Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

The room fell silent again, the four old ladies staring intently at the screen, their eyes filled with a desire to make money.

The small vegetable garden outside the courtyard was half overgrown with weeds and no one was taking care of it, as everyone was busy studying this ethereal "heavenly secret".

……

Two days later, on a nice morning, Zhao Yutian's yard was quiet and there was no sign of anyone working.

Lin Chen drove over, firstly to inquire about the loan progress for the flowerbed reconstruction, and secondly to check on the status of the paperwork and show his concern for his brother.

The gate to the courtyard was ajar, and he pushed it open gently to enter. The courtyard was empty.

He walked straight to the door, pushed it open, and was immediately stunned by what he saw.

Zhao Si squatted on the floor inside the house, his back bent, his body stretched out so long that his face was almost touching the TV screen, his posture awkward and comical.

The TV was showing "Everyday Cooking," and the host was chopping vegetables with a cleaver, each slice distinct and rhythmic.

Zhao Si held a pen in his hand, a cigarette box spread out on the ground, and muttered to himself, meticulously writing each stroke.

"One slice... two slices... three slices... wait, that was slicing, does that count? Does dicing count separately...?"

Lin Chen stood behind him for a long time, but he didn't notice anything at all.

"Fourth Uncle, what are you doing?"

The sudden sound startled Zhao Si so much that he almost dropped his pen.

He hurriedly plopped down on the cigarette pack paper, pressed it down hard, stood up, and said with a flustered expression:

"No... I wasn't doing anything... I was just... bored, so I watched people cook... and tried to learn how to cook..."

"Learn to cook?"

Lin Chen frowned, bent down and pulled the crumpled cigarette box paper out from under his buttocks.

The paper was covered with a jumble of random numbers, with various zodiac animals such as ox, horse, dragon, and snake marked next to it. It was a messy but easy-to-understand mess.

Lin Chen's face instantly darkened:

"Buying lottery tickets? Playing the underground Mark Six lottery?"

Zhao Si's expression became unnatural; he rubbed his hands together incessantly, his lips twitched, and his eyes darted around nervously.

"No...no, I just...I was just watching whatever others were doing, I didn't pay any money, I really didn't pay any money..."

At this moment, Zhao Yutian and Liu Ying, who were inside, heard the commotion and came out one after the other. When they saw the scene, they immediately wilted and lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Lin Chen glanced at the two of them:

"You two knew all along? You just watched your dad mess things up without stopping him?"

Zhao Yutian looked helpless and said with a bitter expression:

"Brother Chen, I've tried to persuade him several times, but I can't! My dad is obsessed now. He says that people in the town and around the area have won big prizes, and that it's a legitimate Hong Kong lottery, not gambling. No matter what I say, he won't listen. Anyway, he doesn't buy many tickets, so I've stopped interfering."

Liu Ying chimed in:

"My parents also buy it at home..."

"Normal my foot!"

Lin Chen slammed the cigarette pack on the table:

"This is illegal gambling! The South has cracked down on it extensively. It's just a scam targeting people like you who want something for nothing! All that 'revealing numbers' and 'reporting odds' stuff is just a trick the bookmakers use to fool idiots!"

"Brother Chen, you don't buy much every day, so... it should be fine, right?"

"You're not buying much now, but what about later? What will you do then? We'll give you some benefits first, and then you'll slowly get addicted, and then what?"

He stared at Zhao Si, feeling both angry and helpless:

"Fourth Uncle, tell me yourself, your flower bed just collapsed, the loan hasn't come through yet, and you're in a rush to earn money and do manual labor. Instead of thinking about clearing the land and building a shed, you're just sitting here counting people's kitchen knives every day? What have you learned from that? Have you won the lottery?"

Zhao Si lowered his head and muttered softly:

"I only won 40 yuan once... just once..."

"Forty yuan is all it took to hook you?"

Lin Chen was so angry he laughed:

"That's just a little treat! They let you taste the benefits first, to whet your appetite. Once you've invested all your money in buying seeds and building greenhouses, they'll just run off with the money, and you'll have nowhere to cry!"

Seeing that the others were silent, Lin Chen's tone hardened:

"I'm telling you this: from today onwards, you're not allowed to touch this stuff again, and you're not allowed to spread rumors about it among the villagers. Yutian, burn all of your father's newspapers and notes to the ground. If I ever see your father researching this again, I'm not going to get involved in anything related to your family's flower garden."

Liu Ying quickly stepped forward and pulled Zhao Si aside:

"Dad, did you hear that! Don't do these useless things anymore!"

