Chapter 123 – Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child – 55

The senior leader said excitedly, “I want all of them! Comrade Shen, could you…”

Shen Xiuyan nodded, “I can, but you’ll have to promise me something.”

“Go ahead, name it,” said the senior leader without hesitation. As long as Shen dared to ask, he dared to do it—at this point, he had no principles left.

Shen Xiuyan smiled slightly. “I’ve developed all these new products, right? It’s easy for my parents in the city to use them since they have electricity. But the village where my father- and mother-in-law live still doesn’t have electricity. Could we prioritize getting power there? Otherwise, all these appliances I’m developing would be useless to them.”

The senior leader was taken aback. He hadn’t expected such a simple request.

When he looked at Shen Xiuyan, a hint of reverence appeared in his eyes. Old Qiu always said Shen had a “love brain”—so what if he did?

A child this outstanding, who never seeks credit and is so filial—where else could you find someone like that?

At this moment, in the senior leader’s eyes, even if Shen Xiuyan did nothing but breathe, he’d still find something to praise.

The senior leader beamed. “No problem at all. I’ll have someone arrange it right away. You just keep charging forward—leave small family matters like this to us. We’ll take care of it.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you. Just wait and see. I’ll have all the blueprints completed before the year’s out.”

“Good, good, good!” The senior leader let out his heartiest laugh of the year.
That same day, in a village thousands of miles away, everyone was beaming with joy.

“Heavens, the work will be finished today, right?”

“Yeah! Who would’ve thought our village would get electricity? We’re the first within a ten-mile radius!”

“It’s all thanks to Educated Youth Shen. I heard from the site manager—it’s because of his outstanding contributions to the country. When they asked him what reward he wanted, he said to bring electricity to our village. Otherwise, how could we be this lucky?”

After some discussion, the higher-ups realized that giving electricity to just one village would draw too much attention.

But electrifying all the surrounding villages wasn’t feasible either—not enough time, not enough budget.

So, to give the public an acceptable explanation, they had no choice but to come up with this reason.

Well—was it really made up?

Shen Xiuyan had made outstanding contributions to the country. Even if they’d pulled strings, they had every right to do so!

The villagers didn’t know about the political maneuvering. They simply chatted excitedly.

“Such a good kid—so filial to his in-laws. We all get to benefit from it!”

“Exactly. I always say our Brigade Leader had great foresight. Back when Educated Youth Shen was just a handsome young man with a weak constitution, how many families wanted to marry their daughters to him? None! But the Brigade Leader was willing. Now that’s sharp vision!”

“Hahaha! Thank the Brigade Leader for bringing in such a great son-in-law and blessing the village! You know what I heard? For the first year after the electricity comes, we don’t even have to pay for it!”

“What… really?”

“If you don’t believe me, ask the Brigade Leader.” One sharp-eyed person spotted the Brigade Leader overseeing the site and called out, “Brigade Leader, come over here!”

As they say, good news makes the spirit soar. The Brigade Leader, though an old man, now looked ten years younger and full of energy.

He came over with a smile. “You called me?”

“Yes, Brigade Leader, we wanted to ask: is it true that once the village gets electricity, the first year is free?”

The Brigade Leader nodded happily. “That’s right. You’ve already heard? It’s a special benefit Xiuyan secured for our village.”

“Oh wow, Educated Youth Shen is such a good person—still thinking of us even while he’s out in the world. You really hit the jackpot, Brigade Leader!” the person said, giving a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, if you ask me, your good fortune is just beginning.”

Having benefited from the arrangement, the villagers were full of praise.

The Brigade Leader chuckled, “Then I’ll borrow your good words!”

It may have been casual flattery—but they turned out to be right…

Not long after the village got electricity, all sorts of newfangled gadgets started arriving at the home of the Su family’s Brigade Leader.

These were things the villagers had never even heard of. Supposedly, they were all new inventions by Shen Xiuyan—products not even on the market yet, delivered straight to his in-laws. A one-of-a-kind setup.

Everyone was green with envy, staring helplessly—they couldn’t even buy the stuff if they wanted to.

One day, after dinner, the Brigade Leader was lounging under a tree when a few people noticed him and were surprised. After all, hadn’t he been holed up inside lately, fussing over his new treasures? What was he doing outside now?

Curious, a crowd gathered.

A cheerful auntie asked, “Brigade Leader, eaten yet?”

The Brigade Leader replied, “Yes, Xiuyan just sent me a television.”

Another aunt thought he didn’t hear clearly. “Brigade Leader, Old Chu was asking if you’ve eaten.”

The Brigade Leader nodded, “Yes—a color television.”

Everyone: “……”

He’d heard them just fine—he’d meant to answer that way…

No wonder he was outside today. He was waiting for a moment to brag!

Brigade Leader, this is too much! You looking for a beating?

Seeing their annoyed expressions, Su Brigade Leader burst out laughing. “Just kidding! Don’t be mad—come on, let’s go to my place and watch TV. It’s a color television! The first one ever!”

Everyone thought—even a black-and-white TV is a rarity, let alone color. Not just in their village—barely any families in the entire county could afford one.

Of course they were tempted. Smiles quickly replaced frowns, and they followed him eagerly into the Su family home.

Inside, Liu Yanyun was watching the screen, completely absorbed—until she suddenly noticed a dark mass in front of her. Startled, she snapped back to reality—good heavens, why were there so many people in her house?

The Brigade Leader gave her an awkward smile. “Yanyun, these folks are here to watch TV.”

Liu Yanyun rolled her eyes. Just look at you—so smug. As if I didn’t know you went out to show off just now.

She stood up and greeted everyone. “Come on in, make yourselves comfortable.”

The moment they saw the TV, shock flashed in everyone’s eyes.

“Oh my, the people are right there inside?”

“They’re moving!”

“Haha, of course they are! If they didn’t move, how could it be called a television?”

Su Brigade Leader proudly explained, “It’s still in testing mode, so there are only two channels. Just bear with it for now. Xiuyan said that once color TVs hit the market, there’ll be way more content to watch.”

But no one was paying him any attention.

All eyes were glued to the screen—completely transfixed.