Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

On Yongqiang's side, the autumn wind, carrying dust, blew against people's faces, making them feel tight and dry, which was particularly uncomfortable.

The drilling rig has stopped working and is standing quietly in place. Tools are piled up on the ground, and dirt mixed with gravel covers the ground, making it a messy scene full of traces left from drilling.

Xie Yongqiang and Technician Wang squatted on the nearby earthen slope, each holding a hard, dry steamed bun, nibbling on it haphazardly with pickled vegetables, just enough to fill their stomachs.

After enduring this period of hardship, Xie Yongqiang looked extremely haggard, with stubble and sunken eyes, making him appear more than ten years older.

He gnawed on his steamed bun, but had no appetite whatsoever, and sighed heavily.

"Brother Wang, why can't we get any water? If we keep trying, I'll be too embarrassed to explain to Brother Chen."

Technician Wang took a big bite of the steamed bun, chewing loudly, his eyes filled with a stubborn, unyielding spirit.

"This mountain is really strange. The water vein is supposed to be right here, so why can't we drill through it? I've been in this business for so many years, and I just don't believe in this nonsense! We have to get the water out of it, or I'll write my name backwards!"

At this moment, Chen Guiying came out from a makeshift shed next to them, carrying a bowl of porridge. There was a stove inside. She handed the porridge to the two of them and casually comforted them.

"Yongqiang, don't get upset. Getting upset won't help. Let's keep drilling. If it gets too bad, we can drill another twenty meters deeper. I don't believe it! Besides, you don't have to pay for drilling the well."

"Sister Guiying, you can't say that."

Yongqiang gently shook his head, his voice heavy with guilt:

"Now the well money is all paid by Brother Chen, so it has nothing to do with me anymore. But I feel uneasy. Brother Chen got involved in this mess because of me. If this mess can't be resolved, I'll feel like I've let him down for the rest of my life."

As the group was chatting, voices suddenly came from the bottom of the slope.

Everyone looked up and saw Lin Chen carrying two large plastic bags as he came up, with Chen Yannan following behind. The two of them slowly walked up the mountain along the dirt road.

Lin Chen smiled and waved the object in his hand, making a joke.

"I heard someone apologizing to me from afar. What, are they talking about me behind my back?"

Xie Yongqiang quickly stood up from the ground, patted the dirt off his bottom, and looked embarrassed.

"Brother Chen, why did you come all the way up here? It's such a hassle."

"I came over to check on the progress. I figured you guys have been busy all morning and haven't had a proper hot meal, so I brought some groceries along the way."

Lin Chen turned his head and gestured with his chin toward Chen Yannan:

"Yannan, go and bring out a small table. We'll just grab a bite to eat here on this mountain."

Chen Guiying immediately joined in to help, and in no time they brought out a folding table.

Working in the mountains, people don't care about such things. A few people picked up some flat bricks to make a table and sat down on the ground without any pretense.

As soon as the plastic bag was opened, steam immediately billowed out. Inside were braised pork ribs and green beans, scrambled eggs, fried peanuts, and two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

Lin Chen filled everyone's glasses with wine, raised his own glass, and gestured towards Xie Yongqiang.

"Yongqiang, don't put so much pressure on yourself. Not getting water isn't a waste of time; it just means we haven't done our job properly yet. Good things come to those who wait. Besides, what if you're lucky and manage to find a hot spring right away? Then I'll be rich! I'll have to thank you properly then!"

He laughed as soon as he finished speaking, and Chen Yannan also smiled secretly, instantly lightening the atmosphere.

Xie Yongqiang chuckled wryly, scratching his head.

"Brother Chen, come on, I can't be any unlucky. I'd be grateful if I could even get normal well water. I know you're just trying to comfort me so I don't get upset."

"I'm not kidding you, this area is a hot spring zone, you might actually be able to get hot water, it's just that the probability is rather small."

Upon hearing this, Technician Wang, wanting to encourage Yongqiang, said:

"Now that you mention it, it's actually quite possible. I hadn't considered the possibility of a hot spring before. If we can really find a hot spring, this well would be incredibly valuable!"