Zhao Si was still not giving up, and muttered to himself:

"I... I'll just buy them two yuan at a time, it won't cost much..."

"This stuff is addictive once you get involved. It's all about swindling people from small beginnings. You can't expect something for nothing; you'll only fall into a trap! Working honestly and steadily is better than anything else."

After reprimanding the family, Lin Chen then discussed the important matters of loan and steel frame installation with Zhao Yutian, explaining all the details before driving away.

The room fell silent. Zhao Yutian looked at Zhao Si with annoyance and said:

"Dad, are you relieved now? Brother Chen said it was a lie, but you're still arguing! Hurry up and burn all that junk. If you keep messing around, our flower garden will never be able to be rebuilt!"

Zhao Si sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), rolled a pipe, and muttered in a daze:

"How come Lin Chen... knows everything..."

That afternoon, the door to the west room of Xie Guangkun's house was tightly closed, completely covered up.

Xie Guangkun lay on the kang table, clutching an old calculator in his hand, with an old calendar beside him and a small newspaper he had picked up from the market spread out in front of him.

He kept pressing the buttons with his fingers, muttering to himself, completely absorbed in his research.

"How do we calculate odd/even this time...? Last time it was the horse, so it can't be the same again this time... Let's check the corresponding numbers for the zodiac animals..."

Yongqiang's mother sat down next to him speechlessly:

"You said I'm childish for watching Teletubbies, but you're addicted to it too. Let's not judge each other."

"Any effort that yields no return is gambling, while anything calculated with my clever brain is an investment. So don't bother me."

The door creaked open, and Xie Yongqiang walked in. Seeing his dazed expression, he immediately frowned and asked:

"Dad, why are you keeping the door closed? I asked you two to come up the mountain and help me with some chores, why didn't you go?"

Xie Guangkun panicked, but pretended to be calm and said:

"It's nothing, I'll study the solar terms and see when is the best time to plant soybeans."

"Stop pretending, I saw it all."

Xie Yongqiang stepped forward, pried open his hand, picked up the tabloid, and his face darkened.

"Dad, how can you believe this? It's a scam!"

"What are you kidding me for!"

Xie Guangkun, unconvinced, snatched back the tabloid and held it protectively in his arms:

"Old Wang's second son from Qiantun won over 300 last week! He actually got it! I've been studying this for three days, and I'm sure he'll win this time! Our family has suffered such a huge loss, we have to make some money back."

"Those are all shills! They're just there to fool you!"

Xie Yongqiang was extremely anxious and frustrated.

"Zhao Yutian got a scolding from Brother Chen. He just called me and asked me to come back and check if you two had done it. I even assured him that my dad was too smart to fall for it, but you really are something else!"

"Now all the old men and women in the village are following suit and buying these things. If this continues, no one in the village will farm anymore, and spring planting will be completely delayed!"

Xie Guangkun wouldn't listen at all, and said with a disdainful look:

"What does Lin Chen know, being young? I'll just buy five or ten yuan worth and see what happens. If I win, I'll make a profit; if I don't, so what?"

"Even five dollars is gambling! This stuff is addictive!"

Xie Yongqiang couldn't reason with him at all, and angrily turned and left.

"You won't listen to reason, huh? Fine, I'll go find Chen Guiying and have her talk to you!"

"Why are you so stubborn, kid! Don't go!"

Xie Guangkun jogged after him, shouting, but Xie Yongqiang didn't even put on his shoes before walking out without looking back.

"Oh dear, what are you going to tell her? If you tell her, I'll never have a moment's peace. I've already agreed to your relationship, okay? Just don't tell her."

"Really?" Xie Yongqiang turned around and asked.

"Seriously, I'm really impressed by her now. She's like a madwoman when she gets going."

Xie Yongqiang promised not to tell Chen Guiying about this, and only then did Xie Guangkun go home.

But Yongqiang thought that this wasn't a good idea, so he went directly to Lin Chen's house.

Upon arriving at Lin Chen's house, Xie Yongqiang entered with a worried expression and said:

"Brother Chen, you have to do something about this! My dad's completely hooked now, hiding in his room studying the lottery numbers. You said before that Fourth Uncle was squatting in front of the TV counting the number of vegetables he was chopping, and the old ladies in the village are even pooling their money to buy them together. This bad trend is spreading too fast. If we don't do something about it, he'll be ruined this year!"

Lin Chen sat on the sofa, tapping his fingers on the table:

"I didn't expect it to spread so quickly. This thing is the worst for farmers. So many villages in the south have been ruined by this lottery. We can't let it continue. I called Uncle Changgui and told him we have to take immediate action."