Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

The news anchor solemnly reported that this was the strongest snowstorm in Liaoning Province since 1951, with houses collapsing, roads blocked, traffic paralyzed, and large areas of villages and towns experiencing power and water outages, making the disaster extremely serious.

As noon approached, Lin Chen set up a copper pot in the villa to prepare lunch.

Lin Chen looked out the window. The village was completely unrecognizable outside. A vast expanse of white snow covered everything, as if the sky had collapsed and been covered with a white quilt.

The woodpile in the yard was completely buried by snow, and only the pointed top of the wall was sticking out. The doors of every household were blocked by thick snow, and there was no way to even step out.

The howling wind swept through the village, sounding like weeping, eerie and unsettling.

"Brother Chen, stop looking and come eat!"

"They're here!"

Lin Chen turned around and walked towards the kitchen. The villa was a completely different world from the outside.

The double-glazed windows kept the cold wind and snow out, making the howling wind and snow outside sound muffled, leaving only a faint white noise.

The whole house is heated by underfloor heating, keeping the temperature constant. It's neither dry nor stuffy, and it's not cold at all.

The warm kitchen lights gently illuminated the table laden with side dishes.

The copper hot pot in the middle was bubbling away, the broth steaming, and the rich aroma of meat filled the entire kitchen.

Lin Chen was sweating from the heat of the charcoal fire, so he simply went shirtless, revealing his sharp shoulders and back, and his well-defined abs. He didn't need to work out his abs; four women were enough for him every day. He casually wore a pair of gray lounge pants and sat relaxed in the main seat.

Xie Xiaomei was wearing a velvet nightgown and nestled beside him. Her short hair had grown quite a bit and had reached her shoulders.

She held a clove of pickled garlic between her fingertips, gently raised her hand, and fed it to Lin Chen's lips in a tender and natural manner.

Xie Dajiao sat to the side, holding her child who was not yet one year old in her arms. She used a small spoon to scrape off the sweet filling of the glutinous rice ball little by little, letting him lick it. Every now and then, she would look up and glare at Lin Chen, her tone reproachful.

"He can't even eat properly. He's such a grown man, yet he still needs to be fed. Xiaomei, you shouldn't spoil him so much. The more you spoil him, the more out of control he'll become."

As she spoke, she pushed the pre-mixed dipping sauce in front of Lin Chen, prompting the other girls to tease her for saying one thing and doing another.

The table was piled high with dishes, including thinly sliced ​​lamb rolls and hand-cut beef, all of which looked very fresh.

Frozen tofu, pickled cabbage, glass noodles, and meatballs were neatly arranged, a large plate of freshly cooked glutinous rice balls steaming hot, along with braised beef and cold dishes, a mix of meat and vegetables. A separate plate of stir-fried peanuts was also prepared for Lin Chen to enjoy with his drinks. It all looked very appetizing.

Wang Xiaomeng, wearing cotton pajamas, sat opposite Lin Chen, picked up a strainer, scooped out a piece of frozen tofu, blew on it to cool it down, and put it into Lin Chen's bowl.

But her eyes kept glancing out the window, watching the heavy snow, her thoughts on Wang Laoqi and his wife.

"Brother Chen, try this frozen tofu. It's stewed until it's thoroughly cooked, and it's incredibly fragrant."

Chen Yannan, who was slurping up rice noodles next to her, looked up and teased him playfully:

"Xiao Meng, you're being too biased. You give the best food to Brother Chen first. It's not like he doesn't have hands."

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of mutton with her chopsticks and deliberately rubbed it against Lin Chen's arm, her eyes full of smiles.

Lin Chen raised his hand and ruffled her hair, then turned to look at Wang Xiaomeng, gently comforting her:

"Stop looking, hurry up and eat. Don't worry about it. Uncle Qi's brick house is very sturdy, it'll be fine."

He paused, then continued:

"Once the snow has completely stopped, I'll go and pick up Uncle and Aunt Qi to stay for a couple of days. I have plenty of empty rooms here, they can stay as long as they want."

Wang Xiaomeng's worries vanished instantly. She smiled, leaned forward, and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Brother Chen, you're the best! I was worried about my dad, but now that you've said that, I'm completely relieved."

Lin Chen smiled faintly:

"It's nothing, you look so worried."

