Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

At this moment, the restaurant lights were on, casting their light on the dining table, which was laden with a very sumptuous spread.

The authentic Northeastern Chinese cuisine included several plates of seafood, and a few women sat around it, chatting animatedly.

Li Qiuge sat in the middle, holding a bowl in her hands, and was often amused by them, genuinely enjoying the warmth and liveliness.

Halfway through the meal, she put down her chopsticks, nuzzled Wang Xiaomeng's arm a little shyly, and whispered:

"Xiao Meng, I want to talk to you about something... Can I stay here too? I'm a little scared living alone at your place at night, and it's so lively here with so many people. I really like it here."

"It's no big deal. There are plenty of empty rooms on the second floor. We can just clean one up and move in. Qiuge, you can stay here. It'll be more lively with more people."

She was the apparent mistress of the house, and once she spoke up, the matter was basically settled.

Seeing that Xie Xiaomei had agreed, Wang Xiaomeng had no more reservations and smiled as well:

"I was worried you wouldn't be used to my dry toilet. Staying here is perfect, everything is convenient. I'll bring your luggage over later."

"That's great! Thank you, Sister Xiaomei! Thank you, Xiaomeng!"

Li Qiuge was as happy as a little girl who had just received candy.

She was happy not because living in a villa was nice, but mainly because the house was full of lively women, which was much more interesting than being alone.

Lin Chen took a bite of rice, deliberately sighed, and pretended to be quite aggrieved:

"Fine, so my status at home is getting lower and lower now, you don't even need to consult me ​​anymore, huh?"

His words made everyone laugh, and Xie Xiaomei rolled her eyes at him:

"What, would I possibly make you feel wronged? Qiu Ge is just a young girl, what's wrong with her living here?"

"They didn't say no, you can stay anywhere."

Lin Chen smiled and waved his hand:

"It's perfect that you guys can all get together; there's enough room for a game of mahjong."

The group of people at the table burst into laughter. Li Qiuge covered her mouth and laughed, finding this family quite amusing.

After finishing her meal, Xie Dajiao quickly cleared away the dishes, rolled up her sleeves, and headed to the kitchen.

"You all don't need to worry about it. I can handle this downstairs myself. You all go upstairs and tidy up Qiuge's room. She's a young lady, and her things are precious. Please put them away properly."

"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Big Feet!"

Li Qiuge called out sweetly, and then Xie Xiaomei, Wang Xiaomeng, and Chen Yannan chattered as they ran up to the second floor.

As for Lin Chen, he worked as a laborer for someone else and went back to Wang Laoqi's house to get his luggage.

The room next to Wang Xiaomeng on the second floor is always kept clean and tidy.

As soon as they entered, they got busy, some grabbing blankets, others making sheets, creating a noisy scene.

Chen Yannan took a new four-piece bedding set out of the closet, unfolded it, and put it on the bed:

"Qiuge, do you think this pattern is pretty? It's a small floral print, very comfortable to sleep in. If you don't like it, I can get you another one."

"I love it! This is perfect!"

Li Qiuge squatted by the bed to help straighten the blanket, her eyes darting around:

"This room is amazing! It even has a balcony where you can sunbathe in the morning."

After Lin Chen returned, Wang Xiaomeng carried her suitcase up from downstairs, opened it, and helped her take her things out.

"Just make do with this place for now. Let me know if you need anything, and I'll go to town to buy it tomorrow. It's not like Shanghai here; we don't have everything, but we have all the daily necessities."

"We lack nothing, this is good enough."

Li Qiuge placed her skincare products on the dressing table and said with a smile:

"I was all prepared, this is such a pleasant surprise."

Xie Xiaomei brought in a new cup and placed it on the bedside table:

"It gets cool in the countryside at night. If you feel cold, there are thick blankets in the closet. Just pull them out and cover yourself."

Wang Xiaomeng said while she was busy:

"By the way, Qiuge, you don't need to get up too early tomorrow morning. You can rest well and familiarize yourself with the environment for the next couple of days. It won't make a difference if you stay a few days. I'll send out the backlog of goods first."

"You two are so thoughtful."

Li Qiuge ran over, took their arms, and shook them:

"I was worried that I wouldn't be used to it here, but now I'm much happier than in Shanghai. You've all been so good to me, I don't want to go back."

As they tidied up, the group chatted, talking about everything from interesting things in Shanghai to people in the village, from skincare products to their favorite dishes, their laughter drifting far away through the crack in the door.

