Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 259 New Members

"Click".

A soft click of the shutter.

Then came a hissing sound of something being spat out.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Zhai Da handed Tang Xiao Kui a freshly taken Polaroid photo that had not yet developed its colors.

"Give it a shake."

Tang Xiaokui skillfully swung the object, but her movements became slower and slower.
A smile slowly crept onto her lips, while tears gradually filled her eyes.

The photograph no longer showed indistinguishable blemishes or blurred marker outlines.

Instead, it was a man who, with a beaming smile, lifted up his daughter.

The colors were so vibrant, and the man's laughter was so hearty.

Flowers and trees in the background, Ferris wheel in the distance
"Dad. Dad's picture!"

Zhai Da feigned smugness and laughed, "I told you I'm a magician!"

Unexpectedly, this "temporary ownership" equipment worked quite well. Was it because Tang Xiaokui's imagination was detailed enough, or did the [Souvenir Photo] automatically complete the task?

The two people in the photo, one big and one small, both have such vivid expressions.

Tang Xiaokui held up the photo, jumping up and down, her short hair turning into little mushrooms.

Zhai Da had never seen the child so happy.

"A picture of my dad! I have a picture of my dad again!"

Zhai Da raised the Polaroid camera as a souvenir: "Come on, let's continue! There are still many negatives left."

Tang Xiao Kui exclaimed in surprise, "Is there really more? Is there really more?!"

The little girl quickly turned around, closed her eyes, and used all her brain cells to construct a new picture.

Zhai Da snapped another photo.

The second photo is taken in a cozy home.

The cute little girl is lifting the hem of her skirt, striking a princess pose.

Meanwhile, a man, seemingly obsessed with his daughter, was snapping photos with a Polaroid camera.

This was an unprecedented perspective; even on that day, Tang Fengyi's photos only featured Tang Xiaokui.

But today, both father and daughter are in the photo frame.

"Click".

The third photo is taken inside a car.

The perspective is from outside the windshield.

The girl sat in the passenger seat, head tilted to the side, drooling, fast asleep.

The man gripped the steering wheel tightly, his dark circles under his eyes thick, yet he forced himself to be alert.

This must be a purely imagined scene.

This was on the way to Suzhou by the father and daughter. At this time, Tang Xiao Kui did not know that there were no lions in the Lion Park.

The fourth photo, the fourth photo.
Tang Xiao Kui, who was getting more and more excited, suddenly said, "Wait! Wait, big brother, I'm not ready yet!"

The little girl clenched her fists tightly, as if she were using all her strength to think.

Zhai Da was puzzled, but waited patiently.

After a long while, Tang Xiaokui shouted, "Alright! Now!"

"Crack."

A moment later, Tang Xiaokui nervously waved the photo around.

As the colors gradually appeared, Zhai Da looked on curiously.

It was at home, and the girl was wearing a paper birthday crown, closing her eyes and making a wish in front of a large chocolate cake.

But she wasn't alone.

But two people.

A young, handsome man, and a woman with a gentle smile.

Tang Xiao Kui stared blankly at the photo. It was a scene she had never seen with her own eyes, and it was also a scene she had dreamed about countless nights.

Tang Xiao Kui stepped forward and hugged Zhai Da tightly: "Thank you, Brother Zhai, you really do have magic!"

------

When Zhai Da and Tang Xiao Kui came out again, it was already very close to midnight.

On that old television set, various celebrities were still singing and dancing joyfully, and many of them were even "acquaintances" of Zhai Da, whose contact information was saved in his mobile phone.

But by then, no one in the courtyard was paying attention anymore.

Zhai Da noticed that Yu Xiaoli and Li Huifen were huddled together, chatting about something, nodding to each other from time to time.

Zhai Da took Tang Xiao Kui back to Yu Xiaoli, who immediately knelt down and picked up the little girl: "Oh dear~ why are you crying! Zhai Da, what did you do!"

Zhai Da shrugged: "It was just... a heart-to-heart talk, some encouragement."