Xie Dajiao watched the intimate scene between the group, gave a soft hum, but a smile lingered at the corners of her lips:

"You're the best at sweet-talking people. Hurry up and eat. If you're still hungry, I'll make some hand-pulled noodles later."

The room was filled with people chatting and laughing. Outside the window, the fields were frozen and snow was raging, but inside the room, it was warm and cozy.

After a lively hot pot meal, the women worked together to quickly clean up the dishes and wipe the table, and soon the kitchen was spotless.

After putting the child to sleep, Xie Dajiao closed the door and came out.

The group sat around the sofa to watch a movie. It was a rare and pleasant daytime gathering, taking advantage of the snowy weather.

Xie Xiaomei rested her head on Lin Chen's lap, covered with a blanket, watching a movie. Chen Yannan lay on her side, her feet gently placed behind Lin Chen's buttocks, flipping through a fashion magazine, occasionally playfully nudging him with her toes.

Wang Xiaomeng brewed a pot of tea, but occasionally she would still look out the window, worried about the situation in the village and whether her family's factory could hold on.

Xie Dajiao sat down next to Wang Xiaomeng, peeled an orange for her, and sighed softly:

"Stop looking outside, it's no use. The snow is too heavy, the roads are completely blocked, and no one can get out. The old houses and warehouses in the village are too old, and many of them are bound to collapse this time."

Chen Yannan flipped through the magazine and said:

"There's nothing we can do if it collapses, we'll just rebuild it."

"Easy for you to say."

Xie Dajiao sighed and handed one orange to Chen Yannan:

"It's not easy for farmers to save money. It's all hard-earned money dug out of the soil. It's not as simple as you say. In the past, when there was a heavy snow like this, it was a disaster year. It was good enough if we didn't have food. It's only now that life is better that we can barely get through it."

Lin Chen listened quietly to the group's chatter, his fingertips gently tracing Xie Xiaomei's hair. His gaze was fixed on the television, but he was clearly lost in thought, watching absentmindedly.

"You're staring at the TV, lost in thought. What are you thinking about?" Xie Xiaomei looked up and poked his chin, asking gently.

Lin Chen lowered his head and kissed her forehead, saying in a doting tone:

I miss you.

"That's so unfair! I want some too!"

Chen Yannan immediately put down the magazine and came over to act coquettishly, filling the living room with sweet laughter and soft words.

At the same time, Zhao Yutian's home and Lin Chen's villa were worlds apart.

The stove inside barely kept the room warm, and the plastic film on the windows kept expanding and contracting, so you had to wear a cotton-padded coat inside.

The gate was blocked by thick snow, and Zhao Yutian spent the whole morning trying to open it. When he went out, he was completely dumbfounded.

The steel frame of the flower bed had completely collapsed. The entire steel frame was bent and deformed by the weight of the snow, like a fully drawn bow. The plastic film was torn to shreds and hung on the frame, swaying in the wind.

The newly sprouted flowers in the greenhouse, as well as the landscape seedlings that were prepared for sale on May Day, were all buried under the thick snow and were completely wasted.

Zhao Si paced back and forth in the room, his face full of heartache and regret, muttering to himself:

"It's over, damn it, it's completely ruined. I should have reinforced it and put some timber on top."

Zhao Yutian squatted on the ground, feeling both annoyed and frustrated.

"What's the point of saying all this now? Back then, Brother Chen specifically called to tell us to reinforce the greenhouse in advance, but we didn't take it seriously. You even said you'd help me shovel snow when it snowed, but now we can't even get out the door, how are you going to shovel it?"

"How could I have known the snow would be this heavy! In previous years, it would only snow lightly around the Lantern Festival, who could have predicted it would collapse the greenhouse? This is a natural disaster!"

"What natural disaster? It was just that we were careless!"

Zhao Yutian was extremely agitated, clutching his hair.

Liu Ying, who was inside the room, stood at the door with a scarf tied around her neck. Her eyes were red and tears were welling up in her eyes, but she bit her lip and dared not speak, afraid that she would say something wrong and upset Zhao Yutian. She could only suffer in silence.

Zhao Si peered out the window for a long time, looking at the messy flowerbed, and muttered to himself as if trying to comfort himself:

"It's alright, if it collapses, we can just replace it with a new one. This year, we'll build a sturdy one, a big one, and make double the money next year."