Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Secretary Li deliberately turned off all the lights, partly to avoid making herself nervous and partly to prevent others from seeing her. Although outsiders wouldn't come in, she still locked the door.

She lay by the pool, lit a red candle that emitted a soft, pleasant fragrance, and then entered the pool. The hot spring, with its constant bubbling and steaming water, felt incredibly comforting.

The scattered petals moved continuously in the spring water. Lin Chen pushed the water with his hands, creating ripples, and Xiao Li did the same with her little hands.

The hot spring gently soothed their tired bodies, allowing them to relax and rejuvenate.

Through the warm candlelight, Lin Chen saw her rosy face and damp hair. He could vaguely see her beautiful and alluring youthful charm, which exuded a fragrance. She seemed incredibly fresh, sexy, and beautiful, the best gift he could receive tonight.

Lin Chen came to her side and saw through the rising steam that she had closed her eyes and could feel her trembling slightly.

A sudden autumn breeze arose, rippling the water. Scattered petals surrounded him, and water droplets streamed down his skin. Lin Chen also exerted all his strength to withstand the scorching heat of the spring water.

It felt like the water from a mountain hot spring was constantly washing over my body, and the strong wind lasted for about 20 minutes before it stopped.

Lin Chen stopped soaking in the hot spring, worried that the two of them would get cold, and carried Secretary Li back to his suite.

Inside the suite, the thick curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out the night and the sound of the wind; only the frosted wall lamp by the bed was lit. (No swearing.)

The warm yellow light spread out, filling the room with an ambiguous atmosphere.

Lin Chen propped his elbows on the pillow, trapping the other person between himself and the bed.

Xiao Li's hair was spread out on the white pillowcase, her cheeks were flushed from the heat, and her eyes were slightly moist.

Her fingertips gripped the edge of the sheet, her breath trembling slightly, mingling with his.

Lin Chen lowered his head and rubbed her hair. His nose brushed against her burning forehead, but he suddenly paused.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he suddenly blurted out:

"Hey? Little Li, what's your name again?"

Xiao Li was stunned, biting his lip as he said:

"Brother Chen, in this atmosphere, you're asking me my name? Does it feel right?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's all on the employee schedule, aren't you going to check their names and phone numbers?"

"Who has time to read your name?"

Secretary Li said, feeling wronged:

"My name is Li Xiaonan..."

After saying that, it pounced on Lin Chen and bit down hard on his neck, but Lin Chen quickly subdued it and it couldn't exert any strength.

……

The morning sunlight streamed in through the window and fell on Lin Chen's desk.

Lin Chen sat behind his desk, pen between his fingers, flipping through pages to check the numbers. Pi Changshan sat on the sofa opposite him, a notebook in his hand, his brows furrowed in worry, muttering to him:

"Xiao Chen, you don't know, lately the town has been requiring all schools to do voluntary labor, and they also have to take photos of the activities, post them on the bulletin board, and have them evaluated and scored."

"The old camera in our village school was bought with money pooled together two years ago. It makes a buzzing sound when you press it, and the photos are blurry and you can't even see people's faces. It's no wonder we can't get any points."

"I was thinking of discussing this with you. Next week, we're organizing students to pick up trash and clear weeds along the mountain paths around the resort as part of our voluntary labor. Could we borrow your resort's camera for a bit? We can develop it and put it on the bulletin board later, which will also be a good way to promote your resort."

Lin Chen smiled and gently placed his pen on the table:

"You're worried about something so small? Just ask Xiao Li for the camera. Have her go with you to take pictures. She'll use the DSLR and take clear pictures. It's no big deal. Why bother with publicity? It's good for the kids to get some work done and develop their skills."

"Thank you so much, Xiao Chen!"

As we were chatting, there was a light knock on the door twice. It was Secretary Li… well, let’s just call her Li Xiaonan. Li Xiaonan poked her head in and said:

"Mr. Lin, there are two villagers outside looking for you. Their names are Li Daguo and Xiangxiu. They say they are your friends and have something urgent to discuss with you. They seem to be in a real hurry."

"Let them in."

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and Li Daguo, with his head hanging low, dragged Xiangxiu in.