As she spoke, she gave Tang Xiaokui a look. The two had already agreed that the matter of magic would be a secret between them.

Zhai Da will come early tomorrow and take Tang Xiao Kui out to try to scan and photocopy all the "magic photos".

After returning the person to his mother, Zhai Da looked around, trying to find Xiao Mutou, but instead saw Li Dongdong beckoning to him.

"what happened?"

Li Dongdong pulled him aside, lowered her voice, and said, "I've taken care of everything you asked about the tree."

Zhai Da's eyes lit up: "How so?"

You've got a blue item just like that?
"The construction team has already made arrangements. They will start work on the first day back to work after the Spring Festival. They will first dig up the tree for you, and then transport it to the place where you need it. You just need to decide where to plant it, and they will also transplant it there."

Zhai Da looked at Li Kangda not far away. County Chief Li raised his beer glass, clearly knowing what Li Dongdong was talking about.

Zhai Da also returned a friendly smile.

Having connections in the county makes things much easier.

"That's great, do I need to pay?"

Li Dongdong shook his head: "No need for money. Calculating the cost would be ten times more troublesome. At most, there will be some shipping and labor costs, maybe one or two thousand. I'll pay for it. Consider it a Chinese New Year gift for you."

Zhai Da did not refuse. Although the amount of money was not much for him, he still agreed that Li Dongdong would pay for it.

This also means acknowledging this "social obligation".

Where do you plan to plant it?

Zhai Da gave the only answer: "We can only plant them at No. 99 Luochuan Road for now. It's more reassuring, and someone will take care of them."

We can't exactly plant them in the mountains, can we?
The nearby residents are getting radiation~, okay, just kidding, he'll turn off the [equipment effect] immediately.

At this moment, Xiang You came over with his parents: "Zhai Da, I have something to discuss with you?"

"You said."

"I'm planning to sponsor a child at an orphanage. I heard you just did it, so I'm here to ask how it works, what the process is, and how much it costs approximately?"

Zhai Da was taken aback.

Joy ultimately yielded positive results.

"Actually, it's very little. I'm sponsoring their food expenses, which is less than 300 yuan per child per month. All the children in the welfare home receive this. If you're interested, you can consider other forms of assistance."

"for example?"

"For example, after compulsory education, the living expenses are subsidized. High school students get about 300 to 400 yuan a month, and if they can go to university, it's 500 to 600 yuan?"

"Of course, we are all living in other places. It would be nice if our parents could come to visit more often during holidays. It doesn't necessarily have to cost money."

Unlike more than a decade later, the welfare system is now in a relatively "low-profile" state and doesn't attract much attention.

Every year from now on, the number of volunteers will increase, but there always has to be a beginning. Changes always start in big cities. In the case of the Dongyang County Welfare Home, these children may not see a qualitative leap until they reach adulthood.

Even a small gathering could help the children at the Dongyang County Welfare Home receive attention sooner.

That's a good thing too.

Xiang You's parents exchanged a glance and laughed, "We hadn't noticed before, but we were really touched after coming here this time. We were planning to come and visit often anyway, but we still need to provide financial assistance. It also gives Xiang You some motivation. He'll pay for it himself, haha."

Xiang You chuckled: "I'll take it. I've got money! I didn't touch a single penny of Utopia's dividends, and I even made a profit."

Zhai Da asked curiously, "How did you earn it?"

"I studied computer science, so I helped people make a few websites using templates, and then helped middle-aged people who didn't know anything about it with registration and stuff. But I didn't earn much, only a few thousand yuan a semester. But next semester I'm planning to see if I can make games, that's more impressive." Zhai Da smiled sincerely: "Shanghai is indeed a good place to make games."

Before they could talk much, Liu Meng came over with her parents: "Zhai Da, I'd like to ask you about sponsoring the welfare home."

Zhai Da and Xiang You were both stunned.

"You want financial assistance too?"

A voice called out from afar, "Hey~ I was just thinking about that, and now someone's trying to steal it too!"

