside her mother’s palm. "If Mommy holds Tuantuan tight, Tuantuan won’t be scared."

By the time they got off the train, it was already evening. Tuantuan had taken a nap during the journey, and their lunch had only consisted of sweet potatoes and cornbread. The first thing the mother and daughter did after disembarking was find a small noodle shop to have a big feast. They ordered two bowls of meatball noodles topped with sliced beef and large chicken drumsticks, along with a bowl of egg soup.

Business at the shop was booming. A young girl at the next table, who was eating plain vegetable noodles, noticed the mother and daughter. One was so beautiful she didn’t look real, and the other was as adorable as a cherub from a New Year’s painting. She couldn’t help but strike up a conversation. "You guys sure are extravagant. The prices are written on the wall—do you have enough money?"

The young girl meant well, but she was too young and naive, so her words of concern sounded more like a provocation. Deng Yuyuan and Tuantuan’s shabby outfits sharply contrasted with their stunning appearances, making them look very much like a destitute mother and daughter seeking refuge with relatives.

"This is all the money we have left," Deng Yuyuan replied. "My husband passed away, and my father-in-law couldn’t tolerate me. He drove my daughter and me out, so I can only return to my maiden home. My parents treat me indifferently. If I go back with money, I’ll definitely have to hand it over for household expenses, and it won’t be spent on my daughter and me. So, I figured I might as well treat myself and my child to a good meal before going home."

The young girl nodded in empathetic understanding. "If I weren’t saving up money for my brother’s bride price, I could afford to eat meat every day, if not every meal. Instead, it’s either vegetable noodles or rice mixed with pickled vegetables. This life is so bitter that I just want to find a man to marry quickly. Then I could give my bride price to my brother, and I wouldn’t have to scrimp and save anymore."

Deng Yuyuan didn’t offer any opinion on her approach, merely stating, "When I got married, I didn’t bring a dowry, nor did I receive a bride price. Neither side valued me."

The young girl felt an even stronger sense of solidarity with her. She wanted to treat Deng Yuyuan to something, but the other party was currently eating a much more lavish meal than she was. Instead, it was Deng Yuyuan who ordered a large chicken drumstick for her, comforting her by saying, "It’s fine, eat up. Consider it a treat for a friend made by chance. Once I get home, this money will be as good as thrown into the water anyway."

The young girl was so moved that her eyes welled with tears. Overflowing with gratitude, she said, "In all my life, this is the first time anyone has treated me to a chicken leg. When you were kicked out by your in-laws, didn’t your family step up to back you up?"

"They didn’t agree with my marriage back then, and when things went wrong, I didn’t tell them."

The young girl nodded, still holding onto naive fantasies. "Who knows, maybe after being away for so long, they’ve missed you. When they see you, their hearts might break for you."

"I hope so too." After finishing her meatballs, Deng Yuyuan used her chopsticks to break Tuantuan’s meatballs and chicken drumstick into small, bite-sized pieces. Knowing Tuantuan wouldn’t be able to finish a whole bowl, Deng Yuyuan estimated her portion and transferred some of the child’s noodles into her own bowl in advance.

If the original owner’s family truly cared about her, they wouldn’t have let her be sent down to the countryside—a situation that could have been resolved by pulling strings and bribing the right people. The only reason the original owner was even registered in their family’s household was to act as a substitute for the countryside relocation policy.

Deng Yuyuan let her mind wander. She honestly couldn’t understand why the original owner’s biological parents could be so selfish and heartless. The original owner had been living perfectly well in the orphanage, where the director and staff treated every child with maternal care and acceptance. Yet, her biological parents had insisted on taking her back, only to mistreat her.

Shortly after she was born, the original owner had been accidentally lost. Mrs. Deng, desperately missing her daughter, had stumbled upon an abandoned baby girl while passing a trash can and adopted her. The family had then chosen to collectively erase the unpleasant past, continuing to live happily together.

But as fate would have it, when the original owner was ten, they visited an orphanage on a whim to do a good deed and discovered Deng Yuyuan, who looked strikingly similar to Mrs. Deng in her youth.

When the child who had been lost for ten years finally returned, her parents and brother despised her for being illiterate, while her sister, fearing her position would be threatened, constantly tripped her up at every turn. How could the biased adults fail to see through the conflicts between the children? They were merely playing deaf and dumb.