"Mom, do you mean to stop them from getting a divorce?" Zhang Ci Hao looked up and asked.
The village chief's wife sighed. "I'm not so nosy as to meddle to that extent. It's just that no one in our village has ever gotten a divorce before. Your dad is going to have a headache over this. Besides, Deng Zhiqing has to take care of a baby. It'll be hard for her to earn any work points for at least a year. If her husband doesn't provide for them, who will?"
"...I'll support her financially," Zhang Ci Hao squeezed out the words through gritted teeth. "For Brother Jiahua's sake, and because Tuantuan is so cute, I'll lend her a hand."
The village chief's wife looked at him quietly. Suddenly, she said, "Turn your head to the south."
"What?" Zhang Ci Hao didn't understand, but he did as told.
She nodded. "Right, keep walking in that direction. That's where the widow of our village lives. Go tell her what you just told me."
Zhang Ci Hao flushed with embarrassment and anger. "Mom, it's not the same! Aunt Liu's son is already old enough to help her with farm work. Besides, you were the one who ordered me to leave a basket of eggs at Aunt Liu's door in the middle of the night back then."
The village chief's wife studied her youngest son for a moment. Thinking of Deng Yuyuan's current appearance, it made no sense for her son to not fall for the great beauty she used to be, but suddenly develop feelings for her now. It was probably just his inner Scatter Money Child acting up again. She didn't say anything more.
It was precisely because her youngest son loved to play the Scatter Money Child that very few people reported him for not earning work points. This also made it easier for the village chief to carry out his work, as everyone knew his youngest son had a sweet tongue and treated the younger generation in their families well. Moreover, this kid was good to his older brothers too, always sharing any good things with the family first.
The village chief's wife knew that she and her husband shouldn't be so blatantly partial to their youngest son, but it was hard not to spoil a child born in their old age. In other families, such favoritism would easily cause discord among siblings, but thanks to their youngest son's efforts, their family had always been harmonious and happy. Besides, her son knew his limits and never overspent. She wondered where on earth this brat had gotten so much money from again.
***
Perhaps the only ones in the entire village who firmly supported the divorce were the educated youths. They tacitly avoided talking about the unpleasant events of the day, chatting and joking instead. They playfully insisted on helping Deng Yuyuan brainstorm a formal name with a good meaning for Tuantuan.
A male educated youth who had already become an uncle said, "We need to figure out this formal name soon. You can get Tuantuan's birth certificate sorted out right when you go to get the divorce certificate."
"Then what will Tuantuan's last name be?"
Everyone turned to look at Deng Yuyuan.
"She'll take my name. Her last name will be Deng," Deng Yuyuan replied with the answer she had prepared long ago. She couldn't control what last name the child would choose after coming of age, but for now, they would share the same name. Besides, the female supporting character in the original novel was also a good child who cared deeply for her mother.
The crowd paused for only a few seconds before immediately showing their support. "That's wonderful!"
As a result, names were proposed one after another, only to be vetoed by the group. By the time the sunset completely faded, they still hadn't settled on a formal name for the baby. They had no choice but to table the discussion for the next day.
To prevent the baby's cries from disturbing the youths who had to work every day, Deng Yuyuan moved into the most secluded room. Zhao Erdong moved in with her. Deng Yuyuan wanted to decline Zhao Erdong's kind offer, but Zhao Erdong actually got angry with her.
"Not only am I going to take care of you during your postpartum confinement, but because your body is so severely depleted, I'm going to make you do a double confinement to properly restore your health."
Deng Yuyuan's lips parted again and again, her eyes growing hot. She wanted to tell her that her true friend could no longer feel her sincerity, and that the one residing in this body was a wandering ghost from another world. "But... maybe one day you'll realize that all the effort you're pouring into me isn't reaching the person you truly want to help." Deng Yuyuan swallowed the rest of her unspoken words.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Zhao Erdong gave her a puzzled look. "No matter what you turn into, I'm still your good friend. Even if your temperament has changed drastically now, I know that you're still you, and that's enough. Whether it's the old you or the current you, I like you very much."
Deng Yuyuan's expression was complicated. The formula was correct, but the answer was wrong. The reality was that she was no longer the original her, yet she had no way to say it outright. Sometimes she really felt like a thief who had stolen someone else's happiness. In the modern world, Deng Yuyuan wasn't someone with good interpersonal relationships. She had a cold, decisive personality and always kept to herself. Aside from her main job, she worked part-time, and when she relaxed, she just stayed home and played video games. She had never experienced having as many friends as the original owner had, and she even feared whether she could maintain these relationships as well as the original owner did.
"Actually, I've felt a lot of regret, too," Zhao Erdong said, hugging her. Beneath her palms, she could feel protruding bones. "If I had objected more firmly back then, would you have been spared from suffering so much? Or, when I noticed you getting thinner and thinner, I should have visited you more often, instead of pretending everything was fine just because you said it was."
"I really can't win against you," Deng Yuyuan said, finally yielding.
Shortly after dinner at the Knowledge Youth Institute, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Kerosene lamps and candles weren't considered rare goods at this time, but they weren't cheap either. To save that little bit of money, it was customary to go to sleep as soon as the sun went down.
Tuantuan fussed a few times during the night, and the two novices scrambled clumsily to coax her back to sleep. Deng Yuyuan originally wanted to sneak in a session of her farming game, but the moment she moved, Zhao Erdong woke up and asked if she was in pain. The love from her best friend was so heavy that it actually hindered her grand career plans. Deng Yuyuan had no choice but to obediently close her eyes.
She didn't intend to argue with Zhao Erdong anyway. A faint, throbbing pain emanated from her lower abdomen; if she didn't properly recover her health, it would likely leave her with chronic ailments.
She wondered, "Speaking of which, wouldn't system shops normally sell relevant medicines?"
[We do, Player, we do. A postpartum recovery pill only costs 999 yuan. You can just recharge your account with real money to purchase it.]
Deng Yuyuan snapped her eyes open. Sure enough, no matter what game it was, they were all incredibly shameless when it came to forcing players to spend money. This was society in the 1970s! It actually had the nerve to ask for 999 yuan when ordinary people only earned a few yuan a month.
[Take three pills and you'll instantly return to your pre-pregnancy state, dear.]
"No matter how effective it is, I can't afford it, dear," Deng Yuyuan replied expressionlessly.
That night, Zhang Jiahua was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Deng Yuyuan's hateful and resolute gaze kept flashing before his eyes. For once, the bedding only held the warmth of his own body. The night was terrifyingly quiet. He felt his mind growing just as exhausted as his body. The stinging pain in his temples grew stronger, intensifying with the rhythm of his beating heart. The usual casual chatter between husband and wife was gone, and the silence tugged at his nerves until he covered his face in agony.
The long night had never felt so desolate and unsettling. After a long while, he opened his eyes again. It was the first time he had suffered from such absolute insomnia.
He wondered what he should give Yuanyuan to make her change her mind. Modern jewelry would certainly be nice, but he didn't have enough cash on hand, nor did he have the time to go to the county town. Perhaps he could ask one of the aunts from another family to help embroider a scarf for her after work.