Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

Qin Xiao quickly stuffed the steamed bun in his hand into his sister's mouth: "Eat yours! What's wrong with your brother Zhou doting on his wife? If you have a problem with that, go find someone who treats you that well!"

Lin Tingting snorted: "Qin Xue, my cousin has always doted on her like the apple of his eye. This is nothing compared to what's to come—you haven't seen it, back in Bincheng, whenever my cousin had anything good, he always gave it to her. All of us relatives had to step aside."

Zhou's mother was quite generous, reaching out to take a grape: "Alright, everyone eat. Yan Shen just put the food in front of Wan Qing, he didn't say you couldn't eat. Take whatever you want to eat."

Zhou Yanshen quietly moved the fruit closer to Su Wanqing's hand and said, "Mother, Wanqing is pregnant and needs to supplement her nutrition. These are specially prepared for her."

"What?! Pregnant?!" Zhou's mother exclaimed in disbelief, "Yan Shen, is it yours? Didn't they say your...wasn't it damaged?"

Zhou Yanshen: "..." He stared at his mother in silence for several seconds.

Zhou's mother then laughed awkwardly, "Ha, it must be yours! Besides the noise you two make every night, whose else could it be? I'm just too happy... You should eat well when you're pregnant."

Uncle Ding patted Zhou Yanshen on the shoulder with a smile: "The addition of a new member to the family is a wonderful thing! Congratulations!"

Qin Xiao also said loudly, "Congratulations! No wonder you seemed to be in such a good mood today. To be honest, Yan Shen, I was worried before—you, a good officer and battalion commander, being sent to the countryside, might you become depressed and have to live a hard life with your elderly mother… After all, conditions in Xinjiang are harsh, and I felt guilty for a long time. But now it seems that you've built your own house, grown your own vegetables, and are living such a prosperous life, and your sister-in-law is pregnant… I'm truly happy for you! Although you've lost your battalion commander status, you've put down roots here, have a home, and have something to look forward to. You're not worse off than before!"

Zhou Yanshen patted Qin Xiao on the shoulder: "I understand your feelings. Don't worry, I'm not that easily defeated. This is just a temporary stop; the road ahead is long."

Qin Xue rested her chin on her hand and sighed softly, "She's pregnant... then there's even less of a chance. Where can I find a man like Brother Zhou who's so handsome, capable, and... amazing?" She blinked, half-jokingly, "How about I just marry you two? I could see Brother Zhou every day and eat your delicious cooking..."

Just then, the regimental headquarters' loudspeaker suddenly blared.

"Attention all members! We have some good news to report—Comrades Zhou Yanshen and Su Wanqing, please wait at home. The commendation and awards given to you by the organization will be delivered soon!"

The broadcaster's voice carried the resounding passion unique to that era:

"Comrade Zhou Yanshen has distinguished himself in this rescue mission and in the discovery of important national strategic resources, and is hereby awarded a second-class merit!"

"Comrade Su Wanqing was awarded the title of 'Model Advanced Worker' for saving lives and healing the wounded, and was hired as an external technician by the Autonomous Region Mining Bureau! She discovered and submitted precious meteorite samples, making outstanding contributions to the national aerospace industry, and was awarded the 'National Construction Special Contribution Medal'!"

The broadcast was repeated three times, informing the two to stay at home and wait for the organization to send someone to present them with a banner, a certificate of merit, and hang a plaque that reads "Family of Meritorious Service".

In those days, if someone could hang such a plaque on their door, it was an extraordinary honor—usually only veterans of the War of Resistance against Japan and those who made significant contributions received this treatment.

Zhou's mother was a little confused: "Weren't you on a mission? How come you found a meteorite again? And won so many awards?"

Zhou Yanshen's lips curled up slightly, his tone carrying an imperceptible pride: "On the way back, Wanqing found some meteorites and handed them over to the country, thus earning a merit."

Uncle Ding nodded repeatedly: "Good! Good! As expected of Yan Shen and Wan Qing, they can contribute to the country wherever they go!"

Qin Xiao's eyes welled up with tears: "Good lad! You've only been here a few months, and you've quietly accumulated so much merit! I guess I've been worrying for nothing—at this rate, you'll be able to get transferred back in style in no time!"

Zhou Yanshen smiled faintly: "It's all thanks to my wife. Without her, I'm afraid..." He shook his head, "In short, I owe everything I am today to Wanqing."

Everyone says he spoils his wife, but why don't they see how much Wanqing has sacrificed for him?

Uncle Ding stood up, rubbing his hands together. "Since the organization is coming to award the prize, I'd better tidy up the house inside and out again! I can't let people laugh at me." He was even more nervous than the person in question, looking just like someone in ancient times who had heard that an imperial envoy was coming to deliver a decree.

As soon as they finished eating, Uncle Ding got busy—sweeping, wiping tables, washing dishes, and tidying up. Villagers who were idle heard the broadcast and gathered in twos and threes to watch the excitement. In all the years the farm had been in operation, no one had ever received such a grand praise over the loudspeaker.

Before long, a crowd had gathered at the gate of the courtyard. Several jeeps and trucks arrived, and Liu Shuqing got out first, followed by Jiang Zhiping, the second-in-command of Yili Prefecture—he had come in person.

As soon as Jiang Zhiping got out of the car, he tightly grasped Zhou Yanshen and Su Wanqing's hands, beaming with smiles: "You two are both excellent comrades! You've brought great honor to Yili Prefecture! The meteorites you handed over have made a great contribution—I heard that thanks to these samples, several difficult problems in the aerospace field have been solved! The higher-ups have specifically instructed that the rewards be implemented as soon as possible!"

Liu Shuqing grinned from ear to ear—the Su couple were practically his lucky stars, constantly bringing him news of their achievements. Holding up a gleaming wooden plaque that read "Family of Meritorious Service," he asked Su Wanqing, "Dr. Su, would it be alright if this plaque were placed next to this protected animal sign?"

Su Wanqing nodded: "Okay, thank you for your help, Secretary Liu."

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the comrades from the Geological Bureau solemnly handed over the two brocade banners to Zhou Yanshen and Su Wanqing.

After the ceremony, Jiang Zhiping unfolded a document and read it aloud:

"In addition to the above commendations, the organization hereby awards Comrade Su Wanqing the following for her contribution to the discovery of the meteorite—"

"First, a cash reward of three hundred yuan will be given;"

II. Special approval for 30 jin of cotton coupons and 50 chi of cloth coupons;

3. Supply 50 jin each of grain and oil;

IV. Awarded the honorary title of "March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter";

V. Priority will be given to allocating one resettlement housing unit to those returning to the city;

VI. A Forever brand bicycle will be awarded as a prize;

VII. Twenty industrial coupons were specially approved;

The educated youth settlement immediately erupted in excitement. Today was their day off, and the educated youth, who rarely had a moment of leisure, all came out to see what was happening, and were all stunned by the spectacle.

Each time Jiang Zhiping read a passage, gasps and exclamations arose from the surrounding crowd.

"Dr. Su is truly a hidden talent..."

"My goodness, what a tremendous achievement this must have been! We couldn't save up this many cloth and cotton coupons in a whole year!"