Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 251 Boss Zhai, Boss Liu, Boss Hong
The day after returning to Dongyang, Lu Wei and Yu Xiaoli went shopping. Although there were only three people in the family, they still needed to buy some New Year's goods, and there were quite a few things they needed.

The only thing that's hard to explain is Zhai Da's actions last night. Otherwise, given Ms. Yu's kindness, if she knew where Zhai Da was going, she would definitely have followed him.

Zhai Da arrived alone at the supermarket at the entrance of Sanmao Community.

He was very familiar with this small supermarket; he had spent his meager allowance here countless times since childhood. When the owner saw Zhai Da, he smiled and said, "The top scholar is back?!"

Zhai Da smiled as a greeting. He had been a customer here for so many years, yet he still didn't know the owner's surname or given name.

Then I started my own purchasing.

Take whatever catches your eye, whether you know it or not: chocolate, cookies, candy, beef jerky, dried fruit.

Given a choice, Zhai Da prefers to pick up the better brands, as drinks are too heavy and take up too much space; he mainly chooses snacks.

It took ten minutes just to calculate the bill, with the calculator clicking away, and in the end it came to a little over 800 yuan.

The shopkeeper asked in surprise, "Is this for New Year's greetings? Won't you get an upset stomach from buying so many snacks?"

"It's alright, they're all sent to the orphanage, they're all children."

The boss was taken aback, waved his hand over the calculator, and finally gritted his teeth and pressed "multiply by 0.8".

Zhai Da raised his head and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The boss waved his hand: "I don't make money from sending them to orphanages, consider it my way of lending a hand."

Zhai Da was somewhat surprised, but he didn't refuse: "Thanks."

"No need for thanks. You are the pride of Dongyang, and you went to help the welfare home in Dongyang. As an old Dongyang resident, I can't pretend I didn't hear it."

Zhai Da gave a thumbs up: "Terrible!"

The boss scratched the back of his head, not understanding.

But why are you scolding me?
Finally, he asked the boss for six cardboard boxes, which were almost full. Zhai Da then flagged down a taxi on the roadside.

The Mechanical Core was removed from the equipment slot, mainly because it was too bright and the visibility was too good for Zhai Da to find a suitable place to retrieve it.

Cameras can be avoided, but who knows which elderly person might be watching from behind a window?

The taxi's trunk was so crammed that it couldn't be closed, and the extra time spent moving things around made the driver look unhappy.

It's hindering other people from making money.

But when Zhai Da gave the address, his expression softened considerably.

While passing by the familiar Hongqi Shopping Mall, Zhai Da had a sudden thought and asked the driver to stop by the roadside to buy something. The driver waited by the roadside for more than ten minutes with the meter running.

Twenty minutes later, they finally arrived at the "Dongyang County Welfare Home". Zhai Da was about to pay when the driver raised his watch, waved his hand and said, "No need, I won't charge you this time, just for good luck."

Zhai Da was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you."

"We should thank you. We don't have the ability or time, but we can still lend a hand when we meet kind people."

Li Huifen answered the phone and ran out to greet him. The taxi driver even helped carry the things to the yard before waving goodbye and leaving with a cigarette in his mouth.

The yard was more comfortable during the day than at night, with four or five teenagers playing outside, two kicking a ball and three catching pebbles.

They weren't dressed lightly, but it felt like a child wearing adult clothes.

Seeing someone carrying boxes, some children guessed what it was and gathered around with smiles. Then a few more ran out from the low building.

Li Huifen shouted to maintain order and told everyone to line up properly.

In the end, the nine children stood in a row.

The two oldest children were 14 years old, probably in the second year of junior high school. The two boys stood straight, but their eyes were not on the snacks. Instead, they were curiously looking at Zhai Da, the "donor" who didn't look much older than them.

Zhai Da looked around and asked curiously, "Where's that girl from yesterday?"

"Liu Jing, where's Xiao Kui from your dorm? The one who moved in last night?"

Upon hearing this, a slightly older girl ran back, and after a while, Tang Xiao Kui, with red eyes, was also led out.

Last night, the delicate little girl who wore a thick wool skirt and white tights had changed her clothes. She was now wearing a dowdy rose-pink jacket and ill-fitting pants, but she still had that little yellow bag containing her Polaroid camera hanging on her.

That quirky, mischievous, and forcedly mature demeanor from yesterday has completely disappeared.

At this moment, she was as fragile as a daisy after the rain.

Li Huifen said loudly, "Children, welcome Mr. Zhai, the kind-hearted person, to our welfare home to bring warmth."

Zhai Da reminded them, "And Liu Yongjie and Hong Jun are also there."

These are the names of the supermarket owner and the taxi driver. Zhai Da asked for the former himself, and the latter had a work badge on the front passenger seat.

