Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Xie Lan sat quietly on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) knitting, her hands never stopping, without even raising her head, she just gave a faint "hmm" and didn't say a word more.

When Pi Changshan saw her cold demeanor, he immediately became anxious, threw his briefcase on the kang (a heated brick bed), and looked very agitated.

"Xie Lan, what do you mean? And why are you looking so down? You're not happy that I've become the principal of the central school? Am I in your way?"

"What are you yelling about?"

Xie Lan rolled her eyes at him, the knitting needles in her hands clicking away, her tone flat yet carrying a hint of stubbornness:

"I didn't say you couldn't go, it's just that I think it's pointless. Staying at the village school is fine, it's close to home, and it's convenient for everything. Living a down-to-earth life is better than anything else."

"What's so convenient about it?!"

Pi Changshan paced back and forth in the room, increasingly frustrated.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to get this transfer opportunity? It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance! If I want to transfer to the town again or move to a better position, it'll be harder than climbing to heaven! Hurry up, go find Lin Chen tomorrow and explain this to him clearly, and ask him to talk to Mayor Qi on my behalf."

"I'm not going."

Xie Lan spoke crisply and decisively, without even raising her head, leaving no room for negotiation.

"You're not going? Why aren't you going?"

Pi Changshan's eyes widened, his face filled with confusion and anger:

"Everything's been verified. Yan Dongdong isn't there. What are you still worried about? Why are you dragging me down like this!"

"I don't really want to go, I just won't."

Xie Lan gently placed the sweater she was holding on the kang (a heated brick bed), her attitude exceptionally firm:

"There are so many young female teachers at the central school. If you go there, you'll definitely run wild and cause some trouble. I can't bear the shame of that."

"You're absolutely unreasonable!"

Pi Changshan was so angry that his face turned red, and he pointed at Xie Lan's nose and shouted loudly:

"I went to work, to build my career! Not to date! Xie Lan, can't you be reasonable? I've been waiting for this great opportunity for so long, and you just watched me ruin it? You're really capable of bringing the dead back to life!"

The two started arguing on the spot, and the argument got fiercer and fiercer. They talked about everything from job transfers to trivial matters over the years, bringing up all the old stories.

Pi Changshan talked until his lips were sore, making promises and oaths, repeatedly saying that he would definitely behave himself and work hard, but Xie Lan was unmoved and refused to ask Lin Chen for help.

After arguing for a while, Pi Changshan completely lost his temper, plopped down on a bench, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily, knowing that saying anything more would be useless.

Xie Lan picked up the sweater again, bowed her head and knitted silently, without even lifting her eyelids.

The room was quiet except for the clacking of knitting needles; the atmosphere was oppressive, and the couple ignored each other.

Pi Changshan sighed deeply. The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had slipped away, and he was truly unwilling to accept it.

That night, Pi Changshan sighed and tossed and turned, unable to sleep a wink, his heart filled with frustration and helplessness.

……

At 9:00 AM, at the Songshan Town Government, the wind was particularly strong outside today.

Qi Santai's office was quite warm. After Chang Gui came in, he handed Qi Santai a cigarette as if they were old friends, and the two chatted casually about investment matters in the town.

After finishing their business, Changgui turned to the village chores.

"Mayor, I have something to tell you. It's not really working out for me to keep doing both village head and village chief duties. There's a whole mess of things going on in the village, and I'm finding it hard to manage everything. Don't you think it's time to properly elect someone?"

Qi Santai picked up his teacup and took a sip:

"What's the rush? We're just holding a preliminary selection process right now. There's a policy from above that encourages younger cadres, so we need to choose young people who are educated, energetic, and can reliably lead the villagers to make money and get rich. If you ask me, Lin Chen from Xiangyashan is the most suitable. He's more than qualified to be the village head. Have you asked him what he thinks?"

"Oh, please, Mayor!"

Chang Gui quickly waved his hand, looking helpless:

"Xiao Chen finds being a deputy director too troublesome, and we hardly ever see him, let alone make him the director. He doesn't want to do it at all. I've subtly asked him twice before, but he didn't take it to heart at all and has no interest in it whatsoever."

