Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

At this moment, Chen Yannan squeezed through the crowd from the opposite side, carrying two large bags of things, along with Spring Festival couplets and the character "福" (good fortune). Her bangs were all messed up.

Li Qiuge, with her sharp eyes, spotted it from afar. She quickly reached out and removed the velvet flower from Lin Chen's buttonhole, tossing it into the pile of goods on the stall. She also quickly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her back, pretending to look down at the items on the stall next to her.

"Brother Chen, there are freshly roasted plain sunflower seeds over there. I bought two big bags."

Chen Yannan walked over and handed the sunflower seeds to Lin Chen:

"I've finished picking out the Spring Festival couplets and the character 'Fu' (福, meaning good fortune), and I also bought some frozen pears and frozen persimmons. They're all pretty good. Sister Xiaomei specifically told me to buy them before she came out, just in case you forgot."

"Okay, that's about it."

Lin Chen took the bag and pretended nothing had happened:

"Let's take a look ahead, stroll around a bit, and then head back. It'll get congested if we go any later."

The three of them shopped for another half hour, buying a lot of things. Their hands were full of bags and the car was packed to the brim, making it difficult to close the door. They returned home with a full load.

They had almost finished buying the New Year's goods, and the three of them headed back. As soon as they parked the car in the yard, before they could even unload the things, they saw Pi Changshan helping Xie Lan slowly walk over.

"Hey? Sis, brother-in-law, what brings you here?" Lin Chen got out of the car to greet them.

"Brother, I have something I'd like to ask you for help with. I've been meaning to come over since yesterday!" Pi Changshan grinned, revealing his gaping teeth.

Lin Chenchong, Chen Yannan, and Li Qiuge waved their hands:

"You two can unload the goods and put them in the garage. I'll take care of it myself in a bit."

The two girls nodded and carried their things toward the garage.

Lin Chen welcomed Pi Changshan and his wife into the living room and poured them two glasses of hot water.

Xie Lan spoke first, her tone quite serious:

"Brother, I have something to tell you. Could you talk to your brother-in-law after the New Year and see if the principal of the town's central primary school has been chosen yet? If there's a chance, could you put in a good effort for him?"

Lin Chen smiled, holding his water glass as he looked at her:

"Why did you suddenly change your mind? You used to always stop him from going, saying he'd easily go astray and that you were afraid he'd go out and show off."

Pi Changshan chuckled and scratched the back of his head:

"Well, your sister is pregnant, she's three months along already."

"What?"

Lin Chen's cigarette trembled slightly, and some ash fell onto his pants. He quickly brushed it off and looked at Xie Lan.

"Sis? You're pregnant?"

"Absolutely."

Xie Lan sighed and gently touched her belly:

"In the past, I was really worried about him. I was always afraid that if he had any power, he would go out and mess around. But lately, I've seen him change a lot. He does all the housework. Now that I'm pregnant, he's able to settle down. If he goes to town, the baby will be born more respectably."

Lin Chen took a drag of his cigarette, pondered for two seconds, then stubbed it out, looked up, and smiled, saying:

"Great, sis! This is fantastic news. Why wait until after the New Year? I'll make a call to check on things in a bit, and I'll let you know as soon as I have any updates."

"Oh, that's great, bro!"

Pi Changshan was overjoyed:

"Um... just tell your brother-in-law how much money you need for the 'bribing'. I can't let you spend both money and favors; your brother-in-law has to pay for it."

"Brother-in-law, you're being too polite."

Lin Chen didn't care about this at all, and his tone was quite sincere:

"My sister is pregnant, and I'm so happy. You don't need to worry about this. Just wait for the news. With the money, you should take good care of the baby."

They chatted a bit more about precautions for pregnant women, a kind of experience exchange. Pi Changshan, worried that Xie Lan might get tired from sitting for too long, got up and left.

The two left happily, with Pi Changshan muttering to himself, "My brother is really a good friend."

After they left, Lin Chen thought about it and decided not to make the call. It was almost Chinese New Year, so he would buy some things and go to town to visit Qi Santai the next day. He was the kind of person who would help him with anything he needed, so he might as well visit him during the holiday.

……

The next morning, Lin Chen drove to town, bought some things, chatted with Qi Santai for a while, and finalized Pi Changshan's job.

