Chapter 82: Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child -13

“Of course, I can pay rent…”

Shen Xiuyan’s confidence, however, wasn’t as solid as he made it sound.

Over on the other side, Su Mingyue and her parents had already gone dumbfounded the moment they heard Shen Xiuyan mention the bride price: a sewing machine, a bicycle, and a wristwatch—the famed “three turns and one sound.”

At that point, where they’d live didn’t matter anymore.

The impact of that set of gifts was too strong. In their rural village, even having just one of the four would already be enough to bring honor to a family.

Originally, Liu Yanyun had been thinking that ten or eight yuan from Shen Xiuyan would suffice as a bride price. She’d even planned to throw in that jar of snow cream he gave earlier. They could pitch in with some trunks and a cupboard to make up the rest—it would still look respectable.

After all, just that one jar of snow cream was enough to cause a stir in the village.

Now this young man was talking about gifting the full “three turns and one sound”? Was he insane???

Brigade Leader Su was thoroughly startled. He worried Shen Xiuyan might do something reckless just to fulfill this grand gesture.

He stammered, “No need, no need. Ten or eight yuan will do. Folks in the countryside don’t give ‘three turns and one sound’ for weddings. Even the wealthiest family in the village, the Qis, only gave a wristwatch when marrying off their son—and that ended up going right back to the groom anyway.”

“For real?” Shen Xiuyan’s gossip instincts flared. “So calculating. A man like that is not worth marrying.”

Liu Yanyun chimed in, “Exactly. They hadn’t even been married that long, and that girl already looked like she was having a hard life.”

Shen Xiuyan patted his chest and promised, “Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I’m not like that. Don’t worry—whatever I should give, I won’t skimp on a single cent.”

Aiyo~

He was already calling them “Father-in-law” and “Mother-in-law.”

Liu Yanyun beamed with delight—what a sweet-tongued future son-in-law.

Brigade Leader Su insisted with three back-to-back rejections, “No need, really. Let’s stick with what I said earlier.”

Liu Yanyun echoed, “Yes, yes, we don’t need the ‘three turns and one sound.’”

Such luxurious gifts—who knew when Shen Xiuyan could gather them all? Maybe by then her daughter would be too old to marry.

In her mind, even if he did manage to gather all of them, it wouldn’t be within a year or two.

Her daughter was already twenty. She couldn’t afford to wait.

Shen Xiuyan tilted his head, thought for a moment, then rolled up his sleeve and said, “Tell you what. I already have a wristwatch. If you don’t mind, take this one. I won’t bother buying another.”

The entire Su family gasped in unison, their shock almost comically synchronized.

They looked left and right at each other, each seeing the same stunned disbelief mirrored in the others’ eyes.

When had Shen Xiuyan bought a wristwatch? How had they not heard a word about it?

Such a big deal—if anyone had known, it would’ve already spread through the village like wildfire.

What they didn’t know was that it wasn’t because the original host didn’t want to show off—it was because he hadn’t had the chance. He had only just bought the watch when Shen Xiuyan transmigrated into his body.

Liu Yanyun even shot Su Mingyue a look, as if asking, Did you know about this?
Only to receive a dazed look in return.

Good heavens. Even her daughter didn’t know. She had thought her daughter had finally smartened up and found herself a man with real assets. Turns out she was still just as clueless.

No one at that table had expected Shen Xiuyan to actually have such a solid foundation…

If they’d known earlier, what was there to hesitate about?

So what if he couldn’t do manual labor? That wasn’t a problem at all.

When money got tight, they could just sell the watch—it would feed them for several years.

Brigade Leader Su, after all, was a man of some worldly experience. He was the first to recover.

“No, of course we don’t mind. What’s there to mind? That watch alone is plenty—forget about the ten or eight yuan bride price.”

A wristwatch! He’d be out of his mind to refuse it.

At this point, the brigade leader’s entire demeanor had shifted. He was practically a different man from the stern figure from before.

“Good. Since we’ve saved some money on that, we should still spend on the other things.” Shen Xiuyan kept smiling. “Our family doesn’t have any transport, and I just so happen to have a ticket for a bicycle. Let’s go ahead and buy one. As for the rest, I’ll take care of it.”

Su Mingyue: “……”

Liu Yanyun: “……”

Brigade Leader Su: “……”

Dear god, he even has a bicycle ticket???

What kind of golden turtle son-in-law was this? He was talking about a bicycle like it was no big deal—so casually, like it barely mattered.

“No need…” Brigade Leader Su declined against his own conscience.

Only heaven knew how much his heart ached as he said that.

A bicycle…

He had dreamed of owning one. Even if it belonged to his son-in-law, it would still be his in a way.

“It’s needed.” Shen Xiuyan still looked completely unfazed by their inner turmoil. “We’ll get one.”

He had long wanted a bicycle. He used to think it was too expensive to justify, but now? This was for Mingyue’s bride price. It was both a matter of pride and personal convenience.

With his trash-tier stamina, walking to the county town again wasn’t an option. A bike would make life so much easier.

Liu Yanyun, seeing that he wasn’t the least bit reluctant, quickly stopped Brigade Leader Su from rejecting again.

Her son-in-law genuinely wanted to buy it—no trace of hesitation in his expression. Why keep pushing it away?

A bicycle!

If they really got one, she’d be smiling in her sleep.

Under such a pleasant atmosphere, the rest of their conversation went very smoothly.

At first, Brigade Leader Su had been uneasy about the fact that Shen Xiuyan didn’t want to build a new house after marriage. It made him feel like the man was planning to run off at any time.

But when someone had already brought out a wristwatch and a bicycle, everything else seemed trivial.

These were real, tangible things. They couldn’t run away.

Besides, their daughter was their only child. That house would be hers eventually—no need to build another.

No one was rich these days anyway. Why waste money?

And since there was no shortage of places to live now, it made perfect sense to let the newlyweds move in.

Liu Yanyun was more than pleased with that decision.

Even after getting married, her daughter would still be her daughter. Of course, a mother wanted her child to stay close.

Just like that, Shen Xiuyan was invited to stay and enjoy a delightful breakfast with the Su family.

Even after breakfast, Su Mingyue still hadn’t recovered.

She walked Shen Xiuyan out like a ghost drifting through the mist.

Watching her dazed expression, Shen Xiuyan couldn’t help but smile.

This must be what it felt like to rise from the ashes and sing the song of freedom.

Who would’ve thought that one day his wife would be this stunned over a few items?

He swore to himself that one day, he’d show her even more.

He reached out and gently ruffled her hair. “Come back to earth. Leave everything to me. You just stay home and wait.”

“…Okay.”

Su Mingyue gazed at the man before her, a little dazed, and for the first time… felt something strangely new.