Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Chang Gui picked up his wine glass and took a big sip:

"She's so subservient, if I say east, she wouldn't dare go west."

After saying that, he quickly glanced towards the door, afraid that Wang Yun would come back and hear him.

He turned to look at Wang Tianlai, his tone becoming much more serious:

"Tianlai, your uncle used to have the same high standards as you. He liked pretty, tall, and well-dressed women. But when it comes to marriage, you have to choose someone who is suitable for you and likes you. That's more important than anything else."

"Look at your aunt and me, we are very happy. I am quite content now. When I get home from get off work, there is a hot meal waiting for me. I wear clean clothes every day. I don't have to worry about anything at home. I don't have to take care of the firewood, rice, oil and salt. That's enough. Nothing fancy will help us get by."

Wang Tianlai held his wine glass, pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded, muttering to himself:

"Uncle, what you said... seems to make a lot of sense."

Liu Da Nao chimed in from the side:

"What do you mean by 'seems like'? You should listen carefully to what your uncle-in-law is saying; it's all based on his experience, and it makes sense."

Wang Tianlai looked at Liu Da Nao and said:

"Why don't you look for Uncle Liu?"

"Me? To be honest, my destined partner hasn't arrived yet. I always feel like something's missing..."

……

The villa was quiet in the middle of the night. Lin Chen was sleeping soundly with Xie Xiaomei in his arms when Xiao Jingyang, the baby in the crib next to them, suddenly cried. His little voice was quite loud.

Xie Xiaomei groggily opened her eyes, yawned, propped herself up on her arms, picked up the baby, lifted her clothes, and breastfed with her eyes closed, gently soothing the baby:

"Oh, oh, Mom's here, don't cry, don't cry."

Lin Chen was also woken up. He rubbed his eyes and was about to sit up when his phone on the bedside table started vibrating, buzzing loudly and clearly in the night.

He reached for his phone, squinted at it, and saw it was Xie Yongqiang. He yawned as he answered the call.

"Hey, Yongqiang, what's up so late at night?"

"Brother Chen! You're the only one who answered my call!"

Xie Yongqiang's voice sounded anxious and flustered:

"Come check on my house! My mom kicked my dad out, and he's just squatting in the yard wrapped in a blanket! My sister and I are in town, but the roads are slippery and we can't get back. I'm so worried!"

Lin Chen became a little more awake and glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost midnight.

He rubbed his face and said helplessly:

"These old folks, how old are they to still be causing this trouble? Fine, I'll go check it out. I'm too lazy to meddle in other people's business, but I have to go see what's going on with Old Xie. Don't worry, the road's slippery, so don't bother coming back. I'll let you know if anything happens."

"Thank you so much, Brother Chen!"

Xie Yongqiang breathed a sigh of relief, then said, also puzzled:

"You know, my mom has always given in to him all these years, but tonight she suddenly got all worked up and pushed him out."

"Alright, alright, I'll go take a look first."

Lin Chen hung up the phone, threw off the covers, and started getting dressed.

Li Qiuge is a light sleeper. Hearing a noise, she opened the door in her pajamas, her hair disheveled, and rubbed her eyes as she asked:

"Sister Xiaomei, where is Brother Chen going so late at night?"

Xie Xiaomei, holding the child, waved to her, her voice low:

"Xie Guangkun and his wife are fighting. Yongqiang called him to come over and take a look. He'll be back in a bit. You can go to sleep now, it's okay."

"Huh? A fight?"

Li Qiuge muttered something:

"These old couple, they can't even rest during the Lunar New Year."

While they were talking, Lin Chen had already put on his coat, opened the door, and gone out. A moment later, he started the car, flashed the lights twice, and slowly drove away.

When Lin Chen drove to Xie Guangkun's house, he saw Xie Guangkun wrapped in a thick quilt, looking like a big rice dumpling, and shouting into the house with his neck craned upwards.

The window was slightly ajar, and Yongqiang's mother's voice drifted out from inside; the two were arguing.

"What's going on?"

Lin Chen parked the car and walked over to the two of them, saying:

"Yongqiang called me in the middle of the night and said that the two of you got into a fight. Why? In this freezing weather, you're out outside freezing instead of sleeping."