Ao Wen jogged over and said, "Count me in, I want one too."

More and more people joined the discussion, and Zhai Da's circle of friends also grew.

Chu Xiang: "Me too! I also plan to sponsor a child."

Fan Junwei: "I'll join in the fun too. There are prizes for boxing these days."

Li Dongdong: "Add one! I'll start earning money next semester! I have to earn this money myself!"

Lu Siwen: "I'll join too! I get paid for my writing! I will!"

More and more boys and girls gathered around with smiles on their faces.

Their motivation was definitely not out of pity.

It's purely because of happiness, and the desire to continue that happiness.

Further away, Lu Zetao, who had spent the night privately socializing with Li Kangda, felt a surge of joy and thought:

“County Chief Li, we’ve taken good care of the children here, but there should be other orphans and children in need in Dongyang County. I plan to continue supporting Dongyang’s welfare programs and give back more to the local community, such as providing each child with a nutritional subsidy.”

Li Kangda laughed heartily: "Hey~ that's great, come to the county committee after the New Year, and we'll have a good chat."

Although Li Kangda was only a county magistrate, he was both a county official and a direct subordinate to Lu Zetao, as most of his business was in Dongyang County and they had dealt with each other quite a bit before.

Now that Zhai Da, or rather Utopia, has become a link, they will likely become even closer in the future.

Standing amidst the crowd, feeling overwhelmed by the cacophony of voices, Zhai Da simply stood on a chair: "There are too many people and it's too chaotic today. Winter break is still a while away, so let's discuss things in detail with Dean Li before we leave. There's no rush."

"Okay, it's up to you."

"So what do we do now? Is it almost over?"

Zhai Da pointed to the small mountain of firecrackers and fireworks piled up in the corner: "We still have a big job to do, let's set off the firecrackers!"

Then he immediately began directing everyone to make room, clear away the tables, and empty the concrete ground in the very center of the courtyard.

This time, nobody bothered to intervene.

"Hurry up and try to light it as soon as possible during the Spring Festival! Together with the county's fireworks."

------

As a large group of people were making arrangements to clear the space and prepare to set off the blasting, the enforcement officer, Wang Guofeng, was already standing in front of the car across the street.

He craned his neck for one last look, then got into the car and drove away.

His shift wasn't actually over; he had just swapped shifts with a colleague for a few hours and needed to go back before midnight.

As for the fireworks, let's leave them for the children to watch.

As he drove away from the familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard, Wang Guofeng rolled down the car window and lit a cigarette.

The smoke was carried away by the cold wind, but my heart felt warm.

He couldn't describe the feeling, but he just wanted to smoke one.

On New Year's Eve, there were very few vehicles on the road, and Wang Guofeng drove very fast.

But as I passed a certain bridge, a thought struck me, and I stopped the car.

This is where Tang Fengyi committed suicide.

He wasn't a police officer; he had only learned about the situation through the case files. The shoes in the photo, which had been voluntarily removed, seemed to have been found in this area.

Wang Guofeng paced back and forth at the bridgehead for a moment, for reasons unknown.

He just felt that something was wrong with his father, who was so strong, committing suicide without warning.

This wasn't from a criminal investigation perspective, but rather because after getting to know Tang Xiao Kui in depth, Wang Guofeng, who was also an orphan, found it incomprehensible that she was so well protected.

Is that father really willing to just abandon his child like that?
After going back and forth several times, Wang Guofeng still came up empty-handed and prepared to go back to his shift.

But as I passed by a certain spot, a bright red appeared at the edge of my vision.

The bright red flowers with yellow stamens hung forlornly on the treetops, looking somewhat wilted.

Camellia. A strange name, Tang Xiaokui taught him.
As spring approaches, only one of these flowers, which blooms in winter, remains on the branch.

Wang Guofeng walked up to him, stared at him for a moment, and suddenly a flash of lightning struck his mind.

“That’s called ‘Nai Dong’ (meaning ‘winter jasmine’), my dad taught me that. He often bought it for me and put it in my hair.”

