Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

At the same time, at Xie Guangkun's home.

The house was quiet and cold, except for the kang (heated brick bed), which was burning hot, but it couldn't warm Xie Guangkun's chilly heart.

Xie Guangkun slumped listlessly on the kang (a heated brick bed), his back against the wall, sighing incessantly.

He was publicly humiliated by Chen Guiying and almost strangled himself. The two things piled up, making him so angry that his liver hurt. He still hasn't recovered. The main thing is that he was angry with his son. He was in such a state, and Xie Yongqiang never came back to see him again.

There was a bowl of porridge that had been cooked that morning on the kang table. It had long since gone cold, but he had no appetite at all and didn't want to eat a single bite.

He was listless and lacked his usual smugness and energy.

Yongqiang's mother came back from feeding the pigs outside, carrying a bucket of pig feed. She put the bucket at the door, patted the dust off her clothes, and started talking to him about things in the village.

"Hey, I was just chatting in front of Old Li's house, and I heard that the village was giving out welfare to the low-income and elderly people on welfare today. Each household received 400 yuan in cash, a bag of rice, and a can of oil. The village was quite lively, and a lot of people went to see what was going on."

Xie Guangkun gave a lazy hum, not even bothering to lift his eyelids, and waved his hand listlessly.

"No, I don't want any of the benefits. I'm not in the mood for all this trouble."

Yongqiang's mother glanced at him sideways, looking disbelieving, and teased him on purpose:

"Hey, did the sun rise in the west today? Usually, if there's anything good in the village, you're the first one to rush over, afraid of missing out. What's wrong with you today?"

Am I the kind of person who's greedy for small gains?

"You and Liu Neng use the same phone number."

Xie Guangkun immediately retorted:

"Don't compare me to Liu Neng. That guy is short-sighted and always tries to take advantage of small things. He'd do something shameful. I, Xie Guangkun, would never do such a thing."

Yongqiang's mother continued, deliberately teasing him and touching on his innermost thoughts:

"Alright, I'd say you've got guts. Since you're not in the mood for anything anymore and don't care about any benefits, let's not bother with the star-rated civilized household award, shall we? It'll save you from spending all your time trying to get votes and beg for favors. It's exhausting and you'll end up feeling frustrated. I can tell you're exhausted."

Upon hearing this, Xie Guangkun seemed to be instantly electrified, sitting up straight on the kang (a heated brick bed), his spirits immediately lifted, and all his previous dejection vanished.

"No way! Why wouldn't we apply for the 'Civilized Household' award? We have to fight for this honor! I've gone to great lengths to invite Lin Chen over for dinner to build a relationship, how can I just give up like this? That would be a complete waste of time!"

Yongqiang's mother looked at him like this and sneered:

"Come on, you're trying to build a relationship by treating people to a meal? Did they even get to eat? They barely picked up their chopsticks before you overturned the table, scattering all the good food on the floor, breaking bowls and chopsticks everywhere. Lin Chen is good-natured and didn't hold it against you, which is already more than enough. And you expect him to vote for you? I think your 'civilized household' is in jeopardy."

Xie Guangkun opened his mouth but was speechless. His initial energy vanished instantly. He slumped back onto the kang (heated brick bed), muttering self-consolation, and said weakly:

"Well... we can't give up so easily. At worst, I'll prepare another feast and invite them again... I can always make up for lost time..."

……

At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the temperature warmed up a little.

Lin Chen followed the visiting team to visit all the households in need, successfully completed the work, and returned home with peace of mind.

The kitchen inside was warm and cozy, a completely different world from the dry, cold wind outside.

Chen Yannan was playing with the children in the living room, Xie Xiaomei was steaming buns on the stove, the pot was steaming, Wang Xiaomeng was kneading dough and pinching off dough pieces, and Xie Dajiao was sitting next to her making buns.

The group chatted and laughed as they worked, creating a lively atmosphere.

Seeing Lin Chen enter, Xie Xiaomei came out with a smile:

"Finished running? Is it cold outside? Sit down and warm up. The steamed buns will be ready soon, eat them while they're hot."

Lin Chen rubbed his two hands, which were red from the cold, and recounted how Liu Neng had shamelessly demanded subsistence allowance that morning.

After hearing this, the people in the room burst into laughter again.

Xie Dajiao said while wrapping steamed buns:

Wang Xiaomeng kneaded the dough and casually asked:

"By the way, Brother Chen, when is the selection of civilized households? I've heard everyone in the village, young and old, talking about it. Everyone's waiting to see what happens."

