Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Big Foot Supermarket is the liveliest place in the whole village, bustling with people.

Xie Dajiao leaned against the counter, arranging the newly arrived glutinous rice balls in her hands, chatting with Wang Yun, who was squatting on the ground carrying goods, as she sorted them.

"Look how warm it is today, it's never been cold before. I bet the moon will be huge and round on the Lantern Festival this year. Our village's Yangko dance team has been practicing so diligently this year, they'll be dancing until the wee hours of the morning on the fifteenth!"

Wang Yun was moving boxes of goods one by one, slightly out of breath from exhaustion, and nodded repeatedly upon hearing this:

"That's right, the weather is so nice. Snacks are selling like hotcakes these days. It's almost Chinese New Year, and kids have money in their pockets. Sister, why don't you stock up on some more? You've almost sold out of the stock you had before the New Year."

"Okay, I'll go wholesale and buy some goods after the fifteenth. I'll use it for a couple of days and then take the returned goods back to them."

As the two were chatting, the curtain was lifted, and Xie Guangkun strolled in with leisurely steps.

He seemed listless as soon as he walked in, and after looking at the counter, he said:

"Bigfoot, get me two bottles of wine."

While searching for goods, Xie Dajiao casually asked:

"What's up, Guangkun? Someone's come to the house?"

"Hey, what are you waiting for? To be honest, Yongqiang didn't come back for the New Year. His mother called him yesterday, and he said he'd be back today. I'm thinking of getting some drinks; it's still New Year's until the fifteenth of the lunar month."

Xie Dajiao handed Xie Guangkun two bottles of good wine and wiped the dust off the packaging:

"Guangkun, if you ask me, you should stop messing around. The relationship between the two of them has reached a certain point, and you can't stop them. Instead, you've only made things worse for the relationship between the father and son."

Xie Guangkun sighed:

"Yeah, you know, Yongqiang's kidneys are just too straight, I can't control him anymore. I'll have a good talk with Chen Guiying after the New Year. Sigh, every family has its own problems. How come someone as shrewd as me has such a stubborn son? Is being a stepfather really that easy?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another person entered through the door. It was Liu Neng. Upon seeing Liu Neng, Xie Guangkun immediately shut his mouth.

"Guang...Guangkun, did you come to buy...buy food for your grandson?"

Xie Guangkun took a deep breath and pulled Liu Neng out:

"Come here, Liu Neng, come out here!"

Liu Neng quickly shook him off:

"It's...it's the New Year, I'm not going to fight with you. I'm in a good mood, unlike you."

Xie Guangkun launched into a tirade:

"Liu Neng, someone like you will be eaten alive sooner or later, leaving not even a trace!"

Liu Neng looked completely unconcerned:

"It's okay, I won't know anything if I die... whatever. By the way, Guangkun, do you want to change your surname to your grandson's in the future? Your daughter-in-law is quite something."

"Holy shit!"

Xie Guangkun rushed over, grabbed Liu Neng's waist, and slammed him against the wall, making Liu Neng wince in pain.

Seeing that a fight had broken out, Xie Dajiao stood on a stool and shouted:

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting! You two, if you break the counter again!"

Wang Yun put down what he was doing, grabbed Xie Guangkun by the waistband and dragged him backward, opened the door, took two steps back, and knocked Liu Neng and Xie Guangkun out together, causing the cotton door curtain to fall off.

There were many people outside, and soon someone pulled the two apart. After arguing for a while, the two turned around and left angrily, not even having a moment of peace during the Chinese New Year.

People kept coming in to ask what had happened. Xie Dajiao, while hanging up the curtain, recounted what had just happened, making everyone laugh. These two always bickered whenever they met.

……

March 3rd, the 14th day of the first lunar month, in the morning.

The weather in Xiangyashan remained warm and pleasant, with a gentle breeze. The villagers continued with their usual holiday preparations, and no one noticed the unusual weather.

Lin Chen, however, stayed in his study in his villa early in the morning, looking solemn.

The villagers still rely on the weather forecast after watching the evening news to get their weather information, which is outdated.

But Lin Chen was different. He went online and opened the official website of Liaoning Provincial Meteorological Bureau. The warning title at the top of the homepage was particularly eye-catching.

The strongest snowstorm of its kind is coming soon, and a cold wave is on the way!

The announcement wasn't very clear, but it roughly said that the entire province was experiencing heavy snow, accompanied by strong winds of level 6 to 7, with gusts of level 8 to 9.

