Chapter 87: Educated Youth Who Abandoned His Wife and Child -18

Educated Youth Li suddenly appeared, waving a letter in his hand and calling out to him.

“Xiuyan, I went to the post office today and they said there was a letter for you, so I brought it back.”

The unfeeling work machine finally lifted his noble head. “Thanks, Brother Li.”

Oof, his neck really hurt.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to lift his head before, but keeping it lowered for too long had made it feel impossible to raise…

Rubbing his neck with one hand, he took the letter with the other.

“Brother Li, how come you went out today? Isn’t everyone heading to the county tomorrow as a group?”

“Ah, couldn’t help it—something came up at home, I had to rush a reply.” He waved as he walked off. “No time to chat, I’ll be going.”

“Alright.”

Shen Xiuyan watched his lonely back and sighed. You really couldn’t blame these educated youth for wanting to go home. With the mountains far and the roads long, if anything happened at home, there was no way to help. If he were a native here, he’d be just as anxious.

He opened the letter in his hand—it was a reply from home. So, the letter he sent earlier had arrived.

Just as he expected, the Shen family was very open-minded.

Although the letter was filled with shock over his plans to get married, after the surprise, not a single family member tried to dissuade him from marrying a countryside girl. Instead, they congratulated him and encouraged him to live well here.

They told him that once he had a chance to return to the city, he should bring his wife back with him—everyone in the family would welcome her warmly.

Since Shen Xiuyan’s marriage was a joyous occasion and they couldn’t be there in person, their excitement had nowhere to go. In the end, they sent him two hundred yuan.

The letter included a remittance slip, and he was told to go collect it from the post office when he had time.

Recently, his older brother had gotten another promotion, and the family was better off than before. They told him not to worry—if he was ever short on money, just write home and his brother would send more.

At the end of the letter, his brother also expressed, on behalf of their parents, how much they missed him.

Goodness—Shen Xiuyan looked at the letter, reading each word carefully. It was obvious his brother doted on him.

If it weren’t for the need to support the family, there was no way someone like Shen Xiuyan would have been sent down to the countryside.

Not bad, not bad—this older brother was solid. At least until the college entrance exams came around, Shen Xiuyan had nothing to worry about.

Even though he was shamelessly leeching off him a bit right now, once he made it big in the future, he’d be sure to repay the favor.

With a satisfied smile, Shen Xiuyan tucked the letter and remittance slip away. Then, thinking it wasn’t quite safe enough, he slipped the letter into the inner lining of his jacket.

Just as he finished, he saw Su Mingyue standing there dumbly, staring at him.

He couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle her hair. “What’s wrong?”

Su Mingyue asked in a tiny voice, “Brother Shen… was that a letter from your family? What did they say…”

“Haha, of course they congratulated us! They even told me to live well with you.” Then he leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “Mingyue, you’re coming with me to the county tomorrow too. My mother asked me to bring you a little gift on her behalf.”

Su Mingyue let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness… as long as they weren’t against their marriage, it was fine.

Wait, what!

His mother wanted to send her a gift?

Did that mean… she was pleased with her?

Su Mingyue’s little face lit up even more.

After thinking for a moment, she hesitated and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t go. You can just write back and tell Auntie you gave it to me already.”

“Aiyo, such a sweet mouth.” Shen Xiuyan grinned like a sly little fox at the word “Auntie.” “Forget the gift—just come with me tomorrow and stroll around. Think of it as a date.”

At the mention of a date, Su Mingyue was thoroughly tempted.

She nodded vigorously. “Okay!”

That evening, Su Mingyue went to tell the Brigade leader Su that she planned to go to the county the next day.

The brigade leader was surprised. “Why are you going to the county?”

Mingyue usually only went once or twice a year, and that was during festivals to join the fun. Why the sudden trip now, of all times?

Su Mingyue fumbled for words, unable to explain clearly.

“Alright, go then. I won’t go.” Liu Yanyun patted her daughter’s shoulder in reassurance.

After all, there were only a few village vehicles, and too many people wanting to go. Each family was allotted a fixed number of seats.

If Su Mingyue wanted to go, that meant someone else in the family had to stay behind.

“Mm! Thank you, Mama!” Su Mingyue skipped back to her room, her little braids bouncing with joy.

“Huh? I was talking to her, and she didn’t even answer…” Brigade leader Su looked confused, like a monk who had missed the point entirely.

Liu Yanyun rolled her eyes. “You really can’t see it? Some father you are.”

“She wants to go out with Xiuyan.”

“Huh?” He finally caught on. “Why couldn’t she just say so? It’s not like I wouldn’t let her go!”

Liu Yanyun ignored her clueless old man.

Girls were shy—it’s not like she could just blurt something like that out to her parents. He really thought everyone had a thick skin like him?

Brigade leader Su was left standing alone in the main room, looking small and helpless.

What the heck…

Why was no one paying attention to him anymore?

How did he, the great brigade leader, end up such a pitiful figure at home?

The next day, the skies cleared. The heavens were a vivid blue, and the air was filled with the earthy scent of freshly turned soil.

Along a rural path, three mule carts rolled forward one after another.

The passengers beamed with joy, chatting and laughing. Suddenly, a lively chorus burst out among them.

At that moment, a bicycle slowly caught up from behind. It was Shen Xiuyan, who hadn’t left with the main group but had now caught up.

After all, a mule cart couldn’t match the speed of a bike. Shen Xiuyan had practically turned his legs into spinning fire wheels just to amuse Su Mingyue.

Su Mingyue clung to his waist with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, laughing uncontrollably.

Haha, this was so much fun!

She had no idea they had already caught up with the rest of the group.

Caught off guard, she ended up making eye contact with the Brigade leader Su while still covering her mouth.

“…”

Embarrassed, Su Mingyue quickly lowered her hand from her mouth, and the other hand slipped from Shen Xiuyan’s waist, grabbing timidly at the hem of his coat instead.

Shen Xiuyan sensed something and turned his head. “Mingyue? What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer, but one of the women in the cart beat her to it with a teasing voice: “Oho~ what else could it be? She’s shy—her dad saw them!”

Immediately, Su Mingyue’s face turned so red it looked like steam might come out. She buried her head in her arms.

The Brigade leader Su waved dismissively. “Alright, alright, what’s the big deal—what am I, some old fossil? It’s a new era now! So what if they’re holding each other? They’re getting married soon anyway—nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Hahaha, exactly! Mingyue, even your dad says so. No need to be shy.”

“Yeah, safety first—better hold on tight!”