Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Yongqiang's mother came in from the outer room carrying a bowl of chicken cake, pacing anxiously in circles, her hands rubbing against her blue apron.

"What are we going to do? He's a perfectly healthy person, and in just one morning he's gone crazy. It's only ten thousand yuan, is it really necessary to exhaust him like this? Changshan, talk to him again, don't let him suffer any more."

"I told you, but you won't listen."

Pi Changshan lowered his voice and gestured towards the kang (heated brick bed):

"He's hard of hearing, so it's no use trying to talk to him in a low voice. If I shout, he complains that it's too noisy. He's so frustrated that I don't dare to try to persuade him."

As the group was huddled around the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) worrying, they heard a screeching of brakes in the courtyard, followed by hurried footsteps. Xie Yongqiang rushed in, lifting the curtain, followed by Chen Guiying, both of them still carrying the chill of the outside air.

"How is Dad?" Xie Yongqiang went straight to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and looked down at Xie Guangkun.

Xie Guangkun looked at him and immediately got angry, shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking:

"Get out! Get out of here! You're not a member of the Xie family! I don't have a son like you! Just seeing you annoys me!"

After shouting, Xie Guangkun was panting heavily, almost lacking oxygen. His face was flushed red, and the veins on his neck were bulging.

Chen Guiying stepped forward, pulled Xie Yongqiang aside, and waved to Xie Lan, Pi Changshan, and Yongqiang's mother:

"Everyone get out, get out. Just leave me alone in the house. I can cure him. If I can't, just come find me."

"Guiying, don't end up like him, he's obsessed now..."

Yongqiang's mother quickly tried to dissuade them, fearing that the two would start arguing, but it turned out that she was too naive.

"Don't worry, Mother, I know what I'm doing."

Now that they've registered their marriage, they'll have to change how they address each other sooner or later. Chen Guiying nodded, and with a bit of pushing and shoving, she led everyone to the outer room, immediately closing the door and locking it.

The people in the outer room looked at each other, then tiptoed out and crowded to the window, peering through the cracks, barely daring to breathe.

Then, Chen Guiying let out a loud scream from inside the house, which could be heard clearly even in the courtyard. She started cursing, as if she were scolding her own children:

"Xie Guangkun! You old codger! You old bastard! What are you pretending for! It's just ten thousand yuan in compensation, is the sky falling down? I thought it was some big deal, acting like you're going to die, who are you trying to fool!"

Xie Guangkun, who had been listless, immediately sat up upon hearing the insults. Even though he was hard of hearing, he could hear them clearly. He pointed at the door and shouted:

"You! You dare to insult me? You've gone too far! I'm your father-in-law!"

"What's wrong with being an old man? Have I not scolded you enough? You did something wicked, and I can't even scold you?"

Chen Guiying stood in front of the kang (a heated brick bed) with her arms crossed, her voice even louder than Xie Guangkun's, spitting all over his face:

"Why don't you take a good look at yourself? You're almost at the end of your life, and you're still greedy and greedy for small gains! Invest 10,000 and get 13,000 back? Is there such a thing as a free lunch? If there were, would it be your turn, you old codger? So many people advised you against it, but you wouldn't listen!"

"You and those two old geezers Liu Neng were always bragging about how you got a great deal, saying everyone else was stupid but you were smart! Why aren't you bragging anymore? You deserved to lose your money! If I were you, I wouldn't even dare to lie on the kang (heated brick bed). I'd rather have drowned myself in the pigsty's latrine than come out here and embarrass myself!"

She got more and more into cursing, going down to her ancestors for generations:

"Tell me, how many despicable things have you done in your life? You're always meddling in everything, acting all high and mighty like some big shot, but in reality, you're as petty as a pinhole. You're happy to take advantage of others, but you'd be furious if you suffered a loss."

"What's the big deal? Why are you just sitting here half-dead? Let me tell you, Xie Guangkun, if you've got any guts, get up and do what you're supposed to do! If you don't have the guts, just die already, don't drag your family down with you!"

Xie Guangkun was trembling with anger. He threw off the covers, ready to get off the bed and tear her apart, but he had his shoes on the wrong feet.

"You...you adulterous wife! I'll beat you to death! You've gone too far!"

He had just lunged to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) when Chen Guiying stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, pulled him down, and with her other hand supporting his knees, slammed him onto the kang with a thud, shaking the mattress and sending dust flying.

Xie Guangkun was short, and Chen Guiying could carry loads of rice as easily as playing with them, but dealing with him was as easy as lifting a chick.