Xiangxiu's eyes were red, and tears started falling as soon as she saw Lin Chen. She sobbed as she said:

"Brother Chen, you have to help me... I'm desperate, that's why I came to you."

"What's wrong? Tell me slowly."

Lin Chen pointed to the sofa next to him:

"Sit down, sit down and talk. You, Great Power, should sit down too."

Li Daguo sat down with a sigh, rubbing his trouser legs with both hands.

Xiangxiu wiped away her tears and spoke, her voice trembling with sobs:

"Mayor Qi wants to transfer me to work elsewhere, but I don't want to go. Da Guo is doing well at the farm, and we've only had a few days of peace. If I leave, we'll be living apart. How will we manage in the future? If he comes with me there, he'll have to find a new job."

Lin Chen asked uncertainly:

"Is that all? Why don't you have your father, Changgui, talk to Qi Santai? They work together every day, how could they not have something to say to each other?"

"My dad's word doesn't carry weight!"

Xiangxiu felt even more aggrieved, her shoulders trembling:

"Mayor Qi said directly that it was a staffing adjustment decided by the county, and it was decided by the executive deputy county head. No matter what I say, it won't work. I thought I'd come and beg you. You have a good relationship with Mayor Qi, so your words will definitely carry more weight than my father's."

Lin Chen didn't refuse. He picked up the phone on the table and dialed Qi Santai's number. As soon as the call connected, he got straight to the point:

"Hey, Lao Qi, it's me, Lin Chen. I heard you're transferring Xiangxiu away? That young couple finally settled down in the village. Her boyfriend, Li Daguo, is doing quite well at the breeding farm. If you transfer her away, they'll be living apart. That's not a good situation. Just don't let her go. It's just a matter of a word for you, isn't it?"

Qi Santai sighed on the other end of the phone:

"Lin Chen, it's not that I'm being inflexible, but this involves Wang Tianlai. Wang Tianlai wants to get a permanent position in the public sector, which requires him to work at the grassroots level."

Lin Chen pondered for a moment, then smiled and said:

"What's so difficult about that? See if you can get Wang Tian to come over, and Xiangxiu won't leave either. The two of them can work together and serve the villagers better. Isn't that a win-win situation?"

Qi Santai was silent for two seconds, then smiled:

"Okay, you've already called me, so it has to be okay. I'll talk to the hospital again this afternoon, and it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Alright, Lao Qi, thanks. Come over to the resort sometime, I'll make arrangements for you personally. You also need to relax a bit; you can't be working for the country and its people every day."

After exchanging a few more words, Lin Chen smiled and hung up the phone.

Turning to look at Xiangxiu, who was stunned, she asked with a hint of disbelief:

"Brother Chen... is that all? I don't have to go anymore?"

"It's done. Don't worry, go to work as usual. No one will transfer you."

The two immediately stood up, expressing their gratitude profusely. Li Daguo said with admiration:

"Brother Chen, you're amazing! I'll bring you two free-range chickens another day, they're really delicious stewed."

"Come on, don't try to pull Xie Guangkun's act." Lin Chen waved his hand with a smile, not bothering to hide it from Pi Changshan sitting next to him.

Xiangxiu wiped away her tears, looked around the bright office, and then stared at the sprawling hot spring area outside the window, her eyes glued to it:

"Brother Chen, your resort is amazing... Can I just wander around a bit? It's my first time here, I want to see something new."

"What are you going to do? Dad's still waiting for news at home. Come back another day." Li Daguo tugged at her arm, looking like he had something on his mind.

"It's okay, you can come anytime."

Lin Chen said with a smile:

"Next time you have time, I'll treat you both to a hot spring."

The two thanked him profusely before leaving happily.

Everyone had disappeared, and the office became quiet again.

Pi Changshan sat on the sofa, silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on something, feeling a mix of emotions, genuine envy.

Lin Chen made a single phone call, and such a big deal as transferring jobs was resolved just like a game.

As for himself, he had wanted to transfer to the central school for several years, but Xie Lan refused, saying that being the principal of the village primary school was more stable. However, he had long since given up on staying in this small, dilapidated village school.

If Lin Chen had also made a call for him, wouldn't this matter have been settled long ago?