Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Wang Xiaomeng recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.

Liu Yishui went to the city for a promotional event and ran into Bai Qingming from Shanghai Qingmei. Bai Qingming wanted to cooperate with her and told Lin Chen about her plans to expand the factory and add new production lines.

After speaking, she looked at Lin Chen, feeling somewhat uncertain:

"Brother Chen, do you think this is a reliable plan? I'm really not sure. If we really cooperate, the factory will have to undergo major changes. I'm afraid I'll take too big a step and end up stumbling."

Lin Chen had one arm around her waist, and the other hand gently tapped the sofa armrest. After thinking for a moment, he spoke:

"Xiao Meng, your factory's technology is still the old way, with the foundation of a small workshop. If you just want to stick to this little business and make money steadily, then this is enough for now. Just work hard and steadily."

"But if you really want to expand your business, take your factory out of Xiangyashan, and sell it elsewhere, then you have to switch to new technologies and set up new production lines. If you keep sticking to the old ways, you'll never grow big."

He frowned:

"The name Qingmei you mentioned sounds very familiar to me. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. Wait a moment, I'll look it up online."

After saying that, Lin Chen helped Wang Xiaomeng stand up, and the two walked to the computer on the desk.

The webpage loaded very slowly. After it finally appeared, he glanced at it and nodded.

"Shanghai Qingmei is a top domestic soy product company. Its production lines are all imported. It's a large-scale and quite professional company, not the kind of small company that tries to fool people."

Wang Xiaomeng sat next to him, staring at the screen:

"So, does that mean this collaboration is reliable?"

"It may be reliable, but you can't believe everything people say."

Lin Chen turned his head to look at her, his tone very serious:

"If you really want to cooperate, you have to make a trip to Shanghai in person to see their factory and equipment, and talk to the person in charge in person."

"Ask about each and every clause of the contract, the cooperation method, and the profit sharing. Only sign if there are no problems. It's always good to be cautious in business."

"But don't feel pressured. If it's a good opportunity, invest boldly and expand boldly. I believe in your abilities, and I'm sure you can make it work."

"I'm completely relieved to hear that."

Wang Xiaomeng breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against his back:

"I'm afraid I haven't thought things through enough, and that I might make a rash decision and go down the wrong path. With you here, I feel much more at ease."

"Silly girl, don't be so polite with me."

Lin Chen turned around, pinched her cheek, and leaned down to kiss her forehead:

"Don't rush back. Stay at the mountain villa tonight, and go down the mountain with Xiaomei and Yannan tomorrow."

"It's a good time to relax in the hot springs. You've been working non-stop at the factory every day, you deserve to unwind."

Wang Xiaomeng thought about it and realized that she had indeed been too tired lately, working non-stop every day. She figured one more day wouldn't make a difference, so she smiled and nodded.

"Okay, whatever you say. I'll go find Xiaomei and Yannan now."

"Go."

Lin Chen patted her waist:

"I've already informed you. You can go directly to the VIP hot spring area. It's quiet and undisturbed. After your soak, you can go straight back to your room. I've arranged everything."

"Okay." Wang Xiaomeng smiled, opened the door and went out.

Lin Chen watched her walk away, shook his head helplessly, sat back down at his computer, and casually searched for Qingmei's cooperation cases, intending to compile them for Wang Xiaomeng's reference. But why was he so familiar with this company? Oh well, if he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it anymore.

Xiao Li, who was outside the door, hadn't gone far. Seeing Wang Xiaomeng head straight for Xie Xiaomei in the hot spring area, he was secretly amazed. "Sure enough, it's another one of Brother Chen's people. Brother Chen is too amazing, how many kidneys does he have..."

The VIP area was very quiet. Xie Xiaomei was lying up there, while Chen Yannan was soaking in the warm water, chatting idly by the pool.

They were both pleasantly surprised to see Wang Xiaomeng come in.

"Xiao Meng, what brings you here?"

Chen Yannan waved her hand:

"Come on down, it feels so good to soak in the water."

"I came to talk to Brother Chen about some factory matters, and also to check on you guys." Wang Xiaomeng took off her bathrobe and slowly walked into the water.

The warm spring water enveloped my body, and the fatigue from days of hard work instantly disappeared.

