"you......"

This aunt was used to being bossy in front of her relatives because she had a good son. Whenever she mentioned that her son was a high school student, even if her sister-in-law had an egg, they would have to send it over to her son to eat.

Who knew Bai Zhiman would be so "uncooperative"?

"What, are you deaf?"

Shen Heng kicked the chair that hadn't been helped up yet, making a sharp "clang" sound.

"Fine, you'd better stay tough for life! Don't regret it when our Junzi becomes successful!"

Seeing that Bai Zhiman was about to turn against her, this aunt stopped being as obsequious as before.

She left in anger, and her aunt took the opportunity to quickly leave with Uncle Bai.

None of the Bai family members went out to see them off, because they were utterly disgusted.

After the person left, Shen Heng bent down to help the chair.

Bai Shihai stepped forward to help him lift the table: "Uncle has never been close to us. We all live our own lives and don't associate with each other. Today, he actually helped someone else to make things difficult for Dad, his own brother."

"Your uncle doesn't do things for personal gain. Do you think he's doing this for Bai Shijun?" Bai Zhiman was still seething with anger. "If I were to give Bai Shijun any benefits today, he would definitely make me help all those good-for-nothings in his family as well!"

Bai Zhiman knew his older brother best; that man was not the type to do things for others.

Upon hearing Bai Zhiman's words, Bai Shihai immediately thought of his older cousin, who had been stuffing his chopsticks into the food and rummaging through the dishes at the banquet. He was no easy man to deal with; he was lazy, loved to brag, and frequently took leave from the production team. The work points he earned in a year weren't even enough for his own drinking.

It was supposed to be a great day; other people would make money by hosting a banquet, but Bai Shihai would definitely lose money this time. However, he was still willing to spend all his money on it.

Who knew it would get messed up like this?

"I didn't know it would turn out like this. I've really embarrassed myself in front of my brother-in-law today." Bai Shihai patted Shen Heng on the shoulder.

Shen Heng smiled but didn't say anything.

He thought to himself that this was nothing compared to what he would do if Bai Shihai were to become the son of the Shen family. They would go crazy.

Deng Min didn't let Bai Jiaojiao and Bai Shiqing get involved in wrapping up the banquet, telling them to go home early so their uncle's commotion would make it almost dark.

"The food we ate today was pretty much the same. If you don't feel like eating anything tonight, just boil this up to fill your stomachs."

Deng Min packed four cornbread dumplings for Bai Jiaojiao and Bai Shiqing each. She originally intended to save them for later to fill everyone's stomachs in case there wasn't enough food at the banquet, but there were quite a few left over.

Bai Jiaojiao and Shen Heng finally returned home. Dealing with the banquet was already exhausting, and being disgusted by those stupid relatives was even worse. Bai Jiaojiao lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "Brother Heng, guess how much money the county will give us this time?"

"How would I know? But looking at these two pens, the town's Party Secretary sent such a generous gift. If the county is going to give money, it must be quite a lot."

Shen Heng wasn't ignorant of quality. In those years, many good things flowed out of the hands of those who had been sent to the countryside, and he had dealt with them all with Duan Qiming. This pen was made in the United States, and the nib was engraved with "14K". Duan Qiming had told him before that this was the purity of gold, and the higher the number, the purer it was, with 24K being the maximum.

This sum must be at least ten ten-yuan notes, and he's paying two at once. Whether the secretary pays out of his own pocket or uses an accounting system, it's not a small amount.

If we wait for the county's official reward, wouldn't it be several times higher?

“Then we’ll be financially well-off in the future,” Bai Jiaojiao said, counting that they would be going to Yancheng in half a month. They had five thousand yuan in hand, which was enough to buy a small courtyard near the school, but they were afraid that if they spent so much money at once, they would run into financial difficulties if something big happened.

It would be best if the government could provide some subsidies.

Shen Heng said, "I'll find someone to buy us two sleeper tickets. It'll take several hours by train from here to Yancheng, right? We can't sit all the way."

“It takes six hours,” Bai Jiaojiao said. She had taken the train from Yancheng before. She had left in a hurry and only bought a seat ticket. She endured the pungent tobacco and smelly feet in the train while her back was about to break. “You bought one upper berth and one lower berth. I’ll sleep on the upper one.”

"Um."

This is the best way. When they go to sleep, Bai Jiaojiao climbs to the top bunk and he watches over her from below. When they're not sleeping, the two of them sit together on the bottom bunk, which is both safe and convenient.

Shen Guangsheng has lost face this time, and several of the younger generation at the banquet are fighting fiercely, even drawing blood.

He had just returned from the health center, and still angry, he came looking for them.

"Bang bang bang!"

The knocking on the door was deafening; Shen Heng had just finished giving Bai Jiaojiao a soft, warm kiss when he was interrupted.

"Damn it, who's so clueless?"

Bai Jiaojiao's blush deepened, and she nudged Chen Heng, saying, "Go out and take a look quickly."

Shen Heng, his face grim, put on his cotton-padded coat. Before he even stepped out of the house, he heard Shen Guangsheng's voice: "Shen Heng! You brat, come out here!"

Shen Heng said, "This guy really doesn't know what's good for him. I'll have to beat him up one of these days."

After saying that, he took off his cotton-padded coat and hung it up.

"Aren't you going out to take a look?" Bai Jiaojiao had already buttoned up Shen Heng's disheveled clothes.

Shen Heng took off his shoes and climbed back onto the kang (a heated brick bed): "It must be because of the banquet today. I'm in a good mood today and don't want to spoil his fun. Never mind him, let's get back to our business."

Bai Jiaojiao glanced at him: "What important business are you talking about? You're just spouting nonsense."

"Isn't this what marriage is all about? It's been so long, what's there to be embarrassed about?" Shen Heng laughed and pressed Bai Jiaojiao down on top of him again. He pretended not to hear Shen Guangsheng banging on the door outside.

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