Chapter 130: The Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child – 62

The two elders couldn’t understand it—so your studies are important, but our son-in-law doing experiments isn’t?

They hadn’t received much education themselves, but even they could see what mattered more.

You don’t do this, you don’t do that—what exactly did our son-in-law see in you?

Was it your beauty?

But let’s be honest, your face isn’t even as good-looking as his…

Either he’s got some serious rose-colored glasses on, or he’s just blind…

Suddenly, the two elders felt even more guilty. Living in this big house didn’t feel so justified anymore.

Brigade Leader Su gave Liu Yanyun a look, as if to say, “Go on then, say something about your daughter. Weren’t you just bragging about how well you raised her? Time to own up.”

Liu Yanyun’s face stung with embarrassment.

She patted her daughter’s hand and once again tried to gently persuade her.

“Sweetheart, listen to your mom for a second—don’t get upset. A family is built by two people working together. You can’t just be selfish and act like a hands-off boss who does nothing. If this goes on, what will your husband think of you? What about your mother-in-law?”

Only then did Su Mingyue realize what this whole fuss was about.

She pulled Liu Yanyun into a side hug and chuckled, “Mom, do I look like someone who slacks off? It’s Brother Xiuyan who won’t let me do anything! Every time I try to help, he gets upset. Don’t worry—if he ever decides to stop, I’ll step in without a second thought.”

“Good, good, that’s more like it.” Hearing that her daughter wasn’t actually unwilling to help out, Liu Yanyun felt a little relieved—but only a little.

It wasn’t until the next day, when they met the in-laws, that her perspective completely changed.

“Hello, in-laws!”

“Hello, hello! You must be Mingyue’s parents. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Liu Yanyun beamed, “We should be thanking you—you raised such a wonderful son. We’re lucky just to be connected to you.”

Zhou Guiying was delighted. Who doesn’t love a good compliment, especially one about themselves and their son?

These in-laws seemed like easy people to get along with.

She warmly linked arms with Liu Yanyun. “Oh, come on now. I know what kind of person my son is. If it weren’t for your daughter pushing him forward, he wouldn’t be where he is today.”

Yes, even now, Zhou Guiying still believed that all of her son’s achievements were thanks to his wife.

Both sides thought they’d gotten the better end of the deal, and the compliments just kept flowing.

The more they talked, the happier they became, feeling like, “Ah, finally, someone who truly understands me.”

Seeing the two families chatting so enthusiastically, Shen Xiuyan realized he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. So he stood up and said, “I’ll go wash some fruit.”

When Liu Yanyun saw her son-in-law stand up while her daughter just sat there like nothing was happening, she was not having it.

She didn’t care how they acted at home, but now, with the in-laws watching, they had to at least put on a good show.

She discreetly motioned to Su Mingyue with her lips. Only then did Su Mingyue get up. “Brother Xiuyan, let me do it.”

As soon as she spoke, two different voices chimed in.

“Sweetheart, sit down.”

“Mingyue, no need. Let Yuanming help.”

Su Mingyue gave a “told you so” look and shrugged at Liu Yanyun.

See? It’s not that she doesn’t want to help—no one lets her! What can she do?

Liu Yanyun shot her a subtle glare. Anyone can say polite things—why do you have to be so literal?

So, as a mother, she quickly stepped in. “No, no, let Mingyue go. Don’t spoil her too much, in-law. She’s done all kinds of chores in our village. She’s great both in and out of the house. If you ever need help, just leave it to her!”

“No way.” Zhou Guiying quickly held Su Mingyue down. “Sit, sweetheart. Let them go do it.”

Then she turned to Liu Yanyun with a smile. “Let my silly boy do it. Mingyue came to our house to enjoy life, not to suffer.”

She really liked this girl. Ever since Mingyue married into the family, their luck had turned around.

Clearly, this girl was born to bring prosperity to her husband and his family.

How could someone like her be made to do chores? Just sitting there and being a good-luck charm was already the best thing she could do for the family.

Shen Xiuyan laughed, “Exactly! I love doing chores.”

Zhou Guiying rolled her eyes at him. “Enough with the jokes. Go already.”

Seeing how genuinely kind Zhou Guiying was, Liu Yanyun was stunned. This woman was acting more like a mother than she was.

What kind of fairy-tale mother-in-law had her daughter married into?

Even though she herself had gotten along decently with her own mother-in-law, it had still taken years of effort.

But her daughter? She looked like she was sitting at the top of the food chain in this household.

Ugh… even though this was her own daughter, Liu Yanyun couldn’t help but feel a little jealous…

This kind of thing happened repeatedly throughout the day, all ending with Su Mingyue sitting comfortably while others did the work.

After that, Liu Yanyun never brought up the idea of Mingyue doing chores again. She finally understood—every family has its own way of doing things. Better to keep her mouth shut, or she might just die of envy…

*

Time passed, and a lot happened in between.

For example, the quality issue at the factory last time led to a severe reprimand from higher-ups.

Fortunately, considering the factory manager’s years of service and dedication, they didn’t pursue criminal charges. Instead, he was stripped of his position and forced into early retirement.

Because of this incident, the higher-ups took notice of Shen Yuanming’s upright and principled character.

And with Shen Xiuyan’s connection, the position of factory manager was handed over to him.

Under Shen Yuanming’s meticulous leadership, the factory’s reputation skyrocketed, and it began to thrive.

After all, who could resist the appeal of an appliance that lasted over a decade without breaking?

People gradually came to accept a strange new belief: when you buy something from this factory, it’s not that it breaks—it’s that you choose to replace it. Who knows how much money that saves?

Anything made by this factory became the most trustworthy choice.

Of course, that’s a story for years down the line.

Today marked an important day for Shen Xiuyan.

It was also a day of national celebration.

The world’s first stealth unmanned combat jet had officially been developed—a technology that was decades ahead of the rest of the world.

When the news was broadcast, everyone looked bewildered.

If it hadn’t come from an official source, the public would’ve thought it was an April Fool’s joke.

Seriously, this was getting out of hand. Even in their wildest bragging, they wouldn’t dare make such a claim…

Once people finally accepted it as true, Shen Xiuyan’s name became famous across the country.

In an office somewhere, a sales rep exclaimed, “Did you hear? Our country developed a stealth unmanned combat jet!”

The coworker next to him turned around, confused. “What… Are you kidding me?”

They weren’t even sure the country could develop a regular jet, and now you’re telling them it’s stealth?

That lie’s a bit much, don’t you think?

The sales rep clicked his tongue. “Come on, you didn’t watch the news this morning? It’s been on repeat all day.”

Seeing how serious he looked, the coworker started to tremble in disbelief.

“It’s actually real?!”

The sales rep grinned. “More real than gold. Why would I lie to you?”

The coworker stammered, “How did our country suddenly come up with such god-tier technology?”

The sales rep puffed up proudly. “You don’t know who’s in charge of the project? It’s Shen Xiuyan—Professor Shen!”

“You mean the same Shen Xiuyan who developed color TVs, phones, washing machines, refrigerators, and all those household gadgets?”

“Who else could it be?”

Hearing that, the coworker wasn’t as shocked anymore. In fact, it felt… expected.

Over the years, Shen Xiuyan had developed so many things that he had practically revolutionized every aspect of daily life.

In their country, you might not know who the national leaders are, but you definitely know Shen Xiuyan—because whatever you buy, it’s either something he developed or something he improved.