Chapter 122: The Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child – 54

That day, the Brigade Leader’s household became the hottest topic in the village.

A top county official had come to his house—and even brought him a little gadget that could make phone calls.

That also meant they all learned about Shen Xiuyan’s grand achievements in City B.

No one had expected that after just a few days away, Shen Xiuyan had turned into someone they all looked up to.

They couldn’t help but marvel once again—just what kind of dumb luck had the old Su family stumbled into? They were definitely going to make it big in the future.

The next day, Brigade Leader Su looked at the low battery on his phone and thought about heading into the county to find a place to charge it.

But as soon as he stepped outside, some village officials approached with a few others in tow. “Brigade Leader, these are people sent from above to work on our village’s infrastructure. Take them to the office area to get familiar with things.”

“Alright, alright.” Brigade Leader Su was blocked from leaving and could only helplessly stuff the phone back into his pocket.

Then, with a cheerful smile, he said to the group, “Come, come, follow me. I’ll give you a rundown of our village.”

The group’s expressions darkened suddenly as they stared at him in disbelief—did he just casually shove such an expensive phone into his pocket like that?

Did he even realize there were only two of these in circulation across the whole country—one in City B, and one in his hand—and yet he was acting like it was nothing?

Should they call it nerves of steel, or just blissful ignorance…

If some criminal had their eyes on him, his life would be in serious danger.

No wonder the higher-ups had sent people to protect him in secret—his attitude really did make it necessary.

But thinking more carefully, it kind of made sense. After all, his son-in-law could whip one of those up in minutes. To him, it probably came so easily that he didn’t know how to value it.

The group followed Brigade Leader Su to the village’s office site. Along the way, he kept chattering non-stop, filling them in.

Once inside, a parched Brigade Leader Su grabbed a mug of tea and took a big gulp.

Even as he drank, he kept talking cheerfully, patting one guy’s arm. “Young man, what did you do before this? You look strong—clearly someone good at hard work.”

The man puffed out his chest and replied proudly, “I’m a soldier—currently active duty!”

Pfft! Brigade Leader Su spat out his tea.

With trembling hands, he pointed at them. “You—you’re all…?”

The group solemnly nodded.

One of them stepped forward and said, “We’re here under the guise of assisting with infrastructure, but our real mission is to protect you. If you ever need anything—say, a phone charge—you can come to me.”

Brigade Leader Su: “…”

Clutching his chest, he slowly sat down. Too much. It was all just too much.

He was just a farmer—how had he come to the point where soldiers were sent to protect him?

Shen Xiuyan’s impact on his life had been nothing short of overwhelming—he wasn’t going to recover from the shock anytime soon.

But Shen Xiuyan didn’t care about any of that. In City B, he had already launched full-speed into research and development.

This time, the team involved was huge—around a hundred people from various regions and fields, all following Shen Xiuyan’s lead, working methodically and steadily.

Among them were even white-haired elderly experts—people who had dedicated their lives to the country. Even in old age, they eagerly soaked up new knowledge and embraced new domains with tireless energy.

With such collective determination, progress was fast—so fast that Dean Qiu was filled with excitement and awe.

Of course, building a fighter jet was a massive project. Even with smooth sailing, it couldn’t be completed overnight.

During this period of R&D, Shen Xiuyan would disappear for a few days from time to time.

But every time he returned, he would bring out new, innovative products—each of which significantly improved people’s quality of life in various ways.

Dean Qiu both loved and hated him for it. In just a few short months, Shen Xiuyan had caused so many big waves. Qiu had already gone through several bottles of emergency heart pills.

But no matter how much he grumbled, whenever he saw the long lines of people waiting for the new products, he couldn’t stop grinning.

He kept exclaiming that it was too much—far too much. He wanted to mass-produce them, but there were simply too many to keep up.

The commotion even caught the attention of high-level leadership. After learning that Shen Xiuyan was an all-around genius, a senior leader personally came to meet him.

The leader greeted him with a kind smile. “Comrade Shen, is everything going well at the institute?”

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “Very well. Dean Qiu has taken great care of me.”

Dean Qiu, sitting beside him, looked deeply aggrieved. How could I not? I’d give him my life if I could…

“Then I’m relieved,” the leader said with a smile. “By the way, I noticed that your recent inventions are mostly home appliances. Is that your area of expertise?”

Shen Xiuyan shook his head and answered with perfect confidence, “Nope. I just think everything’s about the same difficulty—equally simple. So of course I want to invent things that make my wife’s life more comfortable.”

Leader: “…”

Dean Qiu covered his face. Knew it. That’s why I didn’t even bother asking.

Why, dear leader, must you torment yourself like this? For a lovestruck genius, any such question is a waste of time…

“Haha… ha…” The experienced senior leader forced a couple of awkward laughs. This was truly the first time he’d met someone like Shen Xiuyan.

He then cautiously asked, “In the future, would you be able to research weapons? Of course, it’s fine if not—just testing the waters…”

Shen Xiuyan tilted his head. “What would you like? Aircraft carrier, main battle tank, or a stealth fighter jet?”

Hisss~ (x2)—the sound of both men drawing in sharp breaths.

They looked at each other, completely unable to believe their ears.

Shen Xiuyan really dared to say such things.

But judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be joking…

Dean Qiu hurriedly pulled out a bottle of heart pills from his coat, popped one into his mouth, and offered another to the senior leader.

The leader didn’t hesitate—he downed it immediately. No wonder Old Qiu couldn’t take it. Who could take this kind of shock?

Dean Qiu asked cautiously, “You… you can really do it?”

Shen Xiuyan scratched his head. “I think so. Doesn’t seem that hard.”

Dean Qiu: “…”

Senior Leader: “%￥@R^u0026(u0026”

This time, neither of them could stay calm. The senior leader’s words had devolved into a string of garbled nonsense. Dean Qiu quickly stepped in with a serious tone, “You can’t joke about this kind of thing!”

Shen Xiuyan stared at him blankly. “Do I look like someone who jokes?”

Dean Qiu fell silent.

Because Shen Xiuyan really wasn’t someone who joked. If he dared say it, odds were he could actually pull it off.

The senior leader snapped out of his daze, shoved Dean Qiu aside, and tightly grasped Shen Xiuyan’s hand.

With a face full of disdain, he motioned at Dean Qiu, “Go, go—step aside. How could you speak to Comrade Shen like that?”

Dean Qiu stared in disbelief. So this is who you really are, Senior Leader? Two-faced, are we!?

But the senior leader didn’t care one bit what Dean Qiu thought. At that moment, his entire world revolved around Shen Xiuyan.