Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Lin Chen had just driven away when his phone rang. He glanced at it and saw it was Zhao Si calling.

"Feed?"

"Hey, Xiao Chen, um, I heard from Yu Tian that you're coming back in the next couple of days, right?"

"Yeah, we were just about to turn back. What's up, Fourth Uncle?"

Zhao Si quickly pressed for an answer:

"Oh, you're all back. Well then, I'll come over to see the kids when you get back."

"Just tell me what's wrong, Fourth Uncle."

Zhao Si stammered on the other end of the phone:

"I was thinking of asking you to help me see if there are any watermelons for sale in the city. I'm thinking of buying one for my daughter Yingzi. She's been listless lately and doesn't have a good appetite. She loves watermelon, but it's freezing cold and I can't get any for her."

Lin Chen said with a smile:

"Okay, I'm not out yet. I'll go check out the fruit shop, but watermelons are so expensive right now."

"I'm fine with it if it's a bit pricey, as long as Yingzi can eat it."

"Okay, leave it to me. I'll bring it to you when I get back."

After hanging up the phone, Xie Xiaomei said with a smile:

"The Zhao family is really good to Liu Ying."

"Yeah, buying watermelon for your daughter-in-law in the dead of winter, most fathers wouldn't do that."

Lin Chen didn't dawdle and actually managed to buy a small watermelon. After buying it, he went straight back to the village.

After driving for more than forty minutes, we arrived at the villa, opened the gate, parked the car directly in the garage, and went straight into the house from the garage, so as not to freeze outside.

Xie Dajiao and Wang Yun were already waiting in the house. The house was warm and cozy, and even the newly bought crib had been prepared in advance.

Lin Chen first carried the child into the house and placed him in the prepared crib. The room was warm, so he lifted the thick blanket outside to reveal the child's rosy little face, which seemed to have grown a bit and was sleeping soundly.

Xie Xiaomei was helped into the house and lay down directly on the bed.

Xie Dajiao brought over the steaming millet porridge:

"Xiaomei, have some thin soup to warm your stomach first. I've made chicken soup for you over there, it's simmering slowly to replenish your energy and blood."

A room full of people gathered around the crib, praising the baby for being strong, having a face like Lin Chen, and eyebrows and eyes like Xiao Mei. It was a lively and bustling scene, and even the cold wind outside couldn't dampen the warmth.

"Alright, you guys can watch all you want. I'm going out to deliver some melons to them. They're working in the flower nursery."

"Go quickly."

……

Liu Ying sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and she had visibly lost weight. She used to be plump, but now she had returned to about the same weight as before.

Zhao Si squatted on the ground, placed the cutting board on the coffee table, and used a cleaver to cut a watermelon. The watermelon had red flesh and black seeds, and juice dripped down the edge of the cutting board.

The watermelons in winter are even sweeter than those in summer; you can smell their fragrant aroma as soon as you enter the house.

"Yingzi! Come out and eat watermelon!" Liu Yingniang called out to the inner room.

Liu Ying was in a daze, her mind filled with the fake pregnancy incident. She paused, startled by the shout, and replied weakly:

"I'm not eating, Mother, you guys eat."

"No way! I bought it especially for you."

Liu Yingniang poked her head in:

"Then I'll bring it over to you, so you don't have to move around."

"No, no, please!"

Liu Ying quickly responded, put on her shoes, and came out:

"I can just eat out, it's not worth the trip."

When she came out, she saw that Zhao Si had finished cutting everything and was smiling at her, saying:

"Eat up, Yingzi. You said you haven't had much of an appetite lately. Don't you love watermelon? Eat more."

"Dad, where did you get this watermelon in this freezing weather?"

Liu Ying sat on the sofa and touched the melon rind with her hand; it was icy cold.

"I asked someone to bring it to me; we can't buy any here in the dead of winter."

Zhao Si placed the watermelon in front of her:

"Yingzi, you should eat the tip, it's the sweetest part. Leave the rest to Yutian."

"Of course, my dear wife, you should eat the best part."

Zhao Yutian lifted the curtain and came in; he had just returned from working in the flower garden.

"You can have all the sweet ones, I'll just eat the ones below."

Liu Ying took a bite, and the sweetness of the watermelon melted in her mouth. Suddenly, her nose stung, and she sniffed. She quickly lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes, almost dripping onto the watermelon.

