Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Upon hearing this, Liu Neng immediately leaned over, pressing his ear against the receiver and craning his neck like a goose, as if afraid of missing a single word.

"You said it?!"

Liu Yingniang's voice suddenly rose several decibels:

"So...they didn't do anything to you, did they?"

"Nothing much, Yutian is just a little angry."

Liu Ying paused, sniffed, and the sound of tissues being wiped could be heard:

"I'll stay here for today and not go back. Bye, Mom."

The call ended, leaving only a dial tone on the receiver.

Liu Neng stood there, looking constipated, and didn't say a word for a long time.

"Why did this child have to speak so hastily?"

Liu Yingniang sighed and put the receiver back.

"So what if I said it? It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Liu Neng was actually complaining about Liu Ying, but he was just being stubborn and had no appetite. He grabbed his cotton hat and put it on his head, without even turning the ear flaps off.

"I'm going out for a walk, don't wait for me."

Liu Neng wandered aimlessly with his hands behind his back, and unexpectedly ended up at Xie Guangkun's doorstep.

Just then, Xie Guangkun had just seen Zhao Si off and hadn't returned to his room from sweeping the floor. He glanced back and saw him, immediately grinning. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, his voice practically floating on air:

"What's wrong, Lao Liu? I heard Liu Ying isn't pregnant? All that work for nothing?"

Liu Neng's face darkened, he stopped walking, and his voice sounded a little dejected:

"Who told you that?"

"Zhao Si just came and told me."

Xie Guangkun chuckled twice and took two steps toward Liu Neng:

"Hey Lao Liu, what you did made the whole village happy for two months, and in the end it was all for nothing?"

"So what if you're not pregnant? It's not illegal not to be pregnant."

Liu Neng pursed his lips and took half a step forward. The two of them were almost face to face, Tang Bohu and Duichuanchang.

"Unlike some people, who have a grandson before their daughter-in-law is even pregnant, and don't even know what his surname is."

Xie Guangkun sneered:

"That's Yongqiang's son. No matter what, he's surnamed Xie. He'll register his name and change it after the New Year. Unlike your family, who put on a show of pregnancy, spent money and money, but ended up with nothing. At least my family didn't work for nothing."

"I made the arrangements and didn't accept any gifts. Don't you know whether you spent any money or not? You still have the nerve to say that."

"Who's going to give you gifts? Don't you know how popular you are?"

Xie Guangkun crossed his arms and laughed, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Nobody wants to chat with you here; I'm annoyed."

Liu Neng rolled his eyes at him, turned around and walked home, too lazy to argue with him.

Xie Guangkun watched Liu Neng's departing figure, feeling quite pleased, and hummed a little tune as he went inside.

Yongqiang's mother muttered from the side:

"If Liu Neng hits you, it's illegal but not a crime. What you said was so infuriating, it was like stabbing him right in the heart, stabbing where it hurts!"

"Why are you talking so much? Hurry up and get me a couple of dishes. I want to have a drink; I'm happy today." Xie Guangkun took off his hat and sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Then let's just eat the leftovers from Chinese New Year!"

"Sure, sure, anything is fine, I just really want a drink."

……

Dinner at Zhao Si's house was quiet that evening. The table was set with leftovers from New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. It wasn't because they knew Liu Ying wasn't pregnant; it was simply because they had cooked too much the previous two days.

Liu Ying held a bowl and filled it to the brim with rice for Zhao Yutian, the rice grains overflowing, and gently placed it in front of him.

Zhao Yutian crossed his arms, glanced at the bowl, then at the sauerkraut bowl on the table, and said irritably:

"How am I supposed to eat this pickled cabbage without a spoon? I want to make soup with it!"

"Stop fussing and eat." Zhao Si put a piece of pickled cabbage into his bowl.

"I'll go get the spoon."

Liu Ying quickly turned around and went to the outer room, brought back a spoon, and gently placed it next to the sauerkraut basin, with the handle facing Zhao Yutian.

Zhao Si sighed, said nothing, picked up his bowl and ate. The only sound in the room was the slurping of the noodles.

After finishing his meal, Zhao Yutian lay back on the kang (a heated brick bed), leaned against the wall, and played on his phone, his fingers tapping away on the keyboard. It was unclear what he was playing.