Lin Chen took the rolling pin and helped roll out the dumpling wrappers, replying with a smile as he worked.

"It should be before the end of the year, anyway, there are only a few candidates. The village will hold a general meeting then, and everyone can vote publicly."

Xie Xiaomei carefully placed the steamed buns into the pot one by one, and billowing steam escaped through the gaps, raising the temperature in the room by several degrees.

The group worked non-stop, chatting as they went, listing the New Year's goods they needed to buy. They had to buy everything at the next market, as Wang Dana and his son would be coming to celebrate the New Year again this year.

……

February has arrived in the blink of an eye, and the Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the courtyard of the Xiangyashan Village Committee was spotless. Several long wooden tables were set up on the stage to serve as the chairman's platform. On the wall, red paper with black characters clearly read: "Xiangyashan Village Star-Rated Civilized Household Selection Meeting".

Even in the dead of winter, people were so cold they were stamping their feet to keep warm, but their enthusiasm was unstoppable. The whole village, young and old, had their hands tucked into their sleeves, some huddled together under the wall to bask in the sun, while others chatted idly in small groups, making it as lively as a New Year's market.

Chang Gui, wrapped in a thick military green overcoat, stood in the center of the platform and cleared his throat into the megaphone in his hand.

"Quiet down! Everyone, be quiet! Stop chatting!"

The courtyard gradually quieted down, and everyone looked up at the stage.

Chang Gui then shouted, his voice loud and clear:

"Um... the main reason for calling this meeting today is to select the star-rated civilized households in our village. The selected families will receive a red-painted plaque from the town, as well as two bags of rice and a can of soybean oil. The gifts are small things, but the plaque hanging on the front door is a real honor!"

He paused, pointed to the audience below, and continued to explain the rules.

"After screening, there are only three candidates: Liu Neng, Xie Guangkun, and Wang Laoqi."

"In a moment, the three of them will take turns coming up on stage to say a few words, followed by a secret ballot. Also, I want to make it clear to everyone that Lin Chen is the leader in our village's path to prosperity and a major contributor to our investment attraction efforts. He has one nomination vote, and that vote carries the weight of three votes from an ordinary village representative! Does everyone understand?"

The audience nodded in agreement, and murmurs began to rise again.

Liu Neng had already squeezed into the front row early on.

Today he specially changed into a new cotton-padded coat. A new cotton-padded coat doesn't mean it was newly bought. The coat was covered with creases, and it looked like he had taken out clothes that had been stored away for a long time.

His bald head was completely bare, which suggested he took it very seriously.

Zhao Si's family stood behind him, lowered their voices, and said with a twitch of their lips:

"My dear in-law, give it your all today, and our whole family will definitely vote for you. Just go up there and do it!"

"Yes, Dad, just say it without worry. We've already sent the flowers," Zhao Yutian said quietly, squatting on the ground.

Liu Ying nudged Zhao Yutian:

"Zhao Yutian, what do you mean? You're feeling stingy sending flowers, aren't you?"

Zhao Yutian glared at her:

"Why should I care? I've already given them all. What I mean is, if we don't give flowers, will the final three be able to get our dad? Since we've come this far, let's go on stage and talk things out."

Liu Neng smirked, snorted, and said confidently:

"Do you even need to tell me? Today's the day is in the bag! I'm in really... really good form."

On the other side, Xie Guangkun also dressed up carefully, wearing Xie Yongqiang's suit, which was quite a bit too big. The trousers were tied with elastic, and since he didn't have leather shoes, he wore a pair of sneakers. His feet were a bit cold after standing for a long time, but he stood straight with his hands behind his back, like he was inspecting a team.

He turned his head to show off to Yongqiang's mother beside him:

"Just keep your eyes peeled. Today, this 'Civilized Household' title is 100% ours. Once we get the plaque, we'll hang it right in the center of our front door, so everyone in the village can see that we are the real model family!"

Lin Chen sat with his legs crossed to the side of the stage, holding a cup of hot water in his hand, slowly drinking the water and watching the excitement.

He had already made up his mind that he would give the vote to Wang Laoqi. The Wang Laoqi couple lived a down-to-earth life, treated people kindly, got along well with their neighbors, and never caused any trouble in their lives. Only Wang Laoqi deserved to be named a model household.

Besides, the girl already gave him a treat last night, and he's still sleeping at home, unable to get out of bed.