On the way back, Lin Chen called Pi Changshan and told him about it. Pi Changshan was so excited that he stammered, saying he wanted to thank Lin Chen properly.

Before I knew it, I had entered the village and was chatting animatedly when I saw a figure ahead, wading forward with uneven steps, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Liu Ying! Liu Ying, where are you?" The voice trembled from the cold and carried far across the open space.

"Hey? Isn't that Yutian? Brother-in-law, I'll talk to you later!"

Lin Chen hung up the phone, quickly and gently applied the brakes. The car slowly slid a short distance before coming to a stop. He rolled down the window and called out:

"Yutian! What's wrong? Why are you shouting like that? You're in such a hurry!"

Hearing the sound, Zhao Yutian turned around and saw Lin Chen's car. He quickly ran over, his face red from the cold, his eyebrows white, and he was panting heavily.

"Brother Chen! Have you seen Liu Ying? Is she coming this way?"

"No, I haven't seen a single person along the way."

Lin Chen pushed open the car door and got out. A gust of cold wind blew in, like being slapped in the face.

"What happened? How did you get lost? Are you angry with me?"

"Why are you angry? I wouldn't dare mess with her. She disappeared first thing this morning!"

Zhao Yutian was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet:

"I woke up early this morning and the person was gone. I had swept the snow in the yard clean and washed the pots and pans, but there was no sign of them. They didn't take their phone with them either. I searched everywhere, but there was no one there."

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment:

"Shoveling snow? Didn't you say she does nothing at home and is treated like royalty? Why is she shoveling snow now?"

"Who wouldn't say that! Normally we're afraid she'll strain herself if she just holds a rice bowl, but I don't know what's wrong with her today. I'm not talking to you anymore, Brother Chen, I'm going to go look along the ditch over there, just in case she slips into it again."

"You're going to search on foot in this heavy snow? You'll freeze to death!"

Lin Chen grabbed his arm:

"Get in the car! I'll drive you around slowly so you can see everything clearly. It's so cold outside, how can she manage all by herself?"

Zhao Yutian didn't stand on ceremony; at this point, there was no time for formalities. He opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, barely settling in before urging:

"Hurry up, Brother Chen, let's go up ahead a bit."

The car was driven very slowly. Lin Chen drove along the village road, his eyes scanning the trees and ditches along the roadside, even glancing at the stacks of firewood, afraid of missing anyone.

I wandered around the village for half a day and didn't see a single fresh footprint by the roadside.

"Where did this person go? I'm so worried! What if something bad happens to them?"

Lin Chen gripped the steering wheel, pondered for a moment, and suddenly slapped the steering wheel:

"Yutian, have you looked for the flowerbed?"

Zhao Yutian paused for a moment, then shook his head:

"No... Can she go there? What would she be doing there?"

"pretty close."

Lin Chen turned the steering wheel, and the car slowly turned around, the tires crunching on the snow.

"Think about it, she got up early this morning to sweep the yard; she just can't sit still. She probably feels sorry for you three working in the flowerbed every day, so she must have sneaked over to help. Come on, let's go see!"

As soon as the car turned the corner, we saw Zhao Si and Yu Tian's mother walking along the roadside, calling Liu Ying's name as they went.

Zhao Si walked in a hurry, his hat ears were crooked, and Yu Tian's mother was wearing a blue headscarf, walking with a limp, her shoes covered in snow.

The car stopped in front of the two of them. Zhao Si looked up and saw that it was Lin Chen, so he quickly came over:

"Chen, it's you! Have you seen Yingzi? We've been looking for her all along the way."

"No, we're looking for her. Get in the car, let's go to the flower nursery together. I reckon Yingzi is probably there."

The two quickly opened the car door and sat in the back seat. As soon as Yutian's mother sat down, she slapped her thigh and kept muttering anxiously:

"Where did Yingzi go? In this freezing weather, if anything happens to her, Liu Neng will fight us to the death! He's always been a troublemaker, and now we can't even keep an eye on her."

"Don't you dare say something that's unnecessary!"

Zhao Si rolled her eyes at her and said irritably:

"Let's hurry up and find her. What's the point of all this useless chatter? What good will Liu Neng's efforts do? Let's find Yingzi first!"

Yutian's mother fell silent, rubbing her frozen knees repeatedly, glancing out the window every now and then, muttering to herself.