Xie Xiaomei looked enviously at the two people soaking in the water, then looked down at herself with self-consciousness. She realized that even the two of them couldn't compare to one of them. What was wrong with her appearance...?

The two women were soaking in the steaming pool, along with the one lying on top of them, chatting animatedly.

They talked about Wang Xiaomeng's factory expansion and cooperation with large companies, Xie Xiaomei's various pregnancy symptoms, and Chen Yannan's recent experiences helping out in the village. The room was filled with laughter, and they truly relaxed.

……

It was almost 10 p.m., and every household in Xiangyashan Village had turned off their lights and gone to sleep.

Zhao Si lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), unable to fall asleep no matter what he did. He tossed and turned, sighing softly all the while.

The rustling noises woke up Yutian's mother from her deep sleep.

Yutian's mother was half asleep but felt annoyed, so she reached out and pushed him.

"What are you doing? Why are you tossing and turning in the middle of the night instead of sleeping!"

Zhao Si simply sat up abruptly and started smoking. His brow was furrowed, his lips twitching, and he said irritably:

"I...I can't sleep."

He sighed and said:

"I'm not at ease, I'm always on edge. You know, that old bastard Liu Neng is having Yingzi's celebration tomorrow. If not many people come to give gifts and he loses money, he'll definitely try to cheat me."

"He'll come after us later and make us pay for the banquet. Don't you know what kind of person he is? He's capable of anything, and he doesn't care about whether it's shameful or not."

Upon hearing this, Yutian's mother also sat up.

"What can we do? If he really insists that we pay, can we just refuse? Yingzi is pregnant, we can't let him ruin things and make the baby suffer."

Zhao Si sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and pondered for a long time.

"I'll find a chance to ask him tomorrow and find out what's going on with him..."

The couple were whispering to each other when the landline phone suddenly rang.

In the dead of night, the noise was so sudden that it startled both of them.

Zhao Si immediately answered the phone, and upon hearing it was Liu Neng, he lowered his voice and said:

"Hey? In-law, why are you calling in the middle of the night?"

Liu Neng on the other end of the phone wasn't sleepy at all; he was full of energy and spoke loudly and clearly.

"Hey... Fourth brother, you're still awake, aren't you? I need to confirm something with you. When you introduce the guests on stage at the celebration tomorrow, what's your wife's name again? Let me write it down so I don't get it wrong on stage and make a fool of myself."

Zhao Si quickly replied:

"Ah... well, her name is Wang Xiumei."

After saying that, he quickly seized the opportunity and tentatively asked:

"Hey in-law, I have something to tell you. We're planning to cover the expenses for tomorrow's celebration, including the banquet. Do you need our help with that? We can split the gifts we receive between our two families; it's fair."

Zhao Si knew Liu Neng inside and out. Sure enough, Liu Neng refused without even thinking, and even pretended to be very generous.

"No, no! Absolutely not! This little bit of money is nothing; I can handle it myself. There's no need for us to partner up. It'll be too much trouble if we argue about profit sharing!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Si breathed a huge sigh of relief and quickly pressed for confirmation.

"Then I understand, in-law. You mean you're going to organize this celebration yourself, and whether you make a profit or a loss in the end, it has nothing to do with our Zhao family, is that right?"

"Yes, yes, that's exactly right!"

Liu Neng spoke succinctly and concisely:

"I, Liu Neng, am a straightforward person, how could I let your family pay! Just bring Yingzi over early tomorrow, you don't need to worry about anything else!"

Zhao Si immediately made the decision:

"A man's word is his bond, that's settled then!"

"It's settled, it's settled!" Liu Neng said, and then hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Neng leaned back on the kang (a heated brick bed), extremely smug, and turned to show off to Liu Ying's mother.

"You little... Zhao Si, you think you can get a share of the profits by following me? I've been busy organizing the celebration from start to finish, and he wants to reap the benefits for free? Dream on! Tomorrow, all the gift money is mine, so he can just sit back and watch the show!"

Liu Yingniang rolled over, not wanting to pay him any attention, and said irritably:

"Go ahead and show off, but don't introduce me tomorrow, I'll be embarrassed!"

"Impossible! You have to get on stage!"

Liu Neng pursed his lips, lay down contentedly, and was still calculating how much money he could collect tomorrow, getting more and more excited as he thought about it.