Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

It was past 8 p.m., and it was completely dark.

Xie Yongqiang drove his newly bought car to the town, parked it in front of Chen Guiying's shop, got out of the car, pushed open the door, and went inside.

Chen Guiying had sent the child back to her parents' home beforehand and waited for him at the shop.

"You're finally here! I thought you weren't coming today."

Chen Guiying came forward, pulled down the roller shutter door, and closed the shop for the day.

Looking back at Xie Yongqiang, his face didn't look too good.

"Why the long face? Did something happen again?"

"no."

Xie Yongqiang shook his head, took off his shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and put his arm under his head, looking rather listless.

"There's been a lot going on at the resort lately, and the work pressure is a bit high, which is making me anxious."

"It's nothing, why are you so worried?"

Chen Guiying smiled and came closer, ruffled his hair, then pounced on him and snapped the light off.

About a minute later, with a click, the light came on again.

Chen Guiying, dressed, sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked at Xie Yongqiang.

"Xie Yongqiang, are you alright? This is too fast, you weren't like this before."

Xie Yongqiang quickly sat up, scratched his head, and looked quite embarrassed.

"No...it's nothing. I guess I haven't been resting well lately, it's just from staying up late. I'll be fine after a while."

Seeing his expression, Chen Guiying didn't think much of it, assuming he was just tired from work, and reached out to turn off the light.

"Alright, let's take it slow, no rush."

Less than a minute later, click, the light came on again.

This time, Chen Guiying wouldn't give in to him. She reached out and pulled Xie Yongqiang up, put her hands on her hips, stared at him, and her tone hardened:

"Alright, stop pretending! Tell me, what's wrong? What's wrong with you? You're distracted, like you've lost your soul. Is something wrong at the orchard or did the resort fire you? Just say it, stop beating around the bush!"

Forced into a corner by her, Xie Yongqiang had no choice but to confess honestly.

He fidgeted with the kang mat for a long time before slowly speaking:

"Guiying, I told my dad about us getting our marriage certificate. He doesn't object, but... he has one request."

"What are the requirements?"

"He suggested that Little Stone take my surname, Xie, and change his name."

Xie Yongqiang's voice grew softer and softer:

After he said that, the room was quiet for a while.

Chen Guiying just looked at him, neither arguing nor making a fuss, and after a long while she sighed:

"Let's change it then. I know it's not easy being a stepfather. I know your father's temper too. This is a concession, he only cares about continuing the family line."

"Now that you've changed your surname, you'll feel more at ease. From now on, just treat Xiao Shitou as your own son. He's still young and won't remember anything. If you treat him well in the future, he'll definitely treat you like his own father."

Xie Yongqiang could hardly believe it:

"Guiying, you...you agree?"

"What can I do if I disagree?"

Chen Guiying rolled her eyes at him:

"I'm living with you, not with your father. As long as you treat us mother and child well, what surname you have doesn't matter."

Xie Yongqiang was completely relieved and felt much lighter. He reached out to pull her into his arms.

I tried very hard, but I couldn't lift it.

Xie Yongqiang wasn't embarrassed. He chuckled twice and snuggled into Chen Guiying's arms. Chen Guiying smiled and reached out to turn off the lights for the third time.

"Hey, hey, don't turn it off! Don't turn it off!"

Xie Yongqiang quickly pressed her hand down, looking helpless:

"No, it's really not going to work today."

"What's wrong?"

Chen Guiying glared at him and said:

"Didn't you just say it would be fine in a little while?"

"Well... I was just feeling down about something, and besides, what kind of good person would do it three times in a row?"

"I feel weak all over right now, I guess it's from staying up late lately."

Seeing his expression, Chen Guiying reached out and poked his forehead:

"Look at you! You're so worried about such a small thing. Fine, I'll go to the market tomorrow and buy you two pork kidneys to nourish you. I think you're just idle, always thinking about things and making yourself weak."

"You still care about me the most," Xie Yongqiang said with a smile, leaning closer to her.

Stop being so cheeky.

Chen Guiying folded his clothes neatly:

"Go to sleep early, you have to go to work tomorrow. Once you've recovered, I'll show you what I'm made of."

