Su Yu kept trying to refuse, but the village secretary had actually brought over a piece of pork—a hind leg cut—and even some cigarettes.
There were also several candies whose names she couldn’t recognize, along with a bag of white sugar.
“Leader, this is really too valuable. White sugar isn’t something you can buy even if you have money.”
The paper wrapping the sugar was yellowed and showed signs of having partially melted.
The white sugar had probably been distributed to him by higher authorities some time ago, and he hadn’t even been willing to use it himself. Su Yu felt embarrassed accepting it.
“Enough, Comrade Su. If it weren’t for you, my daughter might have died in that river. I’ll make sure to give her a proper lecture when I get back. You absolutely must accept these.”
After saying that, afraid that Su Yu would continue refusing, he hurried away without giving her another chance.
Watching him leave in his repeatedly patched trousers and rubber shoes whose soles were practically falling off, Su Yu sighed.
The village secretary was truly a simple and honest man.
Even something as precious as white sugar, he was willing to give away.
That evening, when Tang Chen returned home, he found Little Tangtang sitting on a chair, happily devouring a bowl of sugar-water eggs.
Seeing the scene, he couldn’t help but smile.
When he left, someone saw him off. When he returned, there was a hot meal waiting for him.
To have such a wife—what had he done to deserve it?
“Oh, you’re back! There are still two eggs cooking in the pot for you. Today our family has something as rare as white sugar.”
Su Yu looked particularly happy.
This was the second task she had completed, and 001 had unexpectedly been generous for once, awarding her an extra forty reward points.
The system store had also been unlocked.
The first shelf contained ordinary necessities such as grain, cooking oil, rice, flour, meat, and eggs.
The second shelf contained various modern medicines meant for emergencies.
Once the vegetables in her space matured, she could sell them at the market.
Life would only continue getting better.
Seeing Su Yu so cheerful made Tang Chen happy as well, but he was puzzled.
Where had the white sugar come from?
“Wife, where did this white sugar come from? Back when I was one of the team’s outstanding members, I applied for it several times and never got approval.”
Hearing his question, Su Yu smiled.
“Do you know Xia Xiaolian?”
Everyone in the village knew about her falling into the river three days ago.
But what did she have to do with Su Yu?
Tang Chen looked at her suspiciously.
Instead of answering immediately, Su Yu brought out a plate of crystal-braised pork from the pot.
The aroma instantly made Little Tangtang drool.
“Wow! Meat! We only get to eat this during New Year’s!”
Looking at the three dishes and one soup on the table, Tang Chen became even more confused.
What exactly had Su Yu been doing lately?
During dinner, he kept staring at Su Yu with an intense gaze.
Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore and put down her chopsticks.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. Xia Xiaolian was the person I saved. The village secretary was grateful, so he brought our family all these things. I originally didn’t want to accept them…”
After hearing the entire story, Su Yu had expected to see happiness on Tang Chen’s face.
Instead, there was none.
His face darkened.
The hand holding his chopsticks froze in midair.
Looking at the egg in his bowl, he suddenly lost his appetite.
Little Tangtang seemed to sense the atmosphere and quietly scooted closer to Su Yu.
Su Yu immediately wrapped an arm around the child.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy? Your wife did a good deed. It should make you look good in the team too.”
The man before her was becoming harder and harder to understand.
That night, neither of them spoke another word.
Tang Chen even slept in the outer room.
Su Yu didn’t think much of it.
Maybe men were like women—every month they had a few days when they felt especially irritable.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly felt a large furnace-like warmth beside her.
The moment she turned around, someone wrapped his arms around her.
Breathing in the strong masculine scent, Su Yu suddenly didn’t know what to do.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The only response was his heavy breathing.
After who knew how long, Tang Chen finally loosened his embrace.
In the cool moonlight, Su Yu found herself looking into a pair of deep eyes filled with concern.
“Next time, think about your own safety before saving someone. Xia Xiaolian is so tall and sturdy. How did you even get her to the clinic?”
Faced with his questioning, Su Yu’s thoughts became a little chaotic.
So Tang Chen had been worried about her all along.
She patted his shoulder and shook her head.
“You’re wrong. If I see someone injured, of course I’ll save them. Besides, the river only came up to my calves. Xia Xiaolian simply fell.”
A flash of heartache crossed Tang Chen’s eyes.
He pulled her tightly into his arms again.
“I don’t care. You can’t do something that dangerous again. If something happens, come get me. I’ll save them.”
His voice was full of concern.
Su Yu couldn’t help laughing.
She lightly punched his chest.
“That’s enough. I’m not a child. Of course I know how to stay safe.”
Their voices were very quiet.
Little Tangtang, sleeping nearby, remained completely unaware of the conversation.
After a long while, Tang Chen released Su Yu.
His eyes were filled with longing.
“A Yu, it’s been a long time since we…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Su Yu already understood what he meant.
Tang Chen slowly moved closer.
At that moment, Su Yu suddenly sensed his intentions.
She immediately retreated, squeezing herself toward Tangtang’s side of the bed.
Pulling the blanket tightly around herself, she revealed only a pair of eyes filled with emotion and accusation.
“You’re shameless. You’re a scoundrel.”
Only when she was with Tang Chen would Su Yu reveal such a girlish side.
She hid under the blanket and refused to come out.
The warmth beside him gradually faded.
A trace of disappointment flashed across Tang Chen’s eyes.
“You still can’t forgive me?”
The moment she heard the word forgive, Su Yu froze.
In truth, that incident had never been his fault.
The educated youth Li Rui had taken the initiative to seduce Tang Chen, but he hadn’t given in.
Su Yu had happened to witness part of the scene.
She immediately jumped to conclusions and had a huge argument with Tang Chen.
Since then, their married life had remained strained.
Because of that incident, Tang Chen had always blamed himself.
Back then, he had endured all her scolding without ever arguing back.
At that moment, Su Yu suddenly realized just how immature her former self had been.