Chapter 4: Consent

At Su Xingye's house, she was talking to her two children about Shen Kaiyue. A meeting was definitely necessary, and before that, she wanted to give the children a preliminary impression.

Of course, the family conversation wasn't dry and formal.

Her job in her past life involved dealing with children, so she was used to all kinds of personalities. In fact, quiet children like Zhou Xiaoyang were quite common.

When their needs are not met from a young age, and they are neglected or even subjected to emotional abuse, their personalities naturally won't be positive.

As long as they weren't extreme, every personality was fine. She didn't force the children to change; all she needed to do was give them enough love.

When she went to the supply and marketing cooperative, she wasn't stingy, buying snacks like haw flakes, biscuits, and hard candy. Now, she sat at the table with the two children, eating and talking.

Although the children were young, she didn't plan to hide anything from them. They were small, not stupid, and had their own capacity for judgment on many things.

"Xiaoyang, Xiaoliu, do both of you want to know where Mom went yesterday?"

Zhou Xiaoyang genuinely wanted to know, and Zhou Xiaoliu just followed his brother, nodding.

Zhou Xiaoyang thought more deeply. "Mom, did you write a letter to him, to Dad?"

When he asked, there wasn't a trace of expectation, only a hint of disgust. "Didn't you say you wouldn't want him anymore?"

He had seen it too many times. After being beaten, Mom would be angry at first, but later she would speak to him softly and submissively. Now that he had left, was she trying to get him to come back?

Su Xingye knew he hadn't believed what she had said before.

She nodded. "From now on, Mom will never lie to you. He is no longer your father. Didn't Mom say she would find a new father? I went to see that uncle."

Zhou Xiaoyang stopped talking. Zhou Xiaoliu still didn't quite understand.

Su Xingye put a handful of peeled melon seeds into each of their mouths. She thought for a moment. "This uncle is very tall and big. He can protect us from being bullied, and he can carry a gun to fight bad guys."

The two words 'carry a gun' made the older brother's eyes light up for a moment. Children his age have a strange fascination with such things. But it was only a moment. "Does he hit people?"

"Of course not." Su Xingye looked earnestly at the two children. "From now on, Mom will never let anyone bully you again. No one can hit you."

Though the children were small, she didn't hide anything. Regardless of how much they understood, she spoke very detailedly, explaining the situation of Shen Kaiyue's family one by one.

It was at this time that Liu Suqin arrived.

On the way over, the more Liu Suqin pondered, the better she thought Shen Kaiyue was. He held a state job, had good looks, seemed honest, and his having children wasn't a big issue. The only bad thing was having to move to the frontier. She had just told her husband yesterday that she wanted to keep Xiao Xing close by, and if she agreed to this, they would be thousands of miles apart.

But no matter what, she had to tell Xiao Xing first, to let her know that there were plenty of good men out there, and she shouldn't blindly choose again and jump into another fire pit.

Su Xingye grew confused as she listened. "Sister-in-law, what's the name of the person you're introducing to me?"

Seeing her interested, Liu Suqin felt relieved. It seemed Xiao Xing didn't have much feeling for that 'soldier' she mentioned; otherwise, she would be stubbornly set on him, just like she was with Zhou Renqiang years ago, refusing to listen to anything she said.

She sighed internally. "That's right. Your brother and I won't lie to you. Your brother just wanted to tell you about the situation first. Whether you agree or not is another matter. Your brother and I are preparing to find you someone even better."

She only mentioned Shen Kaiyue's conditions, but she hadn't planned on mentioning his appearance, name, or where he lived.

Su Xingye chuckled, linking arms with Liu Suqin. "Then let me guess, Sister-in-law. Is this person you're talking about over 1.8 meters tall and quite handsome?"

"Does his army post happen to be far away, up north?"

"And does he live in the adjacent Shangqing Village?"

With every sentence she spoke, Liu Suqin's eyes widened a bit more.

Su Xingye was about to say his name when two little heads poked out from the inner room. "His name is Shen Kaiyue!" "He can shoot big guns!"

Liu Suqin's eyes immediately went wide. "That Shen Kaiyue! We haven't even agreed yet, and he dares to come over and disturb you? He has bad intentions!"

She started to get up, ready to go back and discuss it with Su Xiayang. I misjudged him! That boy is no good!

"Wait, wait, Sister-in-law, listen to me, listen to me! He didn't come, he didn't come."

Liu Suqin didn't believe it. "If he didn't come, how do you know about him?!"

"Did you forget what I told you yesterday?"

Liu Suqin suddenly understood. "Ah! The soldier you mentioned yesterday—that's him?"

Su Xingye hadn't expected to have to bring this up again today, but Shen Kaiyue had beaten her to it. "Yes, I just met him yesterday, and he came to the door today. He seems quite sincere."

