He had long noticed that the green scarf Deng Yuyuan brought when they got married was already fraying at the edges. Since autumn was just setting in, it was the perfect time for a replacement.
As if catching a glimpse of a new dawn where Deng Yuyuan would forgive him and they would continue their harmonious life together, Zhang Jiahua finally drifted off to sleep, accompanied by his own snores.
When he got up for work the next morning, Zhang Jiahua was still in low spirits, his mind wandering in a daze as he thought about Deng Yuyuan.
Granny Zhang served everyone a bowl of steamed egg custard as usual. Two eggs had been stretched to make four bowls, and Wang Qian's bowl even had a little extra brown sugar.
Zhang Jiahua suddenly spoke up. "Mom, why didn't Yuanyuan get to eat steamed egg custard when she was pregnant?"
While Granny Zhang was still brainstorming a decent excuse, Zhang Jia Shu slammed his chopsticks down first. "Jiahua, what do you mean by that? Just because Deng Yuyuan ran off, you're picking on my wife?"
"That's not what I meant," Zhang Jiahua said, feeling somewhat wronged. "I earn the most work points every day. Why couldn't my wife get any eggs to eat?"
Granny Zhang's face turned cold. "Then how about I get on my knees and apologize to you? The deed is already done, so what's the point of bringing it up now? Besides, it wasn't wrong to withhold the eggs from her. In the end, she just gave birth to a money-losing burden anyway! Meanwhile, Wang Qian's belly has been checked by an experienced midwife—it's a guaranteed boy!"
"Jiahua is just tormenting the whole family over that runaway wife of his." Wang Qian curled her lips. "He's the exact type of man who forgets his own mother the moment he gets a wife."
Zhang Jiahua was slow of speech. He couldn't understand why he was entirely in the right, yet ended up utterly unable to defend himself. He could only lower his head and eat his cornbread, swallowing his bitter frustration along with the dry carbs.
"Your dad died early, and I raised you all by myself under so much pressure..." Granny Zhang sighed. "To ensure the Zhang family had an heir, I racked my brains. I wish I could rip my heart out and show it to you so you'd see that I'm only doing this for your own good! How can you be so unfilial?"
Swallowing the last bitter bite of cornbread, Zhang Jiahua felt a cold sense of helplessness. "Mom, do you really think I'm not filial enough?" For the past twenty-plus years, he had constantly helped his mother manage the household. Even when his wife and mother had conflicts, he had chosen to side with his mother. Yet now, from her own mouth, he was the unfilial one. He wondered if all his past sacrifices had even been worth it.
Without waiting for his family to reply, he stood up and left for work. In his mind, he planned to find Brother Liu and ask his wife to help knit a scarf. He would write an IOU first. Once his work points were distributed, he would talk to his mother. He couldn't just hand everything over to the public family fund for her to allocate anymore; he needed to keep some money in his own hands. And then there was... Tuantuan. He silently repeated the name in his heart, thinking that it really did sound much better than Xiao Hong.
In stark contrast to Zhang Jiahua's heavy heart, Deng Yuyuan slept soundly until she naturally woke up. It felt incredibly refreshing.
As soon as her mind cleared, she patted the space beside her. The empty sensation instantly jolted her awake, and she scrambled up to find her baby.
Before she could even open the door, Zhao Erdong pushed it open from the outside, cradling Tuantuan in her arms. "You're awake? There's a piece of cornbread warming in the pot for you."
Tuantuan was brought right before her eyes. The little one seemed to already recognize her mother, her mouth opening wide as she went "AHH AHH." She excitedly reached out her two tiny hands toward Deng Yuyuan and grabbed a fistful of her hair. She didn't pull hard, merely gripping it loosely, but she smiled with all her might, revealing her bare gums.
"Next time I sleep in, just wake me up," Deng Yuyuan said sheepishly, rescuing her hair from the baby's hands before it could be stuffed into her mouth.
"Why would I wake you? You were sleeping so peacefully. What good would it do me to disturb you?" Zhao Erdong asked in confusion.
"It would get you an extra partner to help with the chores," Deng Yuyuan laughed. If she just sat around enjoying her leisure time at the Knowledge Youth Institute all day, she would feel utterly restless.
Zhao Erdong patted her head. "Just focus on recovering your health. Not causing me any trouble is the best help you can give. I don't want you to ruin your body and force me to take care of you for years to come."
Deng Yuyuan didn't pull away from the touch. Perhaps this sisterly warmth had truly touched her heart. "I only gave birth; I'm still quick and capable when it comes to work."
She knew this wasn't the materially abundant era of the future. In an age where everyone was expected to labor, rest was a sheer luxury. Even the original owner of this body would likely have worked right up until giving birth, had she not gone into premature labor. In fact, it was precisely because the original owner had to shoulder the entire family's household chores by herself, all while lacking proper nutrition, that she collapsed from exhaustion and delivered early.
Deng Yuyuan had temporarily forgotten the reality of the situation: while it was true that the original owner slaved over chores all day, Wang Qian essentially did nothing but play around, and Granny Zhang never worked for more than half an hour a day. Deng Yuyuan still carried the mindset of a modern woman and hadn't fully assimilated into this era yet. A pregnant woman in this time might not get a whole year of maternity leave, but she certainly shouldn't be exploited to such a degree either.
"You gave birth to a whole human being," Zhao Erdong said, her heart aching. The gentle young girl from the past had now become so timid that she even felt guilty about taking a rest. The more Deng Yuyuan wanted to help, the more Zhao Erdong wanted her to just take a breather and relax—at least until she gained a little weight back before doing any chores.
"Alright, go wash up and eat. I'll watch Tuantuan for a bit longer. It's my turn for duty today anyway." But as Zhao Erdong took Tuantuan back into her arms, the baby began to fuss and cry.
"Oh? You only saw your mom for a minute, and now you don't want me anymore? You little ingrate." She coaxed gently, "Don't cry, don't cry. Mom will come keep you company in just a bit."
Zhao Erdong smiled as she looked at Deng Yuyuan. "She actually stopped crying. This little one is quite the clever rascal. If you ask me, she's incredibly smart."
Once Zhao Erdong carried Tuantuan out of the room and Deng Yuyuan finished washing up, she ate her cornbread while opening her farming game system.
The rice crop had been harvested, and a "Rice x1" item had appeared in her inventory. The starter inventory had a total of twenty slots. As her level increased, the number of slots would expand, and she could also purchase more using gold coins.
She tapped on the rice in her inventory, and three options popped up.
[Sell: +4 Gold Coins.]
[Transfer: A bowl of raw rice, -2 Gold Coins.]
[Transfer: A steaming bowl of white rice, -4 Gold Coins.]
"This 'Transfer' function must mean extracting it into reality," Deng Yuyuan concluded in her mind. She sold the harvested rice first, then sowed a new batch of seeds. She planned to wait for the next harvest; once she had extra gold coins on hand, she would test out the "Transfer" option.
Next, Deng Yuyuan opened the shop. Since she was only Level 1, she had unlocked just a few items. Aside from game-related goods, the shop also featured a new "Portal" category.
Clicking into it, she saw that the items inside were indeed applicable to the real world. The postpartum recovery medicine the system had mentioned earlier was listed right at the top, priced at 999. In addition, there were various medications that only existed in the 21st century, like cold and anti-inflammatory pills. There were sanitary pads of different lengths, as well as a good selection of maternal and baby supplies. The prices ranged anywhere from 10 to 999,999 gold coins. The cheapest item was the sanitary pad set at 10 gold coins, though it was limited to one purchase per month.