Lin Chen passed by the door, heard the commotion inside, shook his head with a smile, and turned to go downstairs.

Inside the room, Li Qiuge lay on the newly made, soft bed, hugged her pillow, and rolled around in a circle, feeling quite pleased with herself.

She looked up at her three older sisters gathered around the bed and felt that this trip to Northeast China had been absolutely worthwhile.

Wang Xiaomeng, holding Li Qiuge's pajamas, said:

"Qiuge, it's time now. It's a bit chilly at night. Your pajamas are too thin. We're about the same size, so I'll get you one of mine for now. I'll go to the city and buy you two when I have time."

"Okay, let's go together then."

……

The next evening, Li Qiuge and Wang Xiaomeng returned to the villa together. Li Qiuge handed a folder to Wang Xiaomeng:

"Xiao Meng, I've drawn up the organizational structure of our soy product company for you. Take a look and see if it works."

Wang Xiaomeng sat on the sofa, glanced at it, and nodded with a smile:

"No problem, I'll do whatever you say. Let Brother Chen take a look when he gets back tonight too."

Li Qiuge looked around, but there was no sign of Lin Chen in the house.

"Where did Brother Chen go?"

Xie Xiaomei walked over with the fruit and said:

"He went to town and said he's treating the town leaders to dinner today."

Li Qiuge took the fruit and said worriedly:

"When you treat your boss to dinner, you're bound to drink, right? I noticed his car is gone too, did he drive it away? You can't drive after drinking."

"You're quite thoughtful, little girl. Zhao Yutian drove him there. Call him again after you've finished drinking so he can come pick you up."

"That's alright, safety first."

Around six o'clock, at the Fumanjia Restaurant in town—

The door to the innermost peony-themed private room was ajar, and Pi Changshan was the first to arrive.

He carried his briefcase, peeked around the room, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one was coming.

I picked up the kettle on the table and rinsed each empty cup with hot water. After rinsing, I wiped the bottom of the cups dry with a napkin.

Finally, I sat down by the door, my palms sweating. Every two minutes, I would crane my neck to peek at the door and check the time.

As a village primary school principal, he usually has to go through a roundabout way to invite town leaders to dinner. Today, he was able to sit at the same table with Mayor Qi and Deputy Mayor Li, all thanks to Lin Chen.

I felt a little flustered and kept rehearsing what I should say when I toasted the guests. I couldn't say the wrong thing and mess things up.

A few minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Lin Chen walked in first, followed by Director Zhang from the town's education committee.

"Hey, brother, it's Director Zhang!"

Pi Changshan immediately stood up, bending forward, his face beaming with joy.

"I arrived a little early and am waiting for you leaders."

Lin Chen smiled and shook hands with him, then stepped aside to let Director Zhang inside:

"I just happened to run into Director Zhang. Brother-in-law, please sit down, don't be shy."

"Hey, hey, I'll sit right by the door. I can help move it around when the food is served."

Director Zhang said with a smile:

"Changshan, the county attaches great importance to the quality education that was advocated at the previous meeting. Do you have any ideas? If you are capable, I am prepared to make your school a model."

Pi Changshan didn't expect happiness to come so suddenly, and quickly expressed his feelings:

"Director Zhang, I plan to set up a morning training class at the school to specifically improve the quality education of village primary school students."

"Okay, that's a good idea. Keep it up!"

"Don't worry, Director Zhang, I will definitely live up to your expectations."

As they were talking, the door opened again, and Mayor Qi walked in front with a smile, followed by Deputy Mayor Li. Director Zhang and Pi Changshan all stood up at once.

"Mayor Qi, Mayor Li!"

Mayor Qi waved his hand, a smile on his face, and his gaze swept around before landing on Lin Chen:

"Xiao Lin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I just finished a meeting with Lao Li and rushed over as fast as I could."

"Old Qi, look at what you're saying, your presence is already a big favor to me."

Lin Chen stepped forward and gestured for the person in the middle.

The group sat down in order, with Mayor Qi in the middle, Deputy Mayor Li on his left, Director Zhang on his right, Pi Changshan at the very back closest to the door, and Lin Chen sitting opposite him as the host, just in time to take over the conversation.

"Waiter, bring the food!"

Before long, dishes were served one after another. The portions on the table were quite large. In the center was a glistening braised pork knuckle with wrinkled and trembling skin. Next to it were sweet and sour pork, stewed pork with pork belly, and stir-fried dishes arranged in a circle. Several bottles of Wuliangye liquor that I brought myself were on a rotating tray.