Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

After putting the money away, he picked up the millet porridge next to him, slurped it down in one big gulp, smacked his lips, then reached for the pickled vegetable strips next to him, crunching them down with gusto, and eating them with great relish. He was no longer the person who had been so desperate just moments before.

Yongqiang's mother peeked through the window, then turned back to Xie Lan, making a "shh" gesture before covering her mouth and secretly laughing.

"Alright, it's all over now, let's eat. I told you, nothing is more useful than money."

Xie Lan also covered her mouth and laughed:

"Guiying really knows how to handle things. None of us could have dealt with his stubborn temper. Let me see, hmm, he's much more cheerful now."

……

Xie Guangkun is fine now, but Liu Neng hasn't recovered yet.

As darkness fell, no lights were turned on in Liu Neng's house. Liu Neng sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his fingers picking at the rough edges of the kang, tears streaming down his face, soaking a large patch of his blue trousers. He sniffled, and beside him lay a half-crust of crumpled cigarettes, but he had no desire to smoke one.

From the other side of the room, plates and bowls clattered as Liu Ying's mother frantically washed the pots and pans, her curses drifting in through the door, each one more piercing than the last:

"Crying! All you do is cry! Do you think crying will bring back that ten thousand yuan? What did I tell you? That stuff won't work, you can't invest! Didn't you listen? You're always hanging out with Xie Guangkun, whispering and grumbling!"

"You even said I'm all talk and no action, that I don't know anything about investing! You two are so poor, you can't even scrape together two ounces of hair! And now what? Where's the money?! Where did the money you invested go?"

She came from the outer room, shaking her wet hands, water droplets scattered all over the floor. She turned on the light, stood in front of the kang (a heated brick bed) with her hands on her hips, and continued flipping through old books:

"Let me tell you, Liu Neng, you're a spendthrift who never knows how to take advantage of others and always feels bad about being taken advantage of! Back when Liu Ying was pregnant, you lost over two thousand at the celebration, and now you've lost ten thousand in one go! You spendthrift, you just throw money around like that, did you even consult me? Do you even respect me as your wife?"

Liu Neng muttered something under his breath, his voice barely audible:

"I...I didn't think...that I could earn more money so that Liu Ying would have more money to support herself after having a baby...How was I supposed to know they were scammers..."

"Abundant my foot!"

Liu Yingniang went up and poked him, making him shrink back:

"Now you're doing well? You've even lost your initial investment! Let's see what you're going to do now! You always think you're so capable, so clever, that you never miss out on any good thing. You even have to ask for half a bag of salt when you buy soy sauce, and you're so smug about getting a little advantage!"

"You got swindled out of all your money this time, and I think you deserve it! You're the kind of person who gets hurt by trying to save a little money—that's exactly what they mean by being a simpleton!"

Liu Neng was so scolded that he couldn't lift his head. Tears streamed down his face even more, his shoulders heaving, and his voice trembled with sobs.

"Well...who knew he was a scammer...such a big company, the office was bright, there were even contracts...I didn't want this either...I've lost this ten thousand yuan, what am I going to do...what's the point of me living..."

Don't try that on me!

Liu Yingniang glared at him, turned around and went to the outer room to get a bowl of corn porridge. She slammed it down on the kang table with a huff, spilling some of the porridge.

"Stop making a scene. You think you can't live for ten thousand yuan? You're worthless! You brought this on yourself, and you still have the nerve to cry? If I were you, I would have smashed my head against a block of tofu long ago, instead of embarrassing myself here! Cry, cry, all you do is cry. If crying could bring your money back, I'd cry with you!"

Liu Neng didn't drink the porridge. He just sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) without moving. His mind was filled with thoughts of that ten thousand yuan, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He's the kind of person who's extremely frugal, and losing ten thousand yuan feels like a piece of his flesh being ripped out. The more he thinks about it, the more miserable he becomes, and he really doesn't want to live anymore.

As he cried, his eyes suddenly lit up, his little pupils darting around twice. An idea popped into his head. He quickly wiped away his tears, leaned forward, and touched Li Xiulian's arm:

"Hey... stop yelling, I've got an idea! Maybe we can lose less, or at least not at all."

"What trick? What good trick can you come up with?"