Li Huifen paused for a moment, then reorganized her words: "Boss Zhai, Boss Liu, and Boss Hong brought gifts and snacks for everyone! Let us thank these kind-hearted people! Boss Zhai, please say a few words."

The children clapped their hands skillfully, but Tang Xiao Kui was out of sorts and was still wiping away tears.

Actually, Zhai Da didn't have much to say, but he still went through the motions: "I brought some snacks for everyone during the Spring Festival. Happy Chinese New Year."

After she finished speaking, no one came up to take the items. Only after Li Huifen reminded him did Zhai Da realize that the kind-hearted people needed to distribute the items to everyone one by one, firstly to show their "kindness," and secondly to prevent looting and unequal distribution.

Zhai Da waved his hand and said, "No, everyone come and take them. There are too many to take them all. You can handle the rest separately."

So the children rushed forward and quickly grabbed things from the box; the older ones picked carefully, while the younger ones just grabbed everything at once.

"Chocolate! Wow! There's chocolate!"

"What is this? Lay's Rice Noodles!!"

Li Huifen pulled up two chairs and sat with Zhai Da in the yard, watching the children play and eat snacks. There was no trouble; occasionally, there would be a squabble or a shout, but it would all quiet down.

But Zhai Da's attention remained focused on Tang Xiao Kui, both because she was carrying [equipment] and because she was the one who didn't fit in.

While other children were excitedly eating snacks, this little girl just held a bag of spicy strips in her hand, but didn't eat them, and squatted on the steps without moving.

I wonder how they spent the night; it probably wasn't very pleasant.

Li Huifen and Zhai Da chatted casually, from the difficulties of the welfare home to the hardships of the welfare home, and finally to their own hard work.

Li Huifen wasn't the type to be eloquent; she thought "playing the victim" was the most effective way to persuade people. However, after her conversation with Wang Guofeng yesterday, Zhai Da didn't seem to mind much.

What are the chances of children here being adopted?

Li Huifen shook her head: "Actually, it's not that big. Only one passed away last year. The older they get, the more difficult it becomes. Nowadays, many parents find it troublesome and expensive to raise their own children, so how can they be willing to raise other people's children? There are actually quite a few young and kind-hearted people like you, but they can only come and visit. Adopting someone else's child is another matter entirely."

"What happens to these older kids after they finish junior high school?"

"The higher authorities will arrange for them to attend boarding vocational schools and technical secondary schools. The subsidies will not stop immediately, but ultimately the goal is to help them integrate into society normally, so the subsidies will gradually decrease."

Li Huifen brought up something: "If you come next time, you can buy some off-brand snacks. I noticed that the chocolates you brought are all Dove, which is not good."

"How to say?"

Li Huifen didn't know how to explain, so she hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "They are children from an orphanage after all. How can they all use the best things? People will gossip."

The intricacies involved are complex, beyond Zhai Da's comprehension, and Li Huifen's inability to explain them.

In fact, the children living here may not have worse material conditions than those children in remote mountainous or pastoral areas who have parents, but if they were to exchange poverty for "having parents," they would probably be willing to do so no matter what.

It has been said that one cannot simultaneously possess youth and the feeling of youth. In fact, it is also difficult for a child to simultaneously possess both parents and the deep affection for them.

Li Huifen sat for a while and then went to cook, leaving Zhai Da alone in the courtyard. Some of the children also returned to the small building, so there were far fewer people.

Taking a break, I took out my phone and checked the time and place of the gathering with my friends in the "Utopia" group. When I looked up again, a small hand grabbed Zhai Da's sleeve.

Tang Xiao Kui's fair face was streaked with tears, her nose was red, and her eyelashes were misty.

She is indeed a much prettier little girl than her peers, and her upbringing must have been quite good.

Seeing that she was holding his hand but not speaking, Zhai Da asked gently, "What's wrong?"

Tang Xiaokui lowered her head and sniffed, "I've heard you're very capable."

Zhai Da smiled and said, "It's alright."

Tang Xiao Kui's voice was very soft: "Can you...can you adopt me? I don't like it here."

Zhai Da sighed: "I'm sorry, I'm only eighteen years old. It's impossible, both from a practical and legal point of view."

"Even if you're very rich? I saw your car yesterday."

"Even though I am very rich, I am studying at a university in another city and only come back once or twice a year."

Tang Xiao Kui seemed to have lost all her courage, shrinking her small, thin body and saying, "Oh."

Zhai Da looked at the small bag at his waist: "Can I see your camera?"

Tang Xiaokui sniffed and took out a Polaroid camera from her small bag.

The green zigzag line reappears on it [Souvenir Polaroid Photo].
As an equipment guided by the "Uncertainty Pocket Watch," Zhai Da was surprised that it only had a green rarity, but both of its effects were very practical.

The former: Take a picture of the back of your head, which can capture images of what you see or imagine, and the image is valid for 24 hours.