"What's wrong, Yingzi?"

Yutian's mother quickly came over and patted her on the back:

"Are you feeling unwell? If you feel nauseous, just throw up. Don't hold it in. This is normal during pregnancy."

Liu Ying took a deep breath, and when she looked up, she had already held back her tears. She took another big bite, her mouth bulging, and her voice was a little muffled:

"Without mother...it's delicious, this watermelon is so sweet!"

"Eat more if you like it. I'll buy you a couple of watermelons every few days from now on."

……

That very night, the weather in Xiangyashan changed drastically. A fierce wind and snowstorm raged, the wind howling like wolves, rattling the windows of the village.

The next day, Lin Chen lifted the curtains and looked out; good heavens, the world was completely white.

The heavy snow was still falling, but the wind had stopped, and it was exceptionally quiet outside, without a sound.

Lin Chen wore a thick down jacket and gloves, and swept the snow in the yard with a broom. He would stop after sweeping a couple of times, rub his hands together, and breathe white breath into his palms.

At that moment, the village loudspeaker emitted a static sound, followed by Chang Gui's voice, shouting loudly:

"Attention everyone! Urgent notice: the provincial highway is closed, all buses have stopped. Don't go out unless absolutely necessary. The roads are extremely slippery; getting stuck is a minor issue compared to causing a serious accident!"

Changgui also mentioned the snow disaster in Shenyang, where trains were all stopped and migrant workers were stuck at the station. Those who planned to go to the city to buy New Year's goods were advised to stay at home for the time being.

Lin Chen thought to himself that his luck was pretty good; if he had been a day later, the roads would have been closed and it would have been difficult to get back.

Having just finished tidying up the yard, Xie Yongqiang, wearing a black cotton-padded coat, was followed by Chen Guiying. The two of them were carrying things in their hands, and the snow on their bodies made them look like they were wearing white coats.

"Brother Chen, congratulations!"

Xie Yongqiang brushed the snow off his shoulders:

"I heard you were back yesterday, but I thought you were busy as soon as you got back, so I didn't come over. Today it's snowing and you can't do anything, so I came over to check on the kids."

"Come inside quickly, it's freezing outside!"

Lin Chen quickly ushered him into the house:

"Guiying is here too. Come inside and warm up. Look how cold your hands are. Why did you bring anything? I have plenty of things prepared."

Before the two could even enter the house, the sound of a truck sputtering came from outside the yard. With a bang, the truck door opened, and Li Daguo and Xiangxiu entered the yard, carrying two boxes of milk and eggs.

"I was thinking I'd be the first one here, turns out Yongqiang, you were even more anxious than I was!"

Li Daguo laughed like a zombie:

"I drove halfway here; the road was too slippery, so I didn't dare drive fast."

"The road is closed now, so I came over to check on Xiaomei and the baby. Is Xiaomei upstairs? I'll go check on her. You can't be careless during postpartum confinement," Xiangxiu said with a smile.

"Yes, it's upstairs. You and Guiying can go upstairs."

As they were talking, Liu Yishui drove in, carrying a large fish in his arms:

"Brother Chen, congratulations! You've had a healthy baby boy! Hurry up and give me a hand!"

"Yishui, look at you! I use everything, and you've got such a huge fish. Give it to me."

Lin Chen quickly went over to take it, saying generously:

"Since everyone's free today, let's all stay and have a big pot of stew."

The last to arrive were Zhao Yutian and Liu Ying. Liu Ying was wrapped in a thick down jacket and looked very haggard.

Zhao Yutian, supporting her arm, nodded to everyone:

"You're all here. I told you to wait until the snow stopped before coming over, but Yingzi insisted on coming to see the children."

Lin Chen quickly took two steps forward to meet him:

"Slow down, slow down, let Yingzi go inside quickly. She's pregnant, we can't be careless, the road is so slippery."

The women gathered together, greeted each other, and then all went upstairs to see the children.

The rest of the men sat down in the living room, smoking, drinking tea, and chatting idly.

In the master bedroom on the second floor, Xie Xiaomei leaned against the headboard, while Xiangxiu and the others gathered around the crib, craning their necks to look and chattering away.

"Oh my god, this child is so adorable."

Xiangxiu gently touched the child's little hand with her fingers:

"That's right, he weighs seven pounds and two ounces, quite chubby."