Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Xie Baochang casually extended his hand to shake his, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"Director Liu, there's no need to be so polite. We just came to take a look. Xiao Mei works here every day, and we're so grateful for your care."

Su Guifen also said frankly:

"Yes, no need to bother. We'll sit for a while and then drive into the village to see Xiaomei's aunt. You all go about your work. We'll leave after a short while."

As they spoke, the group lifted the thick cotton curtain and entered the office. A wave of heat hit them as soon as they entered.

Liu Yishui was genuinely nervous. He quickly told the two of them to sit down and hurriedly searched for teacups to make tea.

After holding the hot tea for two minutes to warm himself up, Xie Baochang couldn't sit still any longer and instinctively wanted to go out and check on the breeding site.

He placed the teacup on the table:

"Come on, take me for a walk, I want to check on the growth and the layout of the field."

Liu Yishui was eager to have this industry expert diagnose his problem, even if it wasn't from the same system, as the expert still had some experience.

He immediately took the lead, lifting the cotton curtain to go outside.

To be honest, the place was really well-maintained. The rows of rabbit cages were neatly arranged, there was no pungent smell in the shed, and the food and water troughs were spotless. The rabbits of all sizes in the cages were a delightful sight.

Xie Baochang wasn't in a hurry to walk, but strolled leisurely through each corridor, a habit he had developed over the years of working at the grassroots level, focusing on the details that others couldn't see.

He bent down to part the mating box to check the thickness of the hay, squatted at the gate to look at the frozen sterilization pool, and frowned slightly.

The whole process was like an old technician chatting casually:

"Yishui, you're a capable young man. You've cleaned up the field perfectly, and your basic skills are undeniable, but you have a few minor flaws."

"First, don't pile the feed in the rabbit hutch. It's damp, moldy, and contaminated with bacteria. If a whole hutch of rabbits gets sick, your profit won't be enough to cover the treatment. Store the feed in a separate, dry warehouse."

"Secondly, this disinfection pool at the entrance is just for show; it's frozen solid. You can't be lazy and fool yourself when it comes to animal husbandry and disease prevention..."

Xie Baochang rattled off a whole bunch of things, and Liu Yishui slapped his thigh after listening:

"Oh my god, Uncle! You've hit the nail on the head. The rabbits have been sick lately, and Deputy Farm Manager Xie and I thought it was a problem with the feed."

While idly glancing at the certificates and licenses hanging on the wall, Su Guifen casually and kindly mentioned:

"Yishui, let me just remind you, don't be careless with the business registration. Your license isn't complete enough. If you expand your business in the future, it will be considered operating beyond the scope of the license, and you'll be fined and have to rectify the situation if you're caught."

"If you don't know how to apply for adding categories, just call me and I'll teach you the process. You won't have to travel all the way to the county to queue up and find someone, saving you a lot of trouble."

Liu Yishui was even happier now, a huge weight lifted from his heart, and he grinned from ear to ear:

"Thank you so much, Auntie! This has solved my biggest problem!"

After strolling around for a while, Xie Baochang nodded and gave a very fair assessment:

"Overall, there's nothing wrong with it. As long as young people are willing to work hard, they'll do well."

Being praised by his boss made Liu Yishui feel very happy. He couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and he even walked with a lighter step.

The group returned to the office. Xie Xiaomei picked up the kettle, filled it with hot water for her parents, sat down next to her father, and asked:

"Dad, the Animal Husbandry Bureau has a breeding rabbit promotion project. Do you think we can get it?"

Xie Baochang understood immediately and readily agreed:

"I know about this. It's a newly released agricultural policy that specifically supports specialty livestock farming in northern Liaoning."

He found the room too noisy, so he got up, lifted the curtain, and stood in the sheltered part of the corridor. He took out his phone and made a call to an acquaintance. It was just a casual chat between friends, and after five or six minutes, he hung up, lifted the curtain, went inside, and said bluntly:

"No problem, you meet the requirements. Once your application is approved, you'll receive a direct subsidy for the introduction of breeding stock, and the Animal Husbandry Bureau will provide free on-site disease prevention guidance."

"I've already asked, and the scale of this venue in Yishui already meets the requirements; all that's missing is a pandemic prevention certificate."

Liu Yishui leaned forward, his eyes shining, and quickly asked about the process:

"Uncle, where do I register and apply?"

"Just go to the town's livestock station, get a form, fill it out, and submit it along with photos of the site and a copy of the license."

Xie Baochang picked up his teacup and casually added a word of thanks, his tone flat and unpretentious:

"I'll talk to the head of the department over there later. You can just submit your materials normally. No one will make things difficult for you. You'll basically pass."

Liu Yishui was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Oh, this is just in time, Uncle! Your words have been a huge help! Thank you so much!"

Xie Baochang waved his hand, his expression indifferent:

"No need to thank me. It's a benefit the government provides to farmers. If you meet the standards, you should receive it. Just focus on running your farm well. Please take good care of Xiaomei while she's here."

After finishing their business, the group sat idly and chatted about everyday things, such as Xie Xiaomei's daily work routine and the trivial matters of spending the winter in the countryside.

