Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Xie Yongqiang remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone, hesitating before finally managing to utter a single sentence.

"Brother Chen... I have something to tell you. I don't want to work at the resort anymore. I want to go back and take good care of my orchard."

"Huff... Huff... Yongqiang, stop messing around, everything's fine... Why... Why do you suddenly not want to do this anymore?"

Xie Yongqiang listened to his constant panting and was a little puzzled.

"Brother Chen, what's that noise over there? Are you training? You're panting like that."

"Yes, I just stretched a bit."

Lin Chen casually replied, steadying his breathing:

"You can say whatever you want, I'm listening. You really don't want to do this anymore?"

"Really, Brother Chen, I've thought it all through."

Xie Yongqiang's tone was particularly firm, and he wasn't joking:

"I don't want to be the deputy general manager of the resort anymore. I've already told the chairman. If I didn't feel sorry for you, I would have quit long ago."

"Pop..."

Lin Chen got out of bed, put on a coat, and slowly walked downstairs in his slippers.

"What, are you serious?"

He walked down to the living room on the first floor, sat down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and asked in a deep voice:

"Why? Did Liu Da Nao make you angry again?"

"Not entirely."

Xie Yongqiang sighed, his voice tinged with resentment:

"This morning I passed by Mr. Liu's office and overheard him on the phone saying that he wanted to develop the land behind the mountain into a golf course, which would also mean the demolition of my orchard."

"Brother Chen, the orchard is my dream. I can't live without it. No matter how good the resort is, I'm still working for someone else. The orchard is my own root. After thinking it over, I feel more at ease going back to my orchard."

Lin Chen paused, his fingers holding the cigarette.

Golf course?

Liu Da Nao is getting more and more troublesome. He didn't say a word about such a big thing and made all the decisions himself, didn't he?

"Don't rush into a decision."

Lin Chen flicked his cigarette ash:

"I'll call Liu Da Nao and ask when this was decided. How come I didn't know about it?"

"No, no, no, Brother Chen, please don't ask anymore."

Xie Yongqiang quickly stopped him, his attitude particularly firm:

"I've already made up my mind. I'm really unhappy working here. It's all backstabbing and scheming every day. It's pointless. Just don't be angry with your brother."

Why would I be angry with you?

Lin Chen smiled, his tone softening:

"If you don't want to do it, then don't. It's not a big deal. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable."

"But Yongqiang, remember this: if you are bullied or wronged, tell me anytime. I won't let anyone bully my brother for nothing."

"I know Brother Chen."

Xie Yongqiang felt a warmth in his heart immediately:

"Just hearing that is enough."

The two chatted briefly for a bit, discussing their future plans for the orchard, and then hung up without saying anything else.

Lin Chen casually tossed his phone onto the coffee table, and just as he was about to catch his breath, he heard soft footsteps coming from the stairs.

Xiangxiu held onto the stair railing and slowly walked down the stairs. Her steps were unsteady, and her legs were trembling. She looked extremely tired.

After finally managing to move to the sofa, she leaned against the backrest to catch her breath and looked at Lin Chen.

"Brother Chen, what's wrong? You sounded pretty serious on the phone."

"Yongqiang, we're quitting the resort; we're going back to running the orchard."

"Huh? Why?"

"Don't ask anymore, it's hard to explain in just a few words."

Lin Chen shook his head:

"I'm sober now, I'm fine, you don't need to take care of me anymore, you can go home."

Xiangxiu reached for her small bag on the sofa, trying to stand up by using the sofa for support, but her legs gave way and she sat back down, saying helplessly:

"Oh my god, you've finally let me go. I was going to die here if I didn't leave. Let me rest for a couple of minutes and then I'll leave."

"Slow down? No need to slow down, come upstairs with me and stay a while longer!"

"Don't forget!"

Xiangxiu quickly stepped back, not daring to linger, and deftly picked up her bag and headed for the door.

"I'm leaving, Brother Chen. You rest by yourself. I'll help myself back by the tree."

……

In the evening, the temperature dropped, and the breeze felt quite pleasant.

A small table was set up in Zhao Si's yard, and the whole family gathered together for dinner.

Zhao Si poured himself a glass of wine, which he had secretly taken back during the celebration at Liu Neng's house earlier that day.