The lights were completely turned off and not turned back on this time.

……

Sunlight streamed through the office blinds, casting dappled light onto the desk in the villa.

There was a huge pile of papers on the table, all of them kitchen purchase orders and guest room occupancy ledgers for the past few days.

Lin Chen sat at his desk, pen in hand, slowly turning the pages and checking the accounts one by one.

Xiao Li, carrying the newly compiled employee work schedule, tiptoed in, afraid of disturbing his work.

She walked to the table, bent down, pointed to a line of numbers in the ledger, and whispered:

"Brother Chen, look here. The kitchen's egg purchase volume reported last week was one-third more than the previous week, but the room occupancy rate didn't increase much. Something seems off to me."

She leaned very close, a faint fragrance wafting over her, not like perfume, and her hair gently brushed against Lin Chen's arm.

Lin Chen turned to look at her, leaned back, and casually said:

"Your eyesight is alright; you're not wasting that business attire. What else did you notice?"

Xiao Li straightened up, pursed her lips, seemingly dissatisfied that Lin Chen was so far away from her, and took half a step forward, pointing her finger at the shopping list:

"What else could it be? It must be Fatty Li taking it home."

"I secretly asked the kitchen helper, and Fatty Li brings home eggs and pork every day, all of which are put into the company account. Brother Chen, what do you think, should we do something about this?"

Lin Chen couldn't help but smile at her pleading expression and gently tapped the back of her hand with the pen.

"Manage it? Of course I manage it! You seem quite concerned, huh? You've figured out all the shady dealings at the resort. What, you want to be my deputy?"

"Why not?"

Xiao Li looked at him, not intimidated at all:

"Brother Chen, if you're willing to take me under your wing, I'll definitely manage everything perfectly for you. I can do everything from serving tea and water to checking accounts and keeping an eye on people."

She leaned forward again as she spoke, her tone slightly teasing:

"I just don't know if Brother Chen thinks I'm stupid or if he thinks I'm in the way."

Lin Chen chuckled and gently tapped her forehead. Secretary Li thought Lin Chen was being affectionate with her, so she deliberately pressed her finger against his.

Lin Chen shoved her face with his large hand, pushing her back and giving Xiao Li a hard shove.

"Stop trying to outsmart me. Just do your job properly. You'll get your share of the rewards if you do it well. Stop thinking about useless things all day."

"What do you mean by useless?"

Xiao Li covered his head and laughed, his eyes curving into crescent moons:

"I just want to show off in front of Brother Chen more often, just in case he takes a liking to me someday."

Despite her bold words, she obediently took half a step back, stood up straight, and quickly corrected the mistakes in the account book.

The two were separated by a table, checking accounts and work schedules while chatting and bickering casually.

Xiao Li would occasionally make a witty remark to tease Lin Chen, who would either retort or simply smile and ignore it.

While Lin Chen was carefully checking the accounts, his phone suddenly rang. It was Xie Xiaomei calling.

He immediately gestured for Xiao Li to be quiet, answered the phone, and said with a smile:

"Hey, honey, what's up?"

"It's nothing, just asking if you're done with your work."

Xie Xiaomei sounded very happy, and Chen Yannan's laughter could be heard on the other end of the phone.

"My aunt can't leave to take care of the children, and Xiaomengdou Products Factory is also busy. It's just Yannan and me who are free. We were thinking of going up the mountain to visit you and stay for a day before going back. The main reason is that you've been on the mountain for several days and we're worried that you'll get bored. We'll bring Yannan over to help you relax."

Then, the sounds of Xie Xiaomei and Chen Yannan laughing and joking came from over there.

Lin Chen smiled, glanced at Xiao Li who was eavesdropping beside him, and waved to her. Xiao Li reluctantly left the office, pretended to leave, but came back after a few steps and leaned against the door to eavesdrop again. She thought to herself, "President Lin is too amazing. How can he make things so harmonious?"

Lin Chen said into the phone:

"Okay, I've been missing you guys too. Don't drive, the mountain roads are difficult to navigate. I'll have someone drive down to pick you up."

"Okay, whatever you say."