Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

At five o'clock in the evening, the sun in the west was about to sink into the mountains behind the hills.

The wind in the mountains is different from that in the village. As soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops immediately. The cool mountain wind blows down the slope, blowing away the heat of a whole day's work. It feels cool against the skin, perfectly complementing the relaxing atmosphere of this autumn evening.

Lin Chen found a good place for a gathering. The terrain was flat, and there was a mountain spring just a few steps away, making it convenient for both work and cooking.

With Xie Yongqiang finishing up the last bit, the planting on the barren mountain was finally completed.

A group of young people straightened their aching backs, brushed off the mud from their trouser legs one by one, their muscles aching and swollen, their calves spinning from exhaustion, but none of them looked down; they all wore relaxed smiles.

The group strolled around in twos and threes, joking and complaining about the hardships they had endured at work that day.

"Finally finished! My back is killing me from bending over to plant trees today. I'll have trouble getting out of bed tomorrow." Liu Ying rubbed her lower back and muttered with a frown.

Xiangxiu, standing to the side, pouted and shook her aching wrist:

"That's nothing. I spent the whole afternoon carrying buckets of water to water the plants, and my arms are so sore I can't even lift them. Now, every time I try to lift my arms, they cramp up. Don't ask me to give you any injections tomorrow, or I'll have to give them a few."

Wang Xiaomeng and Xie Xiaomei walked side by side behind, both covered in mud and grass. They were arm in arm, talking about something, and both had smiles on their faces.

Lin Chen had already made arrangements with the village's sheep butcher well in advance, and the butcher had already delivered everything up the mountain: a clean and plump sheep. This kind of thing is best for roasting; the meat is firm, not gamey, and has a good balance of fat and lean. When roasting a whole sheep, he only recognizes castrated sheep.

Next to it were stacks of thoroughly dried oak firewood, which burned hard and produced no smoke. A large pot and a thickened iron barbecue grill were all neatly arranged there.

Lin Chen put his hands in his pockets, glanced at the scene, turned his head and gestured with his chin toward Zhao Yutian and Li Daguo, who were playing around not far away, and called out:

"You two hurry up and run to the convenience store, bring up two cases of beer, I have some liquor, and a case of soda too."

"No need to pay, I've already told Aunt Big Foot, it'll be on my tab."

"Alright! I'll be there immediately when Brother Chen gives the order!"

Li Daguo jumped up and down in response, grabbed Zhao Yutian, and turned to rush down the dirt road. The two of them bickered and joked along the way, and in less than twenty minutes they were carrying their things up the mountain, huffing and puffing.

Their faces were flushed, and they were covered in sweat, leaning against a nearby tree and panting heavily.

Li Daguo, hands on his hips, panting heavily, said with a pained expression:

"My goodness, Brother Chen! This mountain road doesn't look that far, but why is it so hard to get up here? My legs are so weak, I almost gave up halfway."

Zhao Yutian nodded repeatedly, raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his face:

"You bet! It's more tiring than squatting in the flowerbed all afternoon. My thighs are sore and numb now."

Lin Chen leaned against the support frame, looking at their weak and listless appearance, and joked with a smile:

"Look at you two, so weak. Young men, you cry and whine over a little physical work. Why aren't you this weak when you're drinking and eating meat? Take a break, and we'll give you a couple more pieces of meat and a couple more bowls of mutton soup to help you recover."

The two chuckled, quickly placed the wine and soda on the clean stone slab, and then swung their arms to relax their muscles.

Immediately afterwards, everyone divided up the tasks and got to work. The young people were already lively when they got together, chatting, laughing and joking non-stop. The place was filled with the noise of the young people.

Xie Yongqiang took the initiative to squat downwind, neatly arranged the oak firewood, and lit the campfire.

"Yongqiang, don't pile the firewood too densely. Leave some space at the bottom for ventilation so the fire can burn evenly," Lin Chen casually reminded him.

"Okay, Brother Chen, I understand." Xie Yongqiang obediently replied and got to work.

Zhao Yutian and Li Daguo lifted the whole fat sheep, threaded a thick iron skewer through its neck to its tail, and then, with some effort, placed the sheep on the barbecue rack.

Lin Chen stepped forward two steps and gestured with his hands to indicate the height, directing the operation on the spot:

"The stand should be raised higher! The current height is not good. The open flame is too close to the meat. The outside will burn in a few minutes, while the inside is still raw. It's a waste of such a good lamb."

"Also, control the firewood. Don't add too much firewood and make a big fire. We eat roasted lamb slowly so that the fat can seep out and make it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."

The two immediately adjusted themselves. These young people in the village wholeheartedly obeyed Lin Chen's arrangements. As soon as he spoke, no one talked back or slacked off.

"Hey? Where's my barbecue master chef? Liu Yishui!!!"

Hearing Lin Chen's shout, Liu Yishui raised his hand and jogged over.

"Here! Here!"

The girls on the side weren't idle either. Wang Xiaomeng and Liu Ying rolled up their coat sleeves and squatted by the mountain spring, preparing the lamb offal and cleaning it thoroughly.

Xie Xiaomei was arranging the ingredients when she turned to Lin Chen and gave him some instructions:

"Brother Chen, don't always stand in the wind, you'll easily catch a cold. Come over here and rest for a while."

The whole village knew they were dating; everyone was used to it.

Lin Chen turned his head and waved to her:

"It's okay, I'm not cold, this little breeze is nothing."