Xie Guangkun was shivering from the cold, and seeing Lin Chen was like seeing a savior:

"Xiao Chen, you're finally here! How was I supposed to know! I was sleeping soundly when she went crazy, kicked me off the kang (heated brick bed), and shoved me right out the door. I'm freezing, I've been frozen solid for ages!"

"You don't know why you went out? You know perfectly well! You understand better than anyone else!"

Yongqiang's mother shouted through the window, continuing angrily:

"Xiao Chen, let him say it himself! See how embarrassing this is!"

Lin Chen nudged Xie Guangkun's arm, causing the quilt to dent in the flesh; it was almost frozen solid.

"Uncle Guangkun, just say it. If you don't, you'll really catch a cold. It's not worth it during the New Year."

Xie Guangkun was a little embarrassed and hesitated for a while before saying:

"Oh... that's it. She said I was talking in my sleep, that I was muttering something about Shanghai and some Mr. Yang in my dream... Xiao Chen, do you think that's possible? How old am I? How could I say such things in my dream? She must have misheard me!"

"Why not?!"

Yongqiang's mother pushed the window open a little, poked her head out, and her face turned red with anger:

"Are you really going to make me spill all your dirty laundry? Xiao Chen, that old man's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve! The other day he asked someone in the city to buy me a suit, and he insisted on getting one that was almost identical to Yang Xiaoyan's. Fine, I'd rather spend a lot of money on it, but he bought that cheap, flimsy one. It's so cold, doesn't it make me freeze? If you've got your eye on her, why don't you go to Shanghai and go with her!"

Xie Guangkun panicked and jumped up, still wrapped in his blanket.

"What tricks have I been up to? Don't you know what kind of person I am after all these years? It's just a suit, I bought it because I thought it looked good, there's no fuss about it!"

"I've been putting up with it for so long, but now that the child is so big, I feel embarrassed by how he looks!"

Yongqiang's mother's voice trembled with anger:

"Today, you're even calling out her name in your dreams! I think she's bewitched you!"

Lin Chen suppressed a laugh, thinking to himself that Xie Guangkun was really something, even dreaming about this little thing.

He cleared his throat and quickly advised:

"Oh, Auntie, don't overthink it. Yang Xiaoyan is my older sister. She's the general manager of a big company in Shanghai. She has absolutely no connection with Uncle Guangkun. There's no way there could be anything between them."

"I only met him once when Xiao Meng opened his business. It must have been Uncle Guang Kun thinking about something during the day. You can tell he has a lot on his mind just by looking at his head. It's normal for him to blurt it out in his dreams at night. You should let him go in quickly. It's not worth it if he catches a cold during the New Year."

Yongqiang's mother stood by the window, panting heavily, glaring fiercely at Xie Guangkun, her chest heaving.

Lin Chen nudged Xie Guangkun again:

"Say something, promise you won't mention it again."

Xie Guangkun quickly seized the opportunity, holding up one finger, as the quilt slid down halfway:

"Fine! From now on, if I ever mention Yang Xiaoyan's name again, I'll change my surname to Xie! And if I ever buy clothes recklessly again, I'll freeze!"

"Auntie, look, he's already sworn an oath."

Lin Chen helped smooth things over:

Yongqiang's mother took several deep breaths, still worried that her child would be concerned. She glared at Xie Guangkun, opened the door, turned around and went into the house, bringing with her a wisp of heat.

Xie Guangkun, wrapped in a blanket, quickly slipped inside. At the door, he didn't forget to exchange pleasantries, turning back to wave to Lin Chen.

"Xiao Chen, why don't you come in and sit for a while? Have some hot water to warm yourself up before you leave."

Lin Chen was amused by him, waved his hand, and turned to walk towards the car:

"You'd better figure yourself out first! What time is it? I'm going back to sleep. If you get kicked out in the middle of the night again, I'm not going to take care of you!"

"This child, what do you mean by 'kicked out'? Chen, don't spread rumors..." Xie Guangkun whispered a warning.

Lin Chen nodded, telling him not to worry. He thought to himself that he would have a good talk with his wife when he got back. If Xie Dajiao found out, the whole village would probably know.

The car headlights swept across the gate and slowly drove away. The lights in Xie Guangkun's house went out, and silence returned, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog in the distance.