Liu Yingniang pouted:

"You can't expect anything good to come out of your mouth; you're probably up to some wicked scheme."

"Look..."

Liu Neng lowered his voice, his face full of calculation:

"Zhao Si didn't invest! I specifically told him about this before, but he's a coward and said he wouldn't dare to invest. This time, many households in our village lost money, but he's the only one who's fine. How can that be? We're in-laws, and he's hiding when we're in trouble?"

"I was thinking, let him give us half, five thousand yuan. It's not much. He earns so much from his flower nursery in a year, he's not short of this. What's wrong with giving him five thousand? Liu Ying is pregnant now, he can't not give us this money. If Liu Ying is powerful enough, he'll have to get this ten thousand yuan back for me."

As soon as he said that, Liu Ying's mother exploded. She raised her hand and slapped him hard on the back, making Liu Neng wince and almost slide off the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"You're talking nonsense! Liu Neng, have you no shame? Huh? Zhao Si didn't vote, that's his right, he didn't try to take advantage! Why should you get half? How could you even say that? You were cheated because you were greedy, and now you're trying to extort money from him?"

"Let me tell you, Liu Neng, I can't bear the shame! How old are you? Still acting like a child, trying to extort money? Why don't you just rob a bank? Don't mention this to anyone again, it's embarrassing for me!"

She grew angrier the more she cursed, pointing her finger at Liu Neng and berating him:

"Let me tell you, Liu Neng, the money's gone, so be it. Consider it a loss to avoid further trouble! From now on, just farm honestly and stop thinking about those crooked ways. I can't afford to lose face like you!"

Liu Neng shrank back as he was scolded, muttering under his breath:

"I was just thinking...to lose less money..."

"Even if you pay less, you can't extort money from people! How is Yingzi supposed to stay at Old Zhao's house after this?!"

Liu Yingniang, hands on her hips:

"Hurry up and finish your porridge. Tomorrow, just go about your business as usual. Consider it money lost, averting disaster. If you ruin Yingzi's life, I'll never forgive you!"

Liu Yingniang was both angry and frustrated, so she got dressed and went to chat with her old friends.

She had just left when the landline phone rang.

Liu Neng shuddered in fright, his hand pausing before he finally managed to reach for the receiver. He squinted at the caller ID, and seeing it was Liu Ying's number, his nose immediately twitched, and a wave of grievance washed over him. He answered the phone, his voice trembling and choked with tears:

"Feed... Yingzi... Father... Father won't live anymore..."

Liu Ying, on the other end of the phone, was startled and immediately sat up straight:

"Dad! What's wrong? What's wrong with you? Don't scare me! Did Mom and you have a fight?"

"No...it's the money...the money's gone..."

Liu Neng continued, sobbing:

"The ten thousand yuan I invested in Black Ant Technology is all gone. It feels like my heart is being ripped out... I can't go on living..."

He deliberately lowered his voice as if he was about to die, hoping to make his daughter feel sorry for him.

"Hey! I didn't think it was a big deal, it's just ten thousand yuan."

Liu Ying breathed a sigh of relief on the other end and said nonchalantly:

"Don't cry, Dad. If it's not possible, I'll ask Yutian to get it for you. Ten thousand yuan, we can scrape together that much."

As soon as he said that, Liu Neng's tears instantly dried up, his eyes brightened, and even his voice stopped trembling. He quickly moved closer to the phone.

"Huh? Yingzi, is that a safe bet? You have influence in Old Zhao's family... do you really have that kind of influence? Zhao Si is such a stingy old man, do you think he'd agree to that?"

"He wouldn't dare disagree!"

Liu Ying spoke with a hint of boastfulness:

"Now I'm in charge in this family! Zhao Yutian listens to everything I say. My father's affairs are my affairs. Does he dare to say no? If my father-in-law doesn't agree, I won't eat! I'll make a scene with their family and see if they're scared!"

"Dad, I've got this sorted out. I'll have Yutian deliver the money to you tomorrow—ten thousand yuan, not a penny less!"

Liu Neng immediately beamed with joy. His tears hadn't even dried yet, but he was already laughing hysterically, rubbing his thigh as he said:

"Oh, Yingzi! You...you're truly my good daughter! I owe you everything, Yingzi, otherwise I really wouldn't be able to go on living! You're truly my little darling!"