Chapter 93: Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child – 24

In the blink of an eye, the wedding day of Shen Xiuyan and Su Mingyue had arrived.

Because Brigade Leader Su was the head of the brigade, and Shen Xiuyan was an educated youth, the Su household was packed with people coming to offer their congratulations.

Brigade Leader Su had arranged the borrowed tables and bowls early in the morning. There were so many that they stretched from the courtyard all the way out onto the village road.

Traditionally, the bride was supposed to be picked up and brought from one household to another.

But Shen Xiuyan hadn’t built a separate house. He was going to live with Brigade Leader Su and his family.

So the wedding ritual was modified: Su Mingyue sat on the back seat of a bicycle while Shen Xiuyan pushed her in a circle around the village, then brought her back to the Su home.

In this era, no one made a fuss about such matters. Shen Xiuyan had already given the Su family enough face. Choosing not to waste money building a new house made perfect sense.

After all, his home wasn’t here. There was no telling when he might return to the city, so spending that money would have been a waste.

Besides, Su Mingyue was the only daughter in the family. Living together wasn’t an issue at all.

Everything about the arrangement seemed reasonable, and naturally, on such a joyous day, no one said otherwise.
As the saying goes, people beam with joy on happy occasions. Shen Xiuyan was no exception.

He wore a neatly tailored Zhongshan suit. His hair had been tidied up, and a bright red celebratory flower was pinned to his chest. It made his already handsome face even more eye-catching—more than a few people along the way secretly swallowed their saliva at the sight of him.

Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Su Mingyue also looked quite good today.

The clothes she wore were clearly newly made, and the fabric wasn’t cheap.

She also had a festive red flower pinned in her hair, and her face carried a faint blush of happiness.

This scene stung the eyes of certain onlookers, but with nowhere to vent their jealousy, they silently cursed them even more viciously in their hearts.

But none of that affected the bride and groom in the slightest.

After Shen Xiuyan brought Su Mingyue back to the courtyard, Brigade Leader Su stepped forward and said a few words, and the wedding banquet officially began.

As dish after dish was served, the guests were stunned.

My god—there’s even meat!

They had only given a few coins as a wedding gift. Wasn’t Brigade Leader Su going to lose money doing this?

Of course he was. But a daughter only got married once in a lifetime.

So Brigade Leader Su went all out this time. After all, the son-in-law had given him so much face—he couldn’t fall behind.

He borrowed a bunch of meat coupons to buy dozens of catties of pork, and even stewed the family’s two egg-laying hens. Each table had two meat dishes. It wasn’t a lot, but it was more than enough to whet the appetite.

Shen Xiuyan’s honor had been fully upheld as well.

Sure enough, when the dishes were brought out, the whole place went silent.

Then no one said a word.

They all huddled around the tables and devoured the food.

Mmm… so good.

This one’s delicious too.

Brigade Leader really delivered.

Praises filled their minds.

When Brigade Leader Su saw the looks on their faces, he knew he’d achieved his goal.

After everyone had eaten for a while, the newlyweds came out to toast the guests. Those who had been wolfing down food finally raised their noble heads.

Ah—damn, that was good!

They licked their lips. As shameless as it was, some of them really wished Shen Xiuyan could get married once a month…

Shen Xiuyan had no idea what they were thinking. He just smiled brightly, saying, “Everyone, eat and drink your fill!”

“Will do, will do!”

“Come now, Educated Youth Shen, Mingyue—come here, I’ll toast you.”

The two of them moved from table to table, the picture of a perfect couple. No wonder Brigade Leader Su had spared no expense on the banquet today.

After all, finding a son-in-law like Shen Xiuyan—no amount of money would be too much.

That day, the villagers enjoyed a wedding feast they would never forget. Even months later, they could still recall the taste of the food.

Su Mingyue struggled to support the drunken Shen Xiuyan into the house.

Just as she laid him on the bed, his gaze cleared instantly—he didn’t look drunk at all.

“Brother Shen, you’re not drunk?” Su Mingyue was surprised.

Shen Xiuyan shook his head. “Nope. I was pretending. Otherwise, how else could I get away so easily?”

These educated youths had probably been cooped up too long with nothing to do. Faced with such a joyful event, they’d been pouring drinks like mad.

Thankfully, his father-in-law had prepared plenty of alcohol. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been enough.

Su Mingyue praised him, “You’re so clever.”

Shen Xiuyan proudly lifted his chin. “Of course. Who do you think I am? No way I’d let them drink me under the table.”

On a wedding night of all times, anyone with half a brain knew better than to get drunk.

Especially someone like Shen Xiuyan, who might be made entirely of scheming.

“Brother Shen, have some water,” Su Mingyue said gently, handing him a cup.

Shen Xiuyan smiled, “Still calling me Brother Shen? Time to change that.”

Blushing, Su Mingyue squeezed out, “Xiuyan-ge…”

“Call me ‘husband.’” Shen Xiuyan tapped her forehead gently.

Su Mingyue looked everywhere but at him, yet in the end, she still forced out the word “husband.”

Now Shen Xiuyan was satisfied.

He pulled her into his arms and lay back on the bed.

Su Mingyue’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.

He teased, “Your little face is already this red. What are you going to do later?”

Embarrassed, Su Mingyue quickly covered his mouth.

Shen Xiuyan’s eyes darkened. He quietly licked her palm in response.

Su Mingyue froze. She tried to pull her hand back, but he had already caught it in a tight grip.

Mmm~

Brother Shen is so shameless.

Shen Xiuyan caught the meaning in her eyes and chuckled. “There’s even more shamelessness to come.”

With that, he flipped over and pinned her beneath him.

The crimson candlelight flickered under the moonlight. The enamel cup that Shen Xiuyan had just drunk from stood silently on the table, bearing witness to the absurdity before it.
They slept straight through to midday. Unsurprisingly, neither of them earned any work points today.

This upset Su Mingyue, who always worked diligently.

That’s two work points lost—they could be exchanged for money at year’s end!

She could let Brother Shen slack off, but how could she be late?

After all, the household would depend on her from now on. She didn’t know where her ambition came from, but she was absolutely determined to support Shen Xiuyan.

Su Mingyue opened the door with a heavy heart—only to meet Liu Yanyun’s beaming eyes.

“Well, you’re up.”

Su Mingyue: “……”

Facing her mother’s I know everything expression, she bolted outside to wash up.

Shen Xiuyan followed behind, shameless as ever.

He met his mother-in-law’s teasing gaze with a mysterious smile of his own.

That smile made Liu Yanyun flustered—like she was too nosy about her daughter’s bedroom matters.

KO.

“I’ve already made lunch. I’ll go heat it up,” Liu Yanyun muttered, fleeing the scene like her feet were on skates.

Only then did Su Mingyue, who had been pretending to wash her face, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Shen Xiuyan looked at his mother-in-law’s retreating figure and sighed softly. It really wasn’t like before. The courtyard was small, and living together was inconvenient.

Just bear with it. Once he passed the National College Entrance Examination next year and returned to the city, things would be fine.

At lunch, Brigade Leader Su came back from work. After eating, Shen Xiuyan struck up a conversation.

“By the way, Dad, do you know where I can buy high school textbooks?”

Brigade Leader Su looked puzzled. “That’s not easy to get. What do you want high school textbooks for?”

There was only an elementary school in their village. Mingyue had even had to walk to the county every day to attend middle school—let alone high school.

Shen Xiuyan said in a low voice, “My family wrote to me. I heard that the National College Entrance Examination will be reinstated next year.”

“What?” Brigade Leader Su couldn’t believe it. “Is that true?”

This kind of thing isn’t something you can just say lightly.