Liu Ying brought in a foot bath basin, steaming from it. She gently placed it under the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), squatted down, and reached out to take off Zhao Yutian's cotton socks. The socks were a little tight at the top, so she slowly pulled them down.

Zhao Yutian moved slightly, glanced down at her, said nothing, and didn't stop her, but still pulled his foot out along with her hand.

Liu Ying didn't say a word, but gently rubbed his feet with hot water in her hands. She was very careful, and the only sound in the room was the soft sloshing of the water in the basin.

Zhao Yutian looked at the top of her head; her hair hung down, obscuring her face, and the light from the screen reflected on his face, flickering uncertainly.

……

Compared to the tense atmosphere at Zhao Si's house, the scene at Lin Chen's house was quite different.

In the crib in the living room, little Jingyang was sleeping soundly wrapped in a floral quilt, occasionally smacking his lips and waving his little hands aimlessly.

Xie Xiaomei sat nearby knitting a small sweater, the knitting needles spinning rapidly. Wang Xiaomeng and Chen Yannan were eating sunflower seeds on the sofa. Li Qiuge sat alone in a single sofa, rubbing her lower back weakly.

"Sister Xiaomei, could you please do something about Brother Chen?"

"It's only been two days, and I'm already exhausted. Please ask him to rest. My frail body can't take this kind of abuse. If this continues, my back will break."

"Wait a minute, didn't he stay at my place last night?" Chen Yannan interrupted her in time.

"I spent ages pestering him yesterday before I finally got him to go to your room. I need a couple of days to recover."

After she finished speaking, she leaned back on the sofa and deliberately let out a long sigh, which made everyone laugh.

Xie Xiaomei glanced up at her, her hands still busy with the needle:

"You should stop flirting with him all the time, then this wouldn't happen. Every time you're the one who goes up to him first, then you complain it's no good."

"that is."

Chen Yannan, cracking sunflower seeds, glanced at her sideways with a smile:

"Who was it that barged into someone's house first thing in the morning yesterday, and now they're complaining here?"

"Oh dear, why are you all like this...?"

Wang Xiaomeng smiled and waved her hand, then cracked some melon seed shells into the dish:

"Alright, alright, stop teasing Qiu Ge. Let's get down to business. I have something to discuss with you guys that I've been thinking about for a while."

When it came to serious matters, her expression became more serious:

"As you all know, Qingmei's products are selling better and better here. We call every day to urge them to deliver. We've run out of stock several times already. Now we're relying entirely on shipments from the main factory, but we can't keep up with the demand. Even shipping by train can't keep up with the demand."

She paused, then glanced at everyone:

"I was thinking, could we build a branch factory of Qingmei here? We could produce locally and supply the four northeastern provinces locally, and we could also source the raw materials locally. Soybeans and such are produced in the Northeast, and the quality is good. This would save on transportation costs and allow us to capture market share. Do you think this is a good idea?"

The room fell silent. Li Qiuge straightened up, rubbed her back, and her eyes lit up:

"Build a branch factory? That's a big idea... but I think it's really feasible! My mom recently held a board meeting and said that the group wants to expand into the northern market. If we build a branch factory directly, production, warehousing, and distribution can all be done in one go, which would be perfect timing."

"I think it's a good idea too."

Xie Xiaomei stopped what she was doing and pinned the needle to the sweater:

"If we really build it, the site documents and everything will be easy to handle. Let Lin Chen take care of them. He's quite familiar with the town. If you need my parents' help, just let them know. We're all family, so they can definitely lend a hand."

Wang Xiaomeng was very happy to have so many people supporting her:

"That's great! Now I feel much more confident."

"If you all think it's a good idea, then I'll call my mom now and ask her."

Li Qiuge sprang up from the sofa in an instant, her back no longer aching:

"I'll sound her out. If headquarters agrees, the deal will be more than half done."

She ran to the side with her phone, her voice faintly drifting in...

"Yes, right here with Xiaomeng..."

"Raw materials and labor are much cheaper here than in Shanghai..."

Before long, she pushed open the door and skipped in, her face beaming with joy, waving her phone and shouting:

"It's done. My mom said the idea is excellent. She'll report it to the chairman. It aligns perfectly with the group's northern strategy. She said if the chairman agrees, she'll send a team from the marketing and production departments over after the New Year to inspect the site. She wants us to pre-select a few locations, assess the local soybean raw material and labor costs, and make a preliminary calculation for her."

"Very good!"