Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

She couldn't help but ponder Xiaomei's words repeatedly, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable they seemed.

Yes, rules are rigid, but people are flexible.

If that person were Lin Chen, the one she had secretly fallen for, would she still be able to hold onto her so-called bottom line and reserve? Most likely, she would have already lost her composure and wouldn't care about any rules anymore.

As soon as the thought popped into her head, Wang Xiaomeng's heart started racing. She quickly stuffed a mouthful of vegetables with sauce into her mouth, using the refreshing leafy greens to suppress the panic and embarrassment in her heart.

Xie Dajiao didn't notice Wang Xiaomeng's subtle change at all, and followed the conversation directly to Xie Yongqiang, expressing her deep feelings.

"If we're talking about the young people in our village, Xie Yongqiang is the most stubborn and the most troublesome. How come we never noticed before that this kid was so capable?"

"A perfectly good elementary school teacher resigned without a second thought, ignoring all advice. Now he's single-mindedly focused on that barren mountain. I heard Yongqiang is almost obsessed; he goes up the mountain with tools before dawn to clear the land and doesn't come down until it's completely dark."

"They've gone even further these past two days, setting up a tiny shack. It looks like they're planning to live on the mountain permanently and stick to it to the end."

Upon hearing Xie Yongqiang's name, Wang Xiaomeng spoke in a distant and indifferent tone:

"Yes, I heard about it too. Xie Guangkun even came to my tofu shop to find me and kept nagging for a long time, trying to get me to go up the mountain and persuade Yongqiang to stop messing around."

"I told him directly that I couldn't control it and had no intention of doing so. Yongqiang and I have nothing to do with each other for a long time. It's his business to do whatever he wants. If I get involved, it will only cause the villagers to gossip and make things unclear. It's just asking for trouble."

"You did the right thing!"

Xie Xiaomei immediately chimed in, patting Wang Xiaomeng's arm:

"You've been separated for so long, you should draw a clear line and stay away from his family's mess. Otherwise, with Xie Guangkun's personality, he'll definitely take advantage of the situation and spread rumors that you still care about Xie Yongqiang."

Wang Xiaomeng nodded slightly:

"That's what I think too. Everyone chooses their own path. He wants to start a business and whether it goes well or not is his own fate."

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, holding a wine glass. The evening breeze was blowing gently. After listening to what the others had said, he slowly opened his mouth, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

"To be honest, I've really changed my opinion of Xie Yongqiang this time. He used to be too arrogant, thinking that college students were something special. He was probably influenced by Xie Guangkun. If someone praises you every day, you'll probably get arrogant too, and your behavior will be affected to some extent."

"But this time he really settled down, he was willing to endure hardship and suffering. Regardless of whether he could make money in the end, his down-to-earth, hardworking and indomitable spirit is much better than before."

A gentle evening breeze swept across the courtyard, bringing the earlier idle chatter to a halt. No one mentioned Xie Yongqiang again, and the conversation naturally shifted to the recent autumn harvest and the trivial matters of the village...

……

The period from late September to mid-October is the most grueling time of the year in rural northern Liaoning.

Once the White Dew solar term passes, the mountain winds immediately turn cool, and the frost in the mornings and evenings intensifies.

In 05, there were no large harvesters in Xiangyashan. The city had a few pilot machines, but ordinary farmers could only look at them and that was it. The entire village relied on manual labor for the autumn harvest.

The fields mainly grow corn and soybeans. They look full, but harvesting them is exhausting.

At this time, it's crucial to seize the farming season. The weather can change in an instant; it might rain all night or bring a sudden frost in the morning. If the harvest is delayed by even three to five days, a year's hard-earned harvest can be completely wasted.

Before dawn, every household started working in the fields.

During the autumn harvest, men, women, and children all set out, hurrying to the fields through the dew. In the pitch-black fields, the figures of people wearing cloth shoes and carrying farm tools swarmed into each family's fields.

The field instantly became lively, with voices, shouts, the rustling of corn leaves, and the snapping of sickles cutting stalks all mixed together, making it even noisier than a bustling market.

No one had time to chat idly; everyone was busy working hard, their heads down. Everyone was eager to get to work, because the autumn harvest waits for no one. If you slack off for even one day, all your hard work for the whole year will be for nothing.

To focus on the harvest, Wang Laoqi's family shut down their tofu shop for three days, with the three of them working tirelessly in the fields. Even the people they hired had to go home to harvest their crops.

Wang Xiaomeng, wearing a blue headscarf that covered her hair completely, squatted in the furrow and picked corn one by one.

The edges of the corn leaves are hard and sharp. Even with gloves on, the exposed part of her arm would sometimes be chafed with fine red cuts. The sweat soaked through the skin and it hurt, but she didn't care. She was used to it every year and buried her head in the corn, quickly peeling it.

"Girl, go rest on the edge of the field for two minutes and loosen your hand."

Looking at his daughter, Wang Laoqi felt extremely sorry for her and kept waving his hand to tell her to rest.

Wang Xiaomeng wiped the sweat from her forehead, shook her head, and continued working on her hands:

"Dad, don't rest. Take advantage of these two sunny days to finish the work quickly. If the weather changes, the corn will be ruined if it's buried in the ground."