Qi Santai sighed and put the documents in his hand on the table.

"That makes sense. Nowadays, capable young people don't want to stay in the village and suffer. Alright, let's take this matter into consideration. You can continue to serve as the village head for now and slowly look for a suitable candidate. If you come across a reliable young person in the future, you should also do your best to persuade them to contribute to the village."

Chang Gui nodded in agreement, feeling helpless. There weren't many young people in Ivory Mountain who could really keep the place in check.

Either he's impulsive or incompetent, and he can't control the villagers when he takes office. In the end, he'll still have to continue doing the job of village chief.

In the afternoon, the village clinic was quiet.

Wang Tianlai squatted on the ground, arranging the medicines, fiddling with them in his hands, not moving for a long time, his mind already wandering far away.

After a long silence, he sighed softly and muttered to himself in a low voice.

"Sigh, forget it. Chen Yannan doesn't dare to think about it. Lin Chen is too arrogant. If I keep chasing after him shamelessly, I might get beaten up. It's not worth it. My life is more important."

He secretly glanced at Xiangxiu beside him.

Xiangxiu was writing something; she was efficient in her work and spoke gently.

They go to work together every day, they know each other very well, and there's nothing awkward between them.

Wang Tianlai found Xiangxiu more and more pleasing to the eye. He secretly thought to himself that Xiangxiu was actually not bad at all. She was much more reliable than Chen Yannan, who was so aloof. People would stop him from pursuing Chen Yannan, but no one would interfere with him pursuing Xiangxiu, right?

Li Daguo is definitely better than Lin Chen, so why is he always so proud of other people's wives?

In just a short while, his feelings for Chen Yannan completely changed.

Just as he was pondering this, a figure flashed by at the door. Li Daguo strolled in, casually pulled up a chair, sat down, and glanced at him sideways.

"What's wrong? You're already down? You're giving up after such a small setback? I'm not trying to be mean, but when a man is pursuing a girl, he can't just back down after hitting a snag. That's too pathetic."

Wang Tianlai hung his head and said listlessly.

"How can I possibly hold on? They have powerful backers; I can't afford to offend them..."

"Even if we can't afford to offend them, we have to think of something!"

Li Daguo leaned forward, adopting the demeanor of an elder brother, and solemnly offered his advice:

"Listen to me, just buy her flowers and send them to her every day. Also, send her text messages every day to greet her, report back to her in the morning and evening, remind her to wear more clothes when it's cold, and to bring an umbrella when it rains. Just keep at it, and eventually, even the hardest heart will be warmed by her. You're sure to win her over!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Tianlai's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly looked up, appearing extremely pleased, and nodded his head vigorously.

"Really, bro? This trick really works? Tell me more, do you have any other good tricks?"

Li Daguo got even more excited, spitting as he spoke, breaking down everything from what kind of flowers to buy to how to say things in text messages, explaining everything in great detail.

Wang Tianlai listened attentively, appearing eager to learn, and had already made up his mind.

These tricks might not work on Chen Yannan, but they're perfect for Xiangxiu. After all, they're based on Li Daguo's experience, and he's definitely used them on Xiangxiu.

He was secretly delighted and planned to go to town the next day to buy a bouquet of flowers to surprise Xiangxiu.

Not only that, he had also planned out his backup plan.

If Li Daguo asks later, he will say that the flowers were bought for Chen Yannan, but she refused to accept them, and it would be a waste to throw them away, so he gave them to Xiangxiu instead.

This statement is flawless, watertight, and no one can detect any trickery.

Li Daguo didn't see through his little scheme and really thought he was going to keep fighting Chen Yannan to the death.

He patted Wang Tianlai on the shoulder and encouraged him:

"Alright, bro, I believe in you! Keep up the good work and try to win this contract soon!"

Wang Tianlai chuckled, rubbing his hands together and nodding, full of enthusiasm.

Wang Tianlai was secretly delighted. This was a classic case of feigning one move while secretly making another. Li Daguo was foolishly acting as the strategist, completely unaware that he had been outmaneuvered by Wang Tianlai the whole time.