Chapter 48: The Underlying Origins

Mother Zhang fell silent for a moment, appearing hesitant. She likely hadn't shared many of these details with Zhang Guanghui over the years, having kept them buried deep within her, never intending to reveal them to anyone.

Now, being asked about it directly in front of her daughter—and by the police, no less—left her in a difficult position where speaking or remaining silent both felt impossible.

"Mom, just say whatever you need to. At the end of the day, all the wicked things were done by Deng Qingrong alone. If she dared to do them, why shouldn't you dare to speak of them?" Zhang Guanghui sensed her mother's hesitation and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I've known since I was a child that I wasn't your biological daughter, and that never affected the bond between the three of us, nor did it shape my character in a bad way. You don't have to worry about me being hurt by hearing this."

Mother Zhang thought it over, seemingly finding her daughter's reasoning sound. She turned to Ning Shuyi and Huo Yan and said, "My husband and I were from the same village as Deng Qingrong and her husband, Chang Rong. We lived in the same village, but the two families weren't close and rarely interacted. My husband and I were not in the best of health, and after years of marriage, we remained childless. The doctors at the hospital told us there was no hope of conceiving naturally. Back then, it wasn't like today where you could use IVF or other methods to have a baby, so we had to accept our fate. Then one day, we heard people in the village saying that Chang Rong and Deng Qingrong were acting a bit strange."

"What do you mean by 'strange'?" Zhang Guanghui asked, looking at her mother with confusion.

Mother Zhang continued, "Deng Qingrong was pregnant at the time, and when her belly grew large, many old women in the village examined her. They all said that by the shape of her stomach, it was a boy, which made her thrilled. When the time came to give birth—this must have been thirty-three or thirty-four years ago—some women in the village didn't want to go to the township health center. They preferred to have experienced local midwives or 'barefoot doctors' deliver the baby at home. Later, we heard that Deng Qingrong had given birth to a girl. After some time had passed, and her month of postnatal recovery should have been over, we never saw them bring the baby out. People were curious, so someone went and asked if they had registered the child. Chang Rong told them they hadn't, saying the baby was born with a defect and had died a few days later. They had some superstition that such a small child couldn't be mourned or buried with a formal funeral, so they had quietly taken her away and buried her."

"Was that me?" Zhang Guanghui asked, feeling a bit confused. She knew she was Deng Qingrong's daughter, but hearing this part from her adoptive mother left her feeling unsettled.

Mother Zhang shook her head. "No, that wasn't you. If you trace it back, that would have been your older sister. Anyway, they claimed that child didn't survive, that she had died and been buried. After the month of recovery, Deng Qingrong went about her business as if nothing had happened, but there were rumors circulating privately in the village. People said the first baby had no defects and hadn't died at all. They whispered that Deng Qingrong and Chang Rong were desperate for a son, but in those days, the policies were very strict; you couldn't just have one child after another. They were afraid that if they registered a daughter, it would use up their quota, and they wouldn't be allowed to have another. So, they probably either secretly gave that first daughter away or just abandoned her. Since no one knew for sure what they did, everyone just speculated."

This account matched Ning Shuyi's earlier theories perfectly, so neither she nor Huo Yan appeared particularly surprised. Zhang Guanghui, however, looked increasingly distressed, likely unable to stop herself from drawing parallels to her own life.

Mother Zhang took her daughter's hand in both of hers and sighed. "We heard these rumors, but at first, we didn't take them to heart. We just lamented that fate was sometimes unfair; we didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl, we just wanted a child, yet we couldn't have one. Meanwhile, the Chang family could produce healthy babies but despised them just because they were girls. Less than a year later, I heard Deng Qingrong was pregnant again, but this time she was different. She wasn't showing off or walking around with her belly out; she was acting like a thief, hiding from everyone. My husband and I whispered to each other, wondering if she was doing this because she feared the baby would be another girl, just like the last one. We figured that if it turned out to be a girl again, she would want as few people as possible to know so she could repeat what she did before. After all, if two children died back-to-back, anyone would start to get suspicious."

"And that child was me, wasn't it?" Zhang Guanghui asked her adoptive mother with a complex expression.

Mother Zhang nodded. "Yes, that was you. The more my husband and I thought about it, the more convinced we were that our suspicions were correct. So, we kept a secret eye on them, thinking that if they had another girl and wanted to give her away or abandon her, we would take her. When the time came, your father went directly to Chang Rong and told him our thoughts. Chang Rong, seeing his wife was about to give birth and perhaps realizing they would need a way to deal with the child if it were another girl, agreed..."

She paused, tightening her grip on her daughter's hand as if fearing the truth might hurt her. "When the day came for Deng Qingrong to give birth, she didn't dare do it at home. She went to the house of a distant relative in another village. My husband and I followed her there. When she gave birth, it was indeed a girl, and we brought you home immediately. The Changs didn't return home for a few days, and they never admitted to the pregnancy or the birth. Since they refused to acknowledge it, the villagers could only guess, but they couldn't prove anything. To prove she hadn't been away giving birth, Deng Qingrong even went out to do farm work for everyone to see. Privately, no one believed her, and they warned her that she shouldn't push her body so hard. Giving birth is a taxing event, after all, and they were willing to risk everything just for a son. But that was none of our business, so we didn't interfere."

"What made you decide to leave your hometown and move elsewhere?" Ning Shuyi asked.

"It was mainly for the sake of the child," Mother Zhang replied, looking at Zhang Guanghui. "We told people we had adopted you from elsewhere, and they were kind enough not to press us on whether you were the baby Deng Qingrong had secretly given away. After all, the timing was too coincidental. But the villagers warned me that such things had happened before—sometimes, a family might be heartless and give a child away because they didn't want the expense of raising her, but then, once the child grew up and became successful, they would come back and demand the child return to provide for their old age. My husband and I realized the Changs were not reliable people. To prevent them from going back on their word later, we knew we had to leave."