Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

He paused, looked at Xie Dajiao, and said:

"I already calculated the expenses for you a while ago. It won't cost much. I'll cover all the money. You don't need to worry about anything. Just sit in the store and be the boss lady of Big Foot Supermarket."

Xie Dajiao stood by and watched, feeling warm inside. He knew that Lin Chen didn't need the profits from the shop at all; he was just worried about her being pregnant and having difficulty moving around, and he was afraid she would get hurt or tired in the small shop, so he spent money to renovate the shop for her.

She smiled, pursed her lips, and gently patted Lin Chen's arm, saying tenderly:

"You always spoil me from spending money recklessly. Fine, I'll do whatever you say. Let's find someone to start the renovation right now. I have some savings."

The two squatted at the store entrance, chatting away about the renovation schedule, shelf placement, and sourcing channels. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't realize it was almost noon.

Around 11 a.m., lunchtime, most of the villagers went home to cook and rest. There were few pedestrians on the village roads, and the clinic was quiet with no villagers coming for treatment.

Xiangxiu sat idly behind her desk in the outer room all morning, restless and unable to sit still.

Holding his phone, Lin Chen checked the screen every minute, but there wasn't a single message after making the call.

The longer she waited, the more frustrated she became. She couldn't wait any longer and started howling with impatience.

With nothing to do, I carefully applied two coats of orange-red lipstick in front of the round mirror on the wall, smoothed the stray hairs at my temples, and straightened the collar of my white coat.

Unable to bear the passive waiting any longer, she took the initiative to call Lin Chen, deliberately keeping her tone calm so as not to be overheard by anyone around him. She pretended to be asking for a work-related favor, concealing her true desire to see him.

"Brother Chen, my dad twisted his back this morning and can't get out of bed. I'm at the clinic. Do you have time to come over? Yes, you can come now. By the way... I have some personal matters I'd like to discuss with you privately for a bit."

Lin Chen had just finalized all the details of the supermarket's renovation and expenses with Xie Dajiao when the phone rang. It was Xiangxiu. Lin Chen slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten about Xiangxiu. He was almost finished eating and, having nothing else to do, casually agreed.

After saying goodbye to Xie Dajiao, I leisurely left the grocery store and went straight to the clinic, since it wasn't far away.

I reached out and pushed open the door to the clinic; the outer room was empty.

The clinic had a simple layout: the outer room had two desks and a medicine cabinet, while the inner room had a bed and a thick blue cloth curtain that had been washed until it was faded and had pilling edges.

This place is well-hidden; passersby outside can't see inside. But if you lift a small gap in the curtain inside, you can see clearly everyone coming down the street. You don't have to worry about anyone suddenly barging in.

Hearing the door being pushed open, Xiangxiu immediately peeked out from the inner room, lifting the curtain.

The moment she saw Lin Chen, her eyes lit up instantly, all the vexation she had felt that morning vanished, and she waved softly in a low voice:

"Come in quickly..."

Lin Chen lifted the curtain and stepped into the room. Xiangxiu immediately pulled the two thick curtains down completely, sealing them tightly and completely separating the inside from the outside.

"Why are you being so secretive?"

Lin Chen leaned against the medicine cabinet, a casual smile on his lips, glancing at her indifferently.

Xiangxiu bit her lower lip and slowly pressed herself against him.

She had a sweet scent that mingled with the smell of disinfectant from the clinic. This girl's tastes have changed lately.

Xiangxiu's tone was somewhat hurried and unsteady, carrying the aggrieved and coquettish tone of someone who had been waiting anxiously all morning:

"What do you think? I've been holding my phone since this morning, waiting for you, but you haven't responded at all. Don't you miss me at all?"

As she spoke, she reached out and put her hand on Lin Chen's arm, leaning gently against him, her eyes fixed on him with a sticky gaze.

"Of course, if I missed you, I would have come to find you."

Lin Chen casually lifted a crack in the curtain, glanced around the village road outside, and, confirming that no villagers were passing by, gave a faint smirk.

"You've chosen a wonderful location; it's perfect for Tibetans, and nobody in the village can see them."

"Of course!"

Xiangxiu playfully punched his arm lightly, muttering softly:

"There are too many people and too many eyes at the clinic, and the villagers gossip. If an acquaintance sees the two of us alone together, the whole village will be talking about it, and I won't be able to explain it to Li Daguo."

The atmosphere in the enclosed room gradually became ambiguous...

……

At this time, many people in Xiangyashan Village were harvesting vegetables in their own gardens. In fact, they had already harvested most of them, but there were still some leftovers that had not been cleaned up, such as wood ear fungus.

On the sunny side of some houses, half of the wall is covered with Malabar spinach vines.

In the vegetable garden opposite the clinic, an auntie in a white apron squatted down with her sleeves rolled up. She first scraped the smooth membrane on the surface of the wood ear fungus with her fingers. The tender shoots were cool and slipped between her fingers as soon as they touched them.