This perfectly solves the problem of too much information and too short a time in his "white model world," and even has many other ingenious uses, such as turning imagination into images.

As for the 24-hour limit, Zhai Da said he didn't care at all; as long as what's in his mind appears in reality, there's always a way to copy or reproduce it.

The latter is even more amazing.
Take a souvenir photo: After taking a photo of the [equipment], an invalid white background is generated. Reload the image and then take a photo of other items to temporarily attach the effect of the photographed [equipment] to the item. The effect lasts for 24 hours.

"A memento, a memento." The system seems to be playing a word game.

This is yet another piece of equipment that can change system rules.

Unlike the [Mechanical Core], which allows the vehicle to integrate other equipment, this one is more like an "enchantment"?
Does this mean he can "create" one-time-use equipment with a time limit?
The possibilities here are so vast that just thinking about it excites Zhai Da.

It can only be said that any pocket watch produced here is a masterpiece.

The problem is that this appears to be Tang Xiao Kui's only personal possession.
Alas. The creation of special items relies on the "thoughts" of humans that entangle them, and thus, they inevitably encounter similar troubles.

Zhai Da held the unactivated "Souvenir Polaroid" camera, pondering how to steal or cheat it. He couldn't bring himself to do it; he was afraid his ancestors' graves would be stained with smoke.

We can only steer the conversation toward this point to gather more information.

Do you usually enjoy taking photos?

Tang Xiaokui nodded and took out a bunch of Polaroid photos from her bag.

But each one was a white card.
Zhai Da was taken aback.

The colors on them have faded, each one is blurred and indistinguishable, with only black marker marks outlining the contours.

Tang Xiaokui pulled out a photo and said to Zhai Da, "This photo was taken when my dad took me to the amusement park."

There were only black marks on it, outlining two people, one big and one small, and a circle behind them, which seemed to be a Ferris wheel.

"There are lots of rides there, but I'm too short to sit on most of them."

"This photo is from the Lion Park in Su City, but there are no lions there."

The drawing still only uses black, immature strokes to depict a few big trees, a house, and two people, one big and one small.

With each card Tang Xiaokui produced, Zhai Da sighed with emotion.

Ugh.
"This is from my birthday last year. The cake was huge; my dad and I ate it for three days and still couldn't finish it, so it went bad."

As Tang Xiaokui spoke, tears fell again, landing on the Polaroid photo.

The marker pen marks were immediately wetted, and Tang Xiaokui cried out in anxiety, instinctively trying to wipe them away, but only smeared the precious ink.

The little girl stood there for a long, long time, her small hands tucked into her sleeves, her fingertips pressed against the cuffs, carefully absorbing her tears.

The soft, intermittent sound:
"Actually, when the photos were first taken, they were incredibly beautiful and gorgeous. I'm not kidding."

Zhai Da sighed deeply: "I believe you."

After a long while, once Tang Xiaokui had calmed down, Zhai Da carefully spoke:
"Xiao Kui, it was fate that we met last night. I plan to sponsor you until you go to university. I will cover your tuition and living expenses. Of course, if you don't get into university, I will still sponsor you until you are able to support yourself, regardless of whether you are adopted or not."

Hearing this, Tang Xiao Kui was not very happy.

She doesn't fully understand her current situation and doesn't know what the so-called assistance means.

Or rather, they haven't come to terms with reality yet.

She just wanted to get out, not be sponsored, and the latter even sounded as if she would stay here for a long time.

"And it's great that you like photography; you should cultivate your interests. But your camera is broken. How about I get you a new one?"

Zhai Da took out a digital camera he bought from Hongqi Department Store, a Sony T20, which cost over two thousand yuan.

It's not much bigger than a cell phone, small and exquisite, and someone even specifically chose a pink one.

Tang Xiaokui looked at the attractive pictures on the packaging and was instinctively drawn to them.

"The one you have can't take any decent photos anymore, and instant film isn't cheap. It's hard for you to find, so could you trade it to me?"

Tang Xiaokui immediately took a step back and shook her head violently.

Zhai Da was not discouraged. It was only natural for him to resist. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Can I borrow it for a bit? I just need to use it for a short time."

Tang Xiaokui only asked one question:
"Can you take me with you?"

Inside the noisy courtyard, the girl awaited an answer.

Zhai Da could only shake his head.

Then Tang Xiao Kui ran away.

Zhai Da sighed deeply.
take it easy.

　Don't worry, the fact that it has sparked discussion shows that Xiao Xin's character is quite well-developed.

　　Ordinary people rarely understand our welfare system, including the protagonist. He wouldn't have come here if he hadn't been guided. And once the protagonist arrives, things will naturally unfold properly.

　　It wasn't done with a specific purpose, but rather because an opportunity arose.

　　I don't use knives unless absolutely necessary.

　　At best, it's just a way to elicit tears.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)