In truth, they all knew that hot springs weren't so easy to find. Everyone in the vicinity was digging wells.

The more they chatted, the more compatible they became, and the more open-minded they felt.

From the difficulty of drilling wells and the trend of rock strata, to the subsequent irrigation of the orchard, and then to the varieties of fruit trees and the path of ecological planting.

The more they drank, the warmer they felt; the more they talked, the more they seemed to calm down; even the wind seemed to have subsided.

The worry that had been weighing on Xie Yongqiang's face for days eased a little.

He frequently raised his disposable wine glass to clink glasses with Lin Chen, and the guilt he felt gradually transformed into boundless enthusiasm.

……

The next day, at the Xiangyashan Village Clinic—

Xiangxiu brought her lunchbox to work. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw a bouquet of roses on her desk, wrapped in shiny wrapping paper. It was particularly eye-catching.

She paused for a moment, then reached out and picked up the flower, looking it over with a puzzled expression.

"Hey? Who put this here? Who is it for? Did you put it in the wrong place?"

Wang Tianlai had been sitting in his chair waiting for her, hoping she would see the flowers.

Upon hearing Xiangxiu's question, he quickly lowered his head and answered in a hesitant, low voice.

"That... that was a gift for you."

Xiangxiu was even more puzzled and turned to stare at him.

"Why did you send me flowers for no reason? It's just a random thing, there's no explanation for it."

Wang Tianlai was even more embarrassed now. After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to stammer out a sentence.

"Well... I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me for so long. You always help me at work too, so I thought I'd send you a bouquet of flowers to thank you."

Xiangxiu didn't think much of it, taking it as just polite conversation between colleagues. She smiled, found an empty bottle, and arranged the flowers on the windowsill.

"Okay, thank you then. Don't waste money in the future. We both work hard to earn our wages, why waste it like this?"

After Xiangxiu finished speaking, she picked up the flower and steadied it, showing that she really liked it.

Wang Tianlai chuckled foolishly, nodded in agreement, and was overjoyed.

The first step is done! Xiangxiu didn't refuse, so it seems like things are going well. Li Daguo is doing great!

When night fell, the clinic was empty. Wang Tianlai was on duty, lying on the bed in the clinic, fiddling with his phone.

He read through the text messages Li Daguo had taught him about pursuing women several times during the day, carefully considering each word, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

After thinking for a while, I started sending messages to Xiang Xiufa one by one.

"Xiu, it's getting dark. Don't be afraid to sleep alone tonight. Be careful and come find me if you need anything."

Less than ten minutes later, a second message arrived:

"Have you eaten dinner yet? Don't just eat whatever's available, have something warm to eat, or your stomach will hurt."

Half an hour later, the third one followed immediately:

"It will be colder tomorrow, so wear more clothes and don't catch a cold. The clinic has a lot of medicine, but you'll still be the one suffering."

Xiangxiu had just finished washing the dishes at home and was resting when her phone started ringing incessantly.

He picked it up and saw that it was full of messages from Wang Tianlai, one after another, endlessly.

At first, I thought the two messages were from colleagues showing concern, but after a while, they just became annoying.

Her brows furrowed instantly, and she casually tossed her phone onto the kang (a heated brick bed), muttering under her breath with a pout.

"What's wrong with Wang Tianlai? He keeps going on and on late at night, isn't he annoying?"

After venting, I simply put my phone on silent, tossed it aside, and stopped looking at it—out of sight, out of mind.

On the other side, Wang Tianlai gripped his phone, staring intently at the screen, waiting and waiting, but Xiangxiu's reply never came.

He didn't think much of it, secretly planning to go to town tomorrow to buy some other things to continue his courtship, or maybe buy flowers. Li Daguo said that women fall for this kind of thing, probably because he learned it from Xiangxiu.

The more he thought about it, the better he felt that his idea was. Although Li Daguo's move was slow, it was relatively stable and belonged to the type of strategy that would work in the long run.

In time, Xiangxiu will surely be moved by him and will definitely be able to feel his feelings.