She pinched the tip again and snapped it down; sticky juice immediately seeped from the broken end, making her palms shiny.

I tossed the plucked tender shoots into the bamboo basket at my feet, rubbed my fingertips together, and pulled out translucent strands of the sticky sap. I shook them a couple of times but couldn't shake them off, so I rubbed them on my apron, leaving a small wet stain.

The man squatting nearby, weeding, raised his eyelids, took out a coarse cloth from his pocket, and handed it over.

The woman waved her hand, her fingertips reaching for the next cluster of tender shoots, making a very soft rustling sound as they slid across the leaves. The plucked leaves were stacked in the bamboo basket, rubbing against each other, so soft that half a finger could sink into them.

The man withdrew his hand and continued to pull at the weeds at his feet. When he saw a large rock blocking his way, he didn't panic. He gripped the rock with both hands and rolled it away with force, moving it faster and faster. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.

(How to make Malabar spinach: Add a pinch of salt and two drops of oil to boiling water, blanch the Malabar spinach for 10 seconds, then rinse with well water. Mix with minced garlic, light soy sauce, aged vinegar, and a drop of sesame oil, and sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds. But you must use tender Malabar spinach; old spinach won't work.)

……

After a while, the clinic quieted down.

A thin layer of sweat seeped from Xiangxiu's forehead, and her damp hair clung to her cheeks as she leaned against the iron hospital bed railing, breathing slightly heavily.

The competitive spirit she had been suppressing for so long finally burst forth.

Her eyes darted around, staring at Lin Chen's profile, and she asked tentatively in a low voice:

"Brother Chen, let me ask you something honestly. Tell me honestly, if I were to compare Xie Xiaomei and me, who would be better?"

Lin Chen casually took out a lighter from his pocket, lit a cigarette, and with a crisp click, lit the cigarette, slowly exhaling a ring of white smoke.

His eyes were devoid of any emotion, and he blurted out the words without hesitation:

"Show off, what kind of class do you think you are, trying to compare yourself to my woman?"

That one sentence completely stunned Xiangxiu. "Brother, you could at least fool me..."

"snort!"

Xiangxiu suddenly felt a surge of anger, holding back her tears. She quickly and forcefully grabbed the white coat from the foot of the bed and put it on, stuffing the torn stockings into her pocket.

The black leather heels slammed hard against the cement floor, making a loud thud, clearly showing their displeasure.

Lin Chen squinted and smoked, then stood up and jumped a couple of times without even lifting his eyelids, showing no intention of coaxing or accommodating her.

Xiangxiu, suppressing her grievances and anger, turned around and reached out to lift the curtain.

As she left, she turned back and glared at Lin Chen, her voice low and stubborn, yet filled with a sense of grievance, as she gave him a firm instruction:

"Call me earlier next time!"

Lin Chen waved his hand casually, his tone perfunctory and indifferent:

"Okay, okay!"

Xiangxiu's footsteps faded into the distance, then returned shortly afterward.

"Wait a minute, this is my clinic!"

Lin Chen smiled sheepishly, stubbed out his cigarette, and said:

"Sorry, it's a habit, I'll go, I'll go..."

……

Just after 3 p.m., the sound of a car could be heard on the road at the entrance of the village.

Xie Xiaomei drove her car, stopped briefly at the Big Foot Grocery Store, and then sped to Lin Chen's house, stopping abruptly with the brakes.

The two of them spent a lot of time in the county town market, visiting many stores. They got out of the car, covered in dust, carrying a lot of things, and went straight into the store.

Lin Chen was searching online about the supermarket expansion when he heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Wang Xiaomeng with bright, sparkling eyes and barely suppressed excitement on her face. Her steps were even lighter than usual.

The two entered the room and closed the door behind them. They plopped down on either side of the kang table and neatly spread a stack of equipment drawings and manufacturer quotations on the table.

Wang Xiaomeng pointed at one of the machines, leaned forward, her eyes shining, and raised her voice a few decibels higher than usual, unable to hide her excitement:

"Brother Chen, come take a look! Sister Xiaomei and I spent the whole afternoon comparing different sets in the county town, and we've finally found this one we like!"

She swallowed hard, then excitedly recounted the benefits of the machine. Lin Chen didn't quite understand, but he listened patiently nonetheless.

Xie Xiaomei, sitting against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), casually brushed a stray hair behind her ear and chimed in, adding to the conversation:

"Here's the thing, we got all the prices and associated costs figured out, and the whole semi-automatic equipment set, installed on-site, came to 18,000 yuan."

"If we take over a standardized production workshop later, and add in the bulk stockpiling of raw materials, other machines, custom food packaging, business licenses from the industrial and commercial bureau, and all the other miscellaneous expenses, the total investment may not even stop at just over 40,000 yuan."