29: Chapter 18 Divergence 29: Chapter 18 Divergence Who would have thought that attending university would be tuition-free, and who would have thought that Shen Chi would have such a stepmother.
At that time, information wasn’t as freely available as it would be later, so although people had mentioned that universities were now free, most took the news with a grain of salt.
Deeply entrenched concepts aren’t so easily overturned without solid facts.
But the truth was, ever since the re-establishment of the college entrance exam, there had been people from here who had been admitted to universities, but none were locals.
They were only a few ‘educated youth’ who, upon acceptance, hastily packed up and returned to the city, with no time to confirm for the simple villagers whether universities charged tuition or not.
There were indeed knowledgeable people left behind, but they were too busy figuring out their return to the city.
Some learned from letters sent by family members that universities were free, but even mentioning it aloud didn’t convince many.
Those who believed often thought it was an isolated case.
The common perception among farmers was that the better the university, the more expensive the tuition must be, similar to how things in the city are more expensive than in the countryside.
Such thoughts weren’t going to change overnight.
In fact, before Shen Chi had even proposed, Lin Xiaoxi took a ride to the city with the village tea delivery truck out of concern for his sister, and after inquiring around, he truly learnt that universities did not charge tuition.
He rushed back home, overjoyed, only to find that the marriage between Lin Xiaoguai and Shen Chi had already been arranged, with the wedding just days away.
In the countryside, engagements were not easily broken off, and while it was manageable for the men, it could severely damage a woman’s reputation, preventing her from raising her head again in her lifetime, and possibly ruining her chances of finding a good family to marry into.
Li Fangmei and Zhou Fengqin weighed their options and finally gritted their teeth and allowed the wedding to proceed.
They had not been unaware of Wang Zhaodi’s existence, but nobody’s perfect, and besides, they hadn’t heard of her mistreating Shen Chi and Shen Xiu.
Favoring her own son was one thing, but after all, Wanwan could still continue her studies at Capital University after marriage, and once she graduated and worked, she could just follow the military, effectively keeping distance that wouldn’t affect anything.
Besides, being a stepmother wasn’t an easy role, and they figured even if she was aggressive, she wouldn’t reach out to meddle in her stepchildren’s affairs.
They had accounted for a lot but did not expect plans to fail to keep up with changes.
“I always said you all complained too much, and look now, you’ve caused Wanwan to suffer so much,” Lin Nianqiang said unhappily, “From the beginning we should have listened to me, to beat up those four heartless fools of Xiao Kang and that lazy Shen Chi who’s dreaming of swans while being a toad.”
All his life, Lin Nianqiang only truly admired his younger brother.
Once his head was almost chopped under Red Guards’ axe in the town, and if his brother hadn’t intimidated them into fleeing, grass on his grave would be quite tall by now.
Big brother was like a coward forced by the Red Guards to bear everything, and he too knew that his impulsive nature wasn’t suited for great deeds.
If it weren’t for his brother’s combined tactics of public and secret pressures forcing the Red Guards to retreat, it wouldn’t just be about his three sons; keeping any descendants would have been a challenge.
Moreover, remembering how his brother, with bloodshot eyes, strangled a Red Guard trying to sell Xiao Le and Xiao Shou into a remote area in a sack and then hid the body under a tractor, filling Lin Nianqiang with a surge of emotion.
He hadn’t even told his big brother and sister-in-law about the incident, yet he couldn’t forget it himself.
All three families had been supported by his young brother alone; it’s just that his brother had just left, and his most beloved Wanwan was already suffering.
“Hold your tongue!” Seeing his sister-in-law’s unhappy face, Zhou Fengqin grabbed her husband’s ear, “As if you could do any better!
Don’t we all wish the best for Wanwan?”
“But your good intentions backfired!” insisted Lin Nianqiang, “I said before that Shen Chi didn’t look right, suspiciously charming, didn’t even finish middle school, so what if he’s a Captain?
Military pay might be high, but our Wanwan graduated from Capital University, how bad can it be?
Moreover, as a soldier, you never know when he’ll be on the battlefield.
Shen Chi might have been lucky before, but who knows about the future?
Not to mention, does a real man speculate with money to get a wife instead of pursuing her himself?”
Lin Nianqiang utterly disdained Shen Chi; in his heart, a man needed to be dependable and steady like his brother, not necessarily talkative but decisive and proactive, or even like his plain and honest big brother rather than someone calculating like Shen Chi.