Xiangxiu sat quietly on the clean stone slab next to Xiaomei, peeling garlic and arranging cumin, chili powder, and other seasonings separately on a piece of kraft paper.

Xiangxiu's eyes darted around, secretly glancing at Lin Chen by the grill, while she secretly plotted something.

Li Daguo was squatting by the campfire, tending to the firewood, his eyes fixed on the roasting lamb, completely unaware of what was behind him.

Xiangxiu avoided the gazes of the crowd and tiptoed to a secluded corner next to Lin Chen.

She leaned close to Lin Chen, her voice extremely low, with a woman's coquettish charm, so that only the two of them could hear:

"Brother Chen, when are you free after you finish this busy period? I miss you so much."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look at her, his tone playful:

"Are you thinking about me or something else?"

Xiangxiu's eyes were coquettish and coy:

"Ugh, what's the big deal about thinking about anything?"

Lin Chen glanced at the crowd gathered not far away and slowly spoke:

"I'm afraid I won't be available right now. Let's talk about it later."

Xiangxiu's face showed obvious disappointment, and she muttered softly with a drooping mouth:

"Alright... I'll leave the stockings I bought in town a couple of days later for another two days."

"Oh? Wait a moment!"

Lin Chen paused, thought for a moment, and said:

"I suddenly realized that I don't seem to have anything important to do tomorrow during the day, so I can free up some time."

Xiangxiu's eyes crinkled instantly, her earlier disappointment vanished, she secretly pursed her lips to suppress a laugh, nodded her head twice, and when no one was paying attention, she slipped back to sit next to Xiaomei and pretended nothing had happened while wiping the dishes.

Before long, the campfire slowly grew stronger, the oak firewood ignited a gentle flame, then turned white, without any choking black smoke.

The whole fat sheep is rotated at a constant speed on the rack. The high temperature causes the excess fat under the sheep skin to drip down with a crackling sound, splattering into tiny oil droplets as it falls.

A rich, savory aroma of roasted meat wafted on the evening breeze, spreading across the entire barren mountain.

Liu Yishui is an expert in controlling the heat and knows the tricks of roasting lamb. He rotates the roasting rack at a constant speed every fifteen minutes. In the early stage, he slowly dries the surface moisture, then brushes on salad oil to lock in the meat juices, and finally brushes on soy sauce and chili sauce repeatedly, sprinkling cumin and coarse chili powder in layers.

It takes a full two hours of slow roasting to achieve a crispy, non-bitter outer skin, while keeping the lamb inside tender, juicy, and not dry.

Lin Chen asked with a smile:

"Yishui, did you actually do this professionally before?"

"Look, I'm much better than the professionals!"

Lin Chen took turns roasting with him, while Li Daguo, who was already drooling, sat cross-legged beside him, craning his neck and staring intently at the whole roasted lamb, smacking his lips incessantly.

"Brother Chen! Your cooking skills are amazing! It smells even better than what restaurant chefs make. The aroma is so strong, my mouth is practically watering my clothes."

"That goes without saying."

Lin Chen kept brushing away, smiling as he said:

"Your brother Chen is better than others at everything. It's only half done. Don't rush it. Let it roast for at least another hour. The lamb leg skin is roasted until it's hard and bubbly, and it's crunchy when you bite into it. If you're hungry, go have some lamb soup first."

On the other side, a large iron pot was placed by the mountain spring. The blanched lamb offal was poured into the pot, filled with icy spring water, seasonings were added, and the pot was simmered slowly with a gentle flame at the bottom.

The soup pot bubbled and churned, slowly simmering a milky white broth that released the fresh aroma of lamb offal and the fragrance of roasted meat.

Xiangxiu moved closer to the large pot, gently stirred the broth with a long spoon, and took a deep breath:

"This mutton soup is so delicious, I have to have two more bowls later."

Liu Ying chimed in from the side, smiling broadly:

"That's for sure. Drinking mutton offal soup in autumn keeps your stomach warm all winter. The mountain wind is so strong, but a bowl of hot soup makes you feel great all over."

While waiting for the barbecue, everyone sat around the clean stones and dry grass around the campfire, chatting about village gossip. The young people gathered together, making a ruckus and playing around.

……

A bicycle bell rang at the gate of Changgui's house. Wang Changgui was returning from get off work in town. He was exhausted from riding his bicycle. As soon as he pushed the bicycle into the gate and put his feet on the ground, he smelled the aroma of stewed meat. His stomach immediately started growling, and he was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back.

He leaned his bicycle against the wall, casually brushed the dust off his pants, went inside, and asked with a smile:

"Wang Yun, what's stewing that smells so good? I smelled it as soon as I entered the courtyard; I'm really hungry today!"

The corn stalks in the stove crackled and popped. After a while, Wang Yun came out carrying a large aluminum basin filled with chicken stew with potatoes, steaming hot.

She slammed the bowl down on the table, spilling some soup, her face devoid of any smile, and spoke calmly:

"What else can I stew? Chicken stew with potatoes. I know you work hard in town, so I stewed it a little longer. The meat is so tender that it falls off the bone with just a touch."

As soon as Changgui entered the door, Wang Yun would rush over to take his coat and pour him hot water.

He looked sullen and downcast today, clearly in a bad mood.

Chang Gui sensed something was wrong, but didn't think much of it. He pulled over a stool, plopped down, picked up his chopsticks, and scanned the room:

"Hey? Where's Xiangxiu? Why isn't she home? Is the clinic still busy?"