Liu Yishui was quick-witted and perceptive; he understood immediately and took the initiative to speak:

"Sister-in-law, your uncle and aunt must be tired from traveling in the snow. There's nothing going on at the farm, and I'm keeping an eye on things here. Why don't you go back with them?"

Xie Xiaomei had originally planned to accompany her parents to the village to visit her aunt, and upon hearing this, she smiled and said:

"Well done, you're getting better and better at recognizing things. I'll be going now, call me anytime if anything happens on set."

"Okay, then you have to behave yourself, otherwise Brother Chen will punish me if he sees me," Liu Yishui said with a smile.

The group got up and went out. Liu Yishui escorted the three of them to the Santana car and eagerly opened the car door for them.

"Aunt and Uncle, drive slowly on the snowy road and be careful."

"It's alright, you should go back now, it's terribly cold." Xie Baochang replied casually, and the Santana slowly turned around, its wheels crunching through the snow as it swayed and drove towards the village.

The snow was falling heavily outside, but the roads were no longer slippery.

Xie Baochang gripped the steering wheel and carefully drove the Santana to the entrance of the Big Foot Supermarket, then slowly pulled over and braked.

The three of them got out of the car. The cold wind felt like knives on their faces. When they looked up, Xie Baochang and Su Guifen stopped in their tracks, staring wide-eyed, and stood there dumbfounded.

They weren't unaware of what their sister's grocery store was like; Xie Dajiao's previous shop was dilapidated and inconspicuous, but the shop in front of them was completely different.

The storefront is bright and impressive, the signboard has been changed to Big Foot Supermarket, and a whole floor-to-ceiling glass window is clean and shiny, reflecting people's shadows clearly.

Compared to that dilapidated bungalow from several years ago, it's a world of difference; you can't even tell it's the same place.

Su Guifen's eyes widened, she craned her neck to look, shook Xie Xiaomei's arm, and said in disbelief:

"Oh my god... is this really your aunt's convenience store?"

"When I came here before, it was just a small hut. It hasn't been that long since I last came, how come it's been turned into such a spacious place?"

Xie Xiaomei wrapped the thick scarf around her neck tighter, shivering from the cold, and smiled as she looked at her aunt's shop.

"Lin Chen paid for all the renovations and refurbishments..."

She raised her chin and pointed towards the supermarket, then said:

"He figured that since his aunt was pregnant, the aisles in the store used to be too narrow, and it would be easy for her to bump her belly when walking back and forth to move goods, so he specially redid it, and equipped it with new shelves, a large freezer and everything else."

Xie Baochang didn't say anything, but slowly walked forward with his hands behind his back. He looked around and his goodwill towards this prospective son-in-law, whom he hadn't met yet, grew rapidly.

He had worked his way up in county government offices for decades and had seen plenty of young people who talked a good game but were all talk and no action.

Whether he has money or not, whether he can get things done or not, is not important. What is most valuable is that this child cares about the Xie family, is thoughtful, and considers things thoroughly.

Based on his kind and considerate character, he already considered this young man to be one of the best.

Xie Xiaomei reached out and flung open the thick cotton curtain, and a wave of heat mixed with the smells of snacks, cigarettes, and alcohol rushed out of the room.

The supermarket was bright and spacious. Xie Dajiao, with her body slightly hunched over, slowly arranged the goods on the counter.

Hearing the curtain rustle and footsteps behind her, she looked up and the thing in her hand slammed against the counter. She froze, her voice trembling.

"Brother? Sister-in-law! What brings you two here?!"

Just from that one sentence, my eyes instantly welled up with tears.

For so many years, she silently kept her grievances to herself, gritting her teeth and enduring them. Her brother and sister-in-law had a fierce argument because of her previous marriage to Li Fu, and they were busy working in the county town, so they rarely saw each other throughout the year.

Now that I'm pregnant, I'm both physically and mentally vulnerable. I feel insecure all over. Suddenly seeing my brother who has protected me since I was a child, all the grievances I've been holding back for years burst forth in an instant. I held back my tears and dared not let them fall.

Seeing her younger sister's red eyes as she struggled to hold back tears, Su Guifen's heart clenched. She quickly walked to the counter, reached out and pulled her into her arms, gently patting her back. Her usually sharp voice was now filled with tenderness, her tone full of heartache:

"Xiao Hong, why are you crying? You're a grown woman. Your company is busy with year-end work, so your brother and I took time off to come see you. Pregnancy makes you more delicate and you can't stand being wronged. If you want to cry, just cry a little. No one will laugh at you."

Xie Baochang stood to the side, watching his younger sister, whom he had protected since childhood, suffer like this. His nose stung with tears, but as a proud man, he was stubborn and said in a stern voice with a straight face:

"Alright, Xiaohong, we just met. What kind of behavior is this, crying like this? Your sister-in-law and I came over to check on you. Are you feeling stifled here? Are you feeling comfortable during your pregnancy? If not, come back to the county town with me and live with us. We can take care of you."

Xie Dajiao buried herself in her sister-in-law's arms for a long time, then raised her hand to wipe away her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand, forcing a smile:

"Why would I go to your place? I'm perfectly fine here. You two, come and sit down! Xiaomei, quickly pour two cups of hot water to warm yourselves up! It's snowing heavily, why didn't you call ahead before you came?"

(The update data isn't good, so I'm adding an extra chapter today!)