At lunchtime, no one goes home; they just grab a bite in the fields.

They sat in twos and threes on the earthen slope, gnawing on hard flatbreads with pickled vegetables or vegetables with dipping sauce. After finishing, they wiped their mouths, patted the dirt off their pants, and continued working.

There's no shortage of bickering and arguments in the Xie family. Xie Guangkun can't stand Xie Yongqiang no matter what he does.

Xie Yongqiang specially came down from his hut in the barren mountains to help with the autumn harvest. He worked all day long, picking corn, carrying sacks, and loading them onto the truck. But Xie Guangkun couldn't stop talking. While harvesting, he kept grumbling and complaining, muttering something after picking an ear of corn:

"Making you work is like setting you up for a ride. If you were working, you wouldn't have to suffer like this. You quit being a good teacher, and Wang Xiaomeng offered you a job, but you refused. You're not even as good as a farmer these days!"

Xie Yongqiang ignored his father's nagging and worked even faster. Reasoning with the old man was a waste of breath; he had given up hope. He figured he might as well do more work and finish it sooner to avoid more complaints.

Yongqiang's mother, listening nearby, felt a headache coming on and said irritably:

"Get to work! Can't you just shut up? All you do all day is nag. You'd be better off using that energy to pick a couple more ears of corn!"

Xie Guangkun pursed his lips and continued working. He worked bent over all day, so tired that he couldn't straighten his back. When he finished work in the evening, he walked with a limp, groaning incessantly. But the next day, he still dared not slack off, for fear that the harvest would be ruined. This harvest was the lifeblood of the people.

The scene in Old Zhao's field was quite different. Zhao Si had a towel draped around his neck, bent over working, his mouth twitching. His movements were slow but solid, and he had gotten a tan from the sun these past few days.

In contrast, Zhao Yutian's mind was not on the field at all. He would look up at the sky every now and then, as if his soul had almost flown away.

While worrying about his newly built flower garden that no one was taking care of, he was also preoccupied with Liu Ying's affairs, so he dawdled and was absent-minded while working.

Seeing his son's nonchalant attitude, Zhao Si was furious and kicked him in the butt.

"Stop thinking about that and get back to work, okay? Nothing's more important than the autumn harvest right now. Stop thinking about all that nonsense!"

Yu Tian was jolted awake by the kick. He quickly scratched his head, composed himself, and obediently lowered his head to work. But after a while, his gaze drifted away again.

Liu Neng was the one who did the most odd jobs in the whole village.

While others work from morning till night, he works for a short while, then immediately straightens up, covers his head, squats under the shade of a tree, takes out a cigarette, takes a couple of puffs, and keeps muttering:

"Oh dear, I'm so confused. My blood pressure is so high, and I'm sweating profusely. I need to take a break."

Liu Ying's mother saw everything clearly from the side, and was so angry that she put her hands on her hips and started cursing:

"You're just lazy! Everyone in the village is busy harvesting! Others have already finished harvesting half a row, and you haven't even filled half a basket! You better come here right now!"

Liu Neng chuckled and quickly took a couple of puffs before getting back to work.

Liu Ying followed her parents to the fields to help, silently husking corn. She secretly glanced at them, occasionally clutching her back, frowning, and grimacing, looking extremely tired.

Liu Yingniang assumed her daughter was just exhausted and casually urged her to rest on the side, without giving it any further thought.

For nearly twenty days during the autumn harvest, the entire village worked non-stop, from dawn till dusk, until mid-October when the last sack of corn and the last sack of soybeans were stored in the warehouse, and everyone's fields were cleaned up. Only then was this hard-fought battle finally over.

Almost everyone in the village was exhausted, with aches and pains all over their backs. When they got home, they collapsed on the kang (a heated brick bed) or chairs, too weak to even start a fire to cook.

Even so, the women still had to walk around the field a few times to see if any had been missed, or to pick up some small, misshapen ears of corn.

A few days after the autumn harvest, the sun was neither too strong nor too dry, making it a perfect time to harvest.

The courtyard of Liu Neng's house was quiet. After working for more than half a month, the whole family could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But Liu Ying has been acting strangely these past two days. She's listless, keeps covering her mouth and feeling nauseous. She can't eat greasy food and just wants to nibble on sour fruits.

At first, Liu Yingniang thought it was just that she was too tired from the autumn harvest and her health had deteriorated, and that she would be fine after a couple of days of rest.

The more I observed, the more anxious I became. My daughter's symptoms were not from being tired at all; she craved sour foods and felt nauseous—everything matched up.

Her heart skipped a beat, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She quickly pulled Liu Ying into the house, her expression frighteningly serious.

"Yingzi, tell your mother the truth, don't lie."

Liu Ying nodded quickly. Liu Ying's mother glanced behind her and asked in a low voice:

"You've been acting strange these past few days, I've noticed... isn't that right?"

Liu Ying immediately knelt down, burying her head in her thighs, and sobbed softly:

"Mother, I'm pregnant, it's Zhao Yutian's!"

Liu Yingniang felt she couldn't hear the sounds around her anymore, her mind went completely blank, and she almost fell to the ground.