Are there any places that sell these roadside flowers?

To reach that distance, one would probably have to wade through the muddy riverbank.
Even because there's only one flower left, it has to stretch out its body with all its might, and even jump up.
The time of death was determined to be between 5 and 6 a.m. In winter, before dawn, it is the darkest time of day. A person who has worked overtime all night will inevitably be in a daze and extremely exhausted.
Wang Guofeng suddenly realized something.
Unable to discern the river's boundary, he stepped into thin air. The icy water quickly cooled his body, preventing him from struggling to reach the shore.
At this moment, his cell phone rang.

"Old Li, I'll go back and relieve you right away."

"It's not that I'm rushing you, but we've made a new discovery. A businessman from Suzhou contacted us. He's a friend of Tang Fengyi and said that Tang Fengyi used to buy gold every year and save it up as a dowry for his daughter. He just learned of Tang Fengyi's death and contacted us on his own initiative."

"This can be considered a newly discovered legacy."

Wang Guofeng was taken aback, then smiled and said, "I understand. In order to ensure the survival of minors, a portion of the debt inheritance should be retained with the highest priority, unless it exceeds the local minimum subsistence allowance for minors multiplied by the amount of the minor's age at adulthood."

Old Li chuckled, "You always know the legal provisions about these kinds of things so well. Are you going to be a judge someday?"

"Who knows? I'll stop talking to you for now. I also have a guess: Tang Fengyi may not have committed suicide, but died accidentally. Of course, the specific circumstances will depend on the police's judgment."

"But if that's the case, maybe the insurance company can offer some compensation. His debts and Tang Xiaokui's future will all change. However, we don't need to tell that girl for now."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Guofeng took one last look at the camellia on the branch.

With a slight smile, she stepped back into the night.

Almost simultaneously, two spectacular fireworks displays appeared in the sky above Dongyang County.

"Hey~"

"Boom! Boom!"

Wang Guofeng turned his head to look.

One is in the county seat, and the other is in the county suburbs.

The same splendor, the same liveliness.

It brought smiles to all the children.

At the Dongyang County Welfare Home, a group of people gathered together, looking up at the fireworks. They could only say that although the firecrackers had been a rip-off, the "Wan Chun Lai He" (a traditional Chinese New Year celebration) was indeed impressive.

It's no worse than what the county releases itself.

Zhai Da held Xiao Mutou's hand with his left hand and his mother's hand with his right hand as he spent his first New Year's Eve after his rebirth.

Feels pretty good.
Not in vain.

Yu Xiaoli secretly tugged at Zhai Da's sleeve, making him turn his gaze away from the sky.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"Xiao Da, I want to discuss this with you. Do you think it's a good idea for me to adopt Tang Xiao Kui? Can you accept having a new member in the family?"

Zhai Da looked at Tang Xiao Kui, who was holding her mother's hand. The little girl's mind was completely on the fireworks, and she was unaware that the conversation beside her would change her life.

Zhai Da thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, I think so."

Bang!Bang!Bang!
A series of fireworks sounds drowned out Zhai Da's voice.

------

A few kilometers away, at the Dongyang County Cemetery.

The chaotic daytime rituals ended, leaving behind a mess that the management hadn't had time to clean up.

Someone set off a short-weight firecracker this morning, leaving behind a mess of scraps of paper that no one bothered to clean up, and the security guard pocketed ten yuan for nothing.

Unnoticed by anyone, several red marks were splattered on the nearby tombstone, with red firecracker paper falling on it. Whether this was considered to have brought good luck or disturbed the deceased's peaceful rest, it was unclear.

Tang Fengyi, Dong Jingyao.

If you stand in front of the tombstone and turn around, you can see the welfare home not far away, and all two fireworks in the sky above Dongyang.

The stone tablet, illuminated by the fireworks, flickered in and out of focus, as if it were speaking.

There are also several tombstones in this cemetery.

They were all admiring the sky ablaze with fireworks.

(End of this chapter)