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

"What are money and tickets? Didn't you hear we're allocating housing? Housing back in the city! Do you know how scarce housing is in the city?"

"There's also grain and oil... enough to last for more than half a year."

"These rewards will ensure I'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of my life."

Envious gazes almost overwhelmed Su Wanqing. Everyone whispered among themselves: What kind of divine meteorite could be worth so much?

Chen Weidong, who barely managed to walk out while leaning against the earthen wall, gritted his teeth and stared with bloodshot eyes—Su Wanqing had only gotten lucky and picked up a few stones, so why should she?

After hearing the list of rewards, Zhang Yan looked at the two people being fawned over and flattered in the crowd, and her anger flared even more. She reached out and pinched Chen Weidong's waist hard: "You still have the nerve to look! Look at them, receiving awards and recognition for their merits, enjoying all the glory! And you? You look like a lame dog abandoned here! Li Aiguo is holding you back, so you'll just rot here for the rest of your life!"

Chen Weidong winced in pain, but lowered his voice and said urgently, "Zhang Yan, give me one yuan, just one yuan! I'll send a telegram home and ask my mother to find a way... She definitely has connections to get us back to the city! Do you really want to spend your whole life being reformed in this freezing cold? Can you withstand minus thirty degrees Celsius in winter?"

"We're in this together now. If you help me, I'll definitely take you with me when I get back to the city!"

"Snapped!"

A resounding slap landed on his face.

Zhang Yan glared at him with venomous eyes: "Chen Weidong, don't think I don't know what you're up to! Give you money? How did you treat me back in the county? Besides tormenting me and ordering me around, did you ever give me a kind word? If you really go back to the city, I'll be the first one you dump! Get back here!"

Chen Weidong's cheeks stung, but he forced a fawning smile: "Okay, okay... don't hit me, I'll go back and wash your clothes right away."

He gritted his teeth and waited. Once he was fully recovered, that wicked woman would be sorry. He would take Zhang Yan with him when he returned to the city and beat her three times a day!

The commendation ceremony has now come to a temporary close.

Qin Xiao's eyes were practically red with envy. He punched Zhou Yanshen on the shoulder: "Good lad! I thought you were suffering here, but you quietly got a second-class merit! Next time something like this happens, you have to take me with you!"

Zhou Yanshen remained calm: "Didn't you hear me? That was just an 'incidental' bonus. The real main reward is all for my wife."

Seeing the two still chatting and laughing quietly, and the envious whispers from the surrounding educated youth and villagers growing louder, Su Wanqing knew she had made quite a splash today. Hearing the repeated calls of "Little Dr. Su," she made a quick decision...

"Yan Shen, bring out all the fruit candies and roasted beans at home, and share them with everyone to sweeten their mouths!"

The salt and pepper fried soybeans weren't made by her own hands—they were the product of roughly processing a hundred pounds of soybeans from her spatial dimension into the Craftsman's Grid. They were crispy, salty, and fragrant, like they had been deep-fried. After returning tenfold, she stored over a thousand pounds of them, usually keeping them in a cloth bag at home.

In short, the craftsmanship can surprise her every day, and it's all free, so why not take it?

Zhou Yanshen immediately brought out a bag of fruit candies and a large cloth bag of roasted beans. Su Wanqing smiled and said to everyone, "Today is a joyous day. Yanshen and I have received the organization's approval. Since everyone is here, let's share the joy—come on, let's share the candies and beans, so everyone can have a sweet and delicious meal!"

The educated youth who had initially felt a bit envious quickly dispelled their jealousy upon seeing that the other party had received such a great benefit and was even willing to share their scarce snacks with everyone. The villagers, on the other hand, happily gathered around, each grabbing a handful of candy and beans, their mouths full of congratulations and exclamations, instantly creating a warm and joyful atmosphere.

Su Wanqing finally had a moment to invite Jiang Zhiping into the house.

Jiang Zhiping walked to the gate of the courtyard, but saw a small wooden sign nailed to the wall. He paused and asked, "Xiao Su, is your home... an animal protection station?"

Su Wanqing explained with a smile: "My husband picked up two red-tailed chickens before, and while they were raising them, some comrades suddenly came and said that they were some kind of precious 'red-bellied golden pheasants'. They said that they couldn't keep them alive after taking them back, so they sent them back to us to continue raising them."

Jiang Zhiping was very interested and went to the backyard to take a look. A large group of people came to the backyard, where the dozen or so golden pheasants had colorful feathers that shimmered with a golden-red luster in the sunlight; they were indeed magnificent.

Qin Xue and Qin Xiao stared at the chicken in astonishment. What was that? Was it a protected animal?

Just as Qin Xue was about to speak, Qin Xiao covered her mouth: "Shut your mouth, we haven't eaten any eggs these past two days."

Qin Xue nodded, "Goodness, so every time she comes to the henhouse to collect eggs, she picks them up regardless of whether they're red or white, because there are eggs of protected animals in there? No wonder they smell so good!"

"These chickens are just like little phoenixes, so beautiful!" Jiang Zhiping nodded in praise. "To raise them from just two to this large flock, your conservation site truly lives up to its name."

Uncle Ding served brown sugar water—the highest level of hospitality for distinguished guests in those days. Jiang Zhiping sat and talked for a while longer, finishing his story about the meteorite before shifting the topic to another matter:

"To be honest, Comrade Xiao Su, there's something else I'm here for today...

Su Wanqing suddenly realized—no wonder even Jiang Zhiping had come in person; there was another reason. "Please tell me."

Jiang Zhiping's expression turned serious: "The very aquatic plants you discovered in Sayram Lake... the very next day we organized a special research team of experts. This is the project leader, Comrade Zheng Guodong; this is Professor Wu Jingwen, the vice president of the Provincial Institute of Biology."

A man in his early forties, with a composed demeanor, nodded to Su Wanqing. Another female professor, around sixty years old, wearing glasses and dressed smartly, scrutinized Su Wanqing with a critical eye—she had been ordered by her superiors to "learn" from this layman, and she wanted to see what was so special about her.

Qin Xue and Qin Xiao exchanged a glance, their minds filled with questions: Didn't they just commend the meteorite? Why are they bringing up seaweed again? Just how many treasures did this couple pick up along the way during their mission?!

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, before Jiang Zhiping could even speak, Zheng Guodong excitedly reported, "The good news is that we've confirmed this aquatic plant has an extremely high natural rubber extraction rate. It can be made into raw materials for tires or rubber shoes with almost no complicated processing, a major breakthrough for both industry and people's livelihoods!" He then produced a set of data:

"Currently, my country relies heavily on imports for rubber, which is in extremely short supply. According to existing data, about 80 kilograms of rubber can be extracted from 1,000 kilograms of this aquatic plant, enough to make 40 pairs of rubber shoes. A pair of rubber-soled canvas shoes currently costs about two yuan on the market—meaning that each ton of aquatic plant can generate over 150 yuan in output value just from rubber shoes alone!"