Although Lin Chen was mentally prepared, he did not expect it to be this serious. After the cold wave passed, the lowest temperature at night plummeted to minus thirty degrees Celsius, a drop of more than twenty degrees.

The notice issued by the Kaiyuan Municipal Government in the early hours of the morning, as it does every year, requires all villages to immediately investigate potential hazards in greenhouses, reinforce greenhouse structures, stockpile living supplies, take precautions against wind and frost, prepare for power outages, and take precautions against snow disasters.

The official warnings were issued long ago and have been passed down to township and village levels.

However, the people below receive such notices every year and don't take them seriously at all. The villagers rely on old experience to get by, and the deep-rooted illusion of a mild winter has long since worn away everyone's vigilance.

Even when the town and village issued notices, no one took them seriously; they treated it as just a formality and made a mountain out of a molehill.

Lin Chen got up and left the study, walking around his villa inside and out, checking the supplies and equipment one by one. Others might not care, but he cared a lot, after all, there were so many women and children in his house.

The villa has underfloor heating throughout and a sufficient coal reserve, which can easily withstand the heat.

Because the village frequently experiences power outages, Lin Chen had just finished maintaining his diesel generator before the Lunar New Year, and he had a sufficient reserve of diesel fuel. Even if the entire village experienced a complete power outage, his home's water, electricity, and heating systems would still function normally.

There is plenty of rice, flour, cooking oil, frozen meat, vegetables, and fruits. We just restocked in large quantities before the Lunar New Year, and the garage floor is completely full, enough for them to eat comfortably for a long time.

The villa's windproof and heat-insulating effects are excellent, making it resistant to strong winds and snow. The garage is fully equipped with cars, snow chains, and tools for getting out of trouble, so it can be used for emergency travel at any time.

With his family safe and sound and no risks at all, Lin Chen felt a little relieved.

Lin Chen sat on the sofa and pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed Zhao Yutian's number first.

The phone rang several times before being answered. The other end of the line was noisy, with Zhao Si's voice mixed in.

"Feed? Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

Lin Chen didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, saying in a serious tone:

"Yutian, I have something important to tell you. There might be a blizzard in the next couple of days. Don't take it lightly. Quickly find someone to reinforce the diagonal braces of your flower nursery greenhouse, check the greenhouse film, and put heavy objects on it. Otherwise, it definitely won't be able to withstand the pressure and will collapse 100%."

Zhao Yutian laughed after hearing this, his tone full of disapproval:

"Brother Chen, did you misread the weather forecast? I checked it too, and it said there would be snow, but it's already spring, where would such a heavy snowstorm come from? In previous years, it would snow around the middle of the first lunar month, but it would melt as soon as it hit the ground, not even covering the surface. What could possibly happen?"

"This time it's different. The city and the province have issued early warnings and emergency disaster prevention notices. This is not a small matter."

Lin Chen patiently gave instructions:

"If your flowers are damaged by the collapsed shed, all your hard work will be for nothing, and you won't earn a single penny."

Hearing the conversation, Liu Ying, who was standing nearby, quickly leaned over and whispered:

"Yutian, is Brother Chen really saying there's going to be heavy snow? Should we pack up and not take any risks?"

Zhao Yutian didn't take it to heart at all and gave a perfunctory reply:

"Okay, okay, I got it, Brother Chen. I'll make time to go check on things this afternoon. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

After hurriedly hanging up the phone, Zhao Yutian immediately complained to Zhao Si, saying nonchalantly:

"Dad, look at Chen-ge. He's getting more and more cautious. Isn't he making a mountain out of a molehill? Can March snow really collapse a greenhouse? If it snows a lot, I can just go up and sweep it up. There's no need for manpower to reinforce it."

Zhao Si nodded, agreeing with Zhao Yutian's point.

"Okay, let's keep a close eye on things, and I'll work with you on it."

The group was playing cards, and Zhao Si's mouth twitched, the frequency increasing:

"Huh? Why does my mouth keep twitching? I have a bad feeling about this..."

Zhao Yutian curled his lip and said:

"Dad, you never stop talking! Hurry up and play your card!"

Liu Ying still had some doubts, and whispered her advice:

"I still think Brother Chen is reliable. He never says anything unreliable. Let's be careful and not suffer any losses."

"What are you guarding against? You're just wasting your time. Are you even playing?"

"Let's play, let's play, who's next?"