He took a small sip, smacked his lips, savored it carefully, and looked extremely content.

Zhao Yutian didn't sit properly; instead, he squatted on the stool, holding a stalk of boiled corn in his hand, munching on it with great relish, making a constant crunching sound, his mouth full of cornmeal as he wolfed it down.

Seeing his expression, Liu Ying frowned immediately.

"What are you doing, Zhao Yutian? Haven't you eaten for days? Are you starving?"

Zhao Yutian's mouth was stuffed full, making his speech unclear. After finishing one ear of grain, he immediately picked up another and continued eating.

"I didn't eat lunch either. I just sat at the door writing the gift list. My hand is sore from practicing calligraphy all day. I find it strange that the villagers are so united today. No one gave a gift. They just signed their names and rushed in."

"Shut up and eat." Liu Ying rolled her eyes at him.

She felt suffocated. Her father, Liu Neng, had been busy all day organizing a celebration, but in the end, he hadn't earned a single penny and had even lost a large sum of money. The more she thought about it, the more upset she became, and she didn't want to bring up this mess again.

"Oh dear, that's a huge loss."

Zhao Yutian sighed, feigning regret, but a hidden smile played on his lips, revealing his undisguised joy.

Zhao Si, who was standing next to them, was trying to suppress his laughter as the two chatted, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

He had just taken a sip of wine when the smile crept up his face, causing him to choke violently and cough until his face turned bright red.

Yutian's mother quickly reached out and patted his back, casually saying:

"What's wrong? Did you choke? Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

"Ah...cough cough...it's nothing, it's nothing."

Zhao Si quickly waved his hand, got up and walked towards the corner:

"I'm going over there to calm down... cough cough..."

Once they were in a secluded spot, Zhao Si couldn't hold back any longer. He covered his mouth and burst into laughter, his shoulders twitching.

During the day, he was always feeling stifled at Liu Neng's house because of the crowds and distractions. Now that there was no one around, he could finally relax and have some fun.

It took him a long time to stop laughing. He rubbed his slightly sore cheeks and slowly walked back to the table to sit down.

Yutian's mother also kept repeating to Liu Ying:

"Yingzi, look at your dad. He's so stressed about this little thing in your family. He even chokes on his drink."

Liu Ying pursed her lips, staring at Zhao Si's reddened eyes:

"It doesn't look like he choked; it looks like he's gloating."

"Look at you, child, how can you talk like that?"

Zhao Si quickly tried to keep a straight face, but his lips were still trembling, and he couldn't hide it at all:

"The alcohol was too strong, it got to my head. How could I gloat? They're all family."

Yutian's mother quickly tried to smooth things over:

"That's right, we're all family, how can we laugh at each other?"

At this point, Zhao Yutian finished eating his corn, wiped the crumbs off his hands, and started chatting about what had happened during the day.

"But seriously, Liu Ying, your dad was really stiff today. Mr. Zhao Guoqiang made a dazzling appearance and made my parents feel like they were on stage."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Si, who had just settled down, couldn't hold on any longer and almost spat out the wine in his mouth. He covered his mouth and coughed violently again, even more violently than before.

He quickly got up and ran to the wall, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard he couldn't straighten up, but he managed to hold back his laughter.

As soon as he sat down, Zhao Yutian added:

"Your father is really generous. This is the first time in so many years that he's been so open-minded. He treated the whole village to a free meal, and even provided plenty of cigarettes and alcohol. The whole village will remember him for this favor."

After saying that, Zhao Yutian laughed to himself, his shoulders shrugging.

Zhao Si, sitting next to him, was really unlucky. It just wouldn't stop. His face turned red, and he gritted his teeth to hold it in, but he was about to lose it.

"Zhao Yutian!"

Liu Ying slammed her chopsticks on the table with a "bang," her eyes instantly reddening, and she pointed angrily at him.

"How can you still have the nerve to laugh? What good will it do you by doing this to my dad? Aren't we family? I've noticed you're so shameless! You're happy to see my dad lose money?"

Zhao Yutian immediately stopped smiling and dared not say another word. It wasn't that he was afraid of Liu Ying; he was pregnant with another child.