He grabbed Xie Guangkun's arms behind his back and pinned them together, his knee pressing against Xie Guangkun's lower back. Xie Guangkun struggled twice but couldn't budge, and roared in anger:

"Outrageous! Outrageous! The daughter-in-law is hitting her father-in-law! Is there no law anymore?! Let me go!"

"Shout! Shout as loudly as you can! Let the whole village hear how you, Xie Guangkun, got scammed by greedy little gains, and see how you pretend to be dead at home!"

Chen Guiying applied more force:

"Let me tell you, scolding you today is too lenient! If you keep causing trouble, I'll throw you straight into a well, so you can suffer more!"

After cursing for five minutes, Xie Guangkun went from yelling loudly at the beginning to gradually becoming quiet, just panting heavily, his voice hoarse and sounding like a broken gong.

Seeing that he had behaved, Chen Guiying let go of his hand, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and brushed the stray hairs from her forehead upwards, her elegance never going out of style.

She picked up the bag next to her, opened it, and found a stack of brand-new hundred-yuan bills, neatly arranged. She threw them directly onto the kang (a heated brick bed) in front of Xie Guangkun's face, breaking two of the bills into pieces.

"Here you go! Ten thousand yuan, just enough to make up for the ten thousand you were scammed out of. I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have a father-in-law like you! But you're still Yongqiang's father, I can't just watch you die. Usually, it's the father-in-law who gives money to his daughter-in-law, but I'm the one giving you money. It's so damn shameful!"

Xie Guangkun's face flushed red and then turned pale:

"Who...who wants your stinking money! I have my own money! I don't need your pity! Take it!"

"Fine, if you don't care, then forget it."

Chen Guiying clapped her hands and stood up:

"I've left the money here, take it or leave it. I'm telling you, Xie Guangkun, behave yourself from now on. Stop trying to take advantage of everything. There are no free lunches, only traps. If you cause any more trouble, I won't be so gentle anymore."

After saying that, she turned around and left, unlatched the door, and went out without uttering a single unnecessary word.

Several people outside were freezing, and when they saw her come out, they rushed to greet her. Yongqiang's mother took her hand and asked with a worried look:

"Guiying, is he alright? Has his condition gotten worse?"

"It's nothing, it's just a psychological issue. You'll feel better after you've vented your anger."

Chen Guiying stretched her wrists; this old Xie Guangkun, despite his small size, was quite strong.

"Mom, there's no one to watch the shop, I have to hurry back. You guys go in later and talk to him for a bit, give him some hot food, he'll definitely eat it."

"Okay, okay."

Yongqiang's mother nodded:

"Then drive carefully, and come back when you have time."

Xie Yongqiang followed Chen Guiying outside, and at the door he turned back and winked at Pi Changshan:

"Brother-in-law, my dad falls for that. If the soft approach doesn't work, try the hard one. He's very resilient."

After the two left, Xie Lan, Pi Changshan, and Yongqiang's mother quietly pushed open the door to the inner room.

Xie Guangkun's hair flew around as he leaned against the pile of quilts, his face tense. The money on the kang (a heated brick bed) was scattered around him, but he didn't even glance at it.

"Dad, would you like some porridge?" Xie Lan brought the porridge over to him.

"I don't want it! Take it away!"

Xie Guangkun remained defiant:

"Take that money back to her right now! I don't want it! Even if I, Xie Guangkun, starve to death, I won't take a single penny from her!"

"What are you doing...?"

"Alright, alright, let's go out first and let Dad calm down. He's in a bad mood right now, and the more you try to persuade him, the more stubborn he becomes."

The group shook their heads, tiptoed out, and closed the door behind them.

As the footsteps outside faded into the distance, and the courtyard gate creaked open, I guessed that Pi Changshan and Xie Lan had also left.

Strangely enough, after being scolded, Xie Guangkun's hearing improved considerably. He listened intently for a long time, and once he was sure no one was in the room, he sat up immediately. He was no longer listless or panting, and his hands and feet became very nimble.

He gathered the money scattered on the kang (a heated brick bed) and brought it to his side, smoothing out each bill. He counted them twice, dabbing them with saliva. There were exactly one hundred bills, totaling ten thousand yuan.

He muttered under his breath:

"Who cares about her money? Consider it medical expenses!"

Muttering to himself, he didn't stop folding the money neatly and stuffing it at the bottom of the kang (heated brick bed), as if afraid it would fly away.