The 1970s Military Marriage: The Research Genius Drops the Act

[Military Marriage in the 1970s + Devoting Science to the Nation + Marriage First, Love Later + Face-Slapping and Putting Scumbags in Their Place]

Shen Qinghe, a 37-year-old professor of materials science, died suddenly. When she opened her eyes again, she had become a bride in a northern village in 1972.

Her birth mother had died young. Her stepmother had forced her to quit school and was now trying to sell her to a widower with a history of violence.

At her lowest point, young officer Zhou Lichuan rescued her by marrying her, repaying her for saving his younger sister's life.

The whole village laughed at her for reaching above her station, waiting to see the girl who hadn't even finished middle school get dumped by her officer husband.

Instead, Shen Qinghe reclaimed her mother's keepsakes and settled the scores with her birth family. Starting with a plowshare that kept breaking, she ran comparisons and learned from each failure, gradually making her way into the commune's agricultural machinery station, a Third Front factory, and a national laboratory.

He gave her safety and respect, but never took opportunities away from her. She had only meant to use marriage as a foothold, but through working side by side and exchanging letters, she saw the sincerity hidden beneath his sense of duty.

Years later, those who had once looked down on her watched her take the stage to receive a national award. Zhou Lichuan only asked:

“Qinghe, now that you no longer need anyone to save you, would you still choose me again?”

She placed their marriage certificate back in his palm. “This time, I'm not marrying you out of gratitude. I'm choosing you for you.”