Liu Suqin's heart settled. She looked at the two skinny heads peeking out from the next room. "Go, go, go. Xiaoyang, take your brother inside and play." She then complained to Su Xingye. "You, too. Why tell the children about these things?"

Su Xingye watched the two children go into the inner room and explained to Liu Suqin, "I told them. I need to find them a new father, and they must agree. I won't let them suffer again."

"You, you silly girl." That sentence made Liu Suqin's eyes well up. "Now this is what a mother should be like. If you kept going the way you were, the children wouldn't have been close to you anymore."

Thinking of the children's excitement when they saw their aunt, Su Xingye knew that even now, the children weren't very close to her.

"Sister-in-law, you think Shen Kaiyue is good, too, right? Why are you still saying no?"

When Su Xingye asked this, Liu Suqin was conflicted again. Shen Kaiyue was undeniably good, but no matter how good he was, marrying him meant going to the frontier, and that was the sticking point.

She took Su Xingye's hand. "Your brother and I don't want you to go to that far-off place with him. We hear it's terribly poor there, and in winter, people freeze to death. If you suffer there, you won't have a single person you know."

Although she said this, Su Xingye knew that Shen Kaiyue's conditions were actually quite favorable.

She had children and no way to earn a living. She wasn't a strong laborer for farming. In this era, given her circumstances, what kind of marriage could she expect otherwise?

"Sister-in-law, let me tell you first: my two children and I both agree to this marriage. Shen Kaiyue's leave is almost over. If you and my brother don't agree, he's in a rush to get back to work and won't be willing to wait for me."

This made Liu Suqin anxious. If they miss this opportunity, they might not get another one.

That evening, when she told Su Xiayang, he was thoughtful.

"Honey, tell me, should we agree or not? Xiao Xing said Kaiyue is going back to the base in a few days."

Su Xiayang pondered. "I checked around. A lot of people in Shangqing Village say the frontier has no food or water, is completely desolate (literally: 'where birds don't poop'), and going there is nothing but suffering. Even that eloquent Matchmaker Zhao, I heard she introduced him to three or four families, but as soon as they heard 'frontier,' no one even agreed to meet him."

Liu Suqin felt discouraged. "If the conditions are that bad, how can Xiao Xing and the children bear it? We shouldn't agree. Let's look for someone else for Xiao Xing."

Su Xiayang, however, had his own judgment. "I don't think it's as bad as they say. Just look at Kaiyue; he clearly eats better than most people in our village."

Liu Suqin's eyes lit up, and she patted Su Xiayang. "You have a more active mind! You're right. If the conditions were really that bad, that young man would be sallow and skinny. Look at him, he's tall and strong, his face is ruddy. He doesn't look like someone who's starving."

Su Xiayang turned sideways to look at his wife, seeing the light in her eyes as she spoke. "The boy is good-looking?"

"He is absolutely handsome. I've met a lot of people, but I haven't seen anyone better than him. To use a foreign word, he's 'distinguished' (literally: a talent of outstanding appearance)."

"Hmph, I see. Distinguished, eh? You were only looking at his face."

Su Xiayang's tone was ambiguous, and Liu Suqin burst out laughing. "You dead man! You're old, what are you saying? No matter how handsome he is, he's not as handsome as my husband, alright?"

Only then did Su Xiayang chuckle.

Liu Suqin nudged him. "Hey, so what's your attitude? Should we agree or not?"

Su Xiayang was already five parts in agreement. "It depends on the boy's attitude."

Shen Kaiyue showed his attitude the next day.

Early in the morning, Su Xingye was having breakfast with her brother and sister-in-law when Shen Kaiyue arrived again.

Su Xingye saw her brother's face break into a satisfied smile. She quickly glanced at Shen Kaiyue, her eyes curved, signaling that he was doing well.

She had mostly finished eating and was preparing to listen to what they were saying, but Su Xiayang shot her a look. "You're just about done, right? Take the kids to the other room and play."

Su Xingye pouted. Feudal patriarch! What's wrong with me listening?

Fine, you're the older brother, I'll indulge you.

She shrugged and, instead of going inside, took the children outside. "Come on, I'll take you to play hide-and-seek."

A little while after she left, she heard the children's chirping laughter, which sounded very happy.

A smile flashed across Shen Kaiyue's eyes. He took out the things from his pocket. "Brother Xiayang, take a look."

This time, he not only showed his sincerity but also revealed his attitude.

Su Xiayang immediately spotted two hundred yuan but kept a poker face. It wasn't until he finished reading the document Shen Kaiyue presented that his expression softened a bit.

"Can you stick to this?" he asked Shen Kaiyue.

Shen Kaiyue was decisive. "Yes."

"Alright. This marriage, I agree to."