Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Li Fu was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, his face turning pale and then red, but stubbornly clinging to his pride, he insisted on making threats:

"I don't care! You better behave yourself and don't give me any leverage over you, or I'll never forgive you and I'll let the whole village know what kind of person you are!"

Xie Dajiao panicked. She wasn't afraid of Li Fu making a scene, but she was afraid that if this got out and reached Lin Chen's ears, Lin Chen would misunderstand that she had something going on with Wang Changgui. She didn't want to ruin her image in Lin Chen's mind because of this mess.

She thought for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she immediately suppressed her anger. She turned around, opened the cabinet, and took out the things Lin Chen had given her before, such as leather shoes, belts, a cell phone that Lin Chen had returned, and some other things that Lin Chen didn't want.

Although Lin Chen didn't think much of it, it was a genuinely good item here, something you couldn't even buy in the county.

Xie Dajiao pointed at these things and said to Li Fu:

"Look carefully! Do you have any conscience? Lin Chen, who came back from Shenzhen, doesn't need these things anymore. I specifically came here to keep them, intending to give them to you when you get back! And you still doubt me!"

"Do you know how valuable these are? Do you even know their worth?!"

Li Fu was initially furious, but when he saw these valuable items, his eyes lit up instantly, and his anger subsided by more than half.

He was surrounded by prominent figures in the county every day, so he was naturally knowledgeable about such things. He approached them and fiddled with the leather shoes, belt, and cell phone, showing great interest in them.

But he remained stubborn, muttering under his breath:

"Lin Chen doesn't want it? I know him, he came back from Shenzhen. You two aren't really seeing each other, are you? Even if you're good friends, you shouldn't give such an expensive gift. I just feel something's not right."

Xie Dajiao glared at him fiercely:

"You're so petty! You're giving your lover's stuff? You're just asking for trouble!"

"I helped him get together with my niece, Xie Xiaomei. He's been kind to me and takes good care of me. But you, you're always so suspicious. I work so hard to keep this family together, and you come home and start picking fights!"

After hearing this, Li Fu immediately stopped dwelling on the matter, quickly gathered his shoes, belt, and phone, and gave a dry laugh.

"Okay, okay, I guess I misunderstood you."

"If we're talking about loyalty, Lin Chen is a hundred times better than Wang Changgui!"

Taking advantage of his remaining drunkenness, he earnestly gave his instructions:

"This matter is over, but Wang Changgui definitely has ulterior motives and no good intentions. You should stay away from him in the future and don't let him get close to you! When I run into him tomorrow, I'll give him a good talking to and tell him to stop eyeing other people's wives!"

Xie Dajiao's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glared at him.

"Hurry up and drink your wine! After you're done, go sleep in the barn. Don't get in my way or cause me any trouble; just looking at you annoys me!"

"Do you think I want to sleep with you? It's cooler in the barn!"

On the other hand, after hanging up the phone, Wang Changgui was restless and uneasy all night.

He leaned against his window, staring in the direction of Big Foot Grocery Store, his heart pounding with anxiety. He was afraid that Li Fu would get drunk and start a fight with Xie Big Foot, and even more afraid that the two of them would quarrel and cause a scene, which would spread gossip, ruin his reputation, and affect his job transfer.

I tossed and turned all night, barely getting any sleep, and looked exhausted.

The next morning, Wang Changgui saw that the grocery store was open and hurried out to take a look.

Wang Changgui didn't sleep well all night, his mind constantly preoccupied with the phone call and argument from the previous night. The more he thought about it, the more panicked and afraid he became. He decided to pretend to be passing by and casually stroll around, secretly trying to get Xie Dajiao's opinion. Only when he confirmed that the two of them hadn't completely fallen out, that no gossip had spread, and that he hadn't offended anyone, could he finally feel at ease.

He deliberately put his hands behind his back, straightened his back, and adopted the airs of a village chief, pretending to be leisurely strolling around as he slowly wandered to the entrance of the grocery store.

Just as I was about to enter, I saw Li Fu walk out of the store with a bag. He had replaced his phone with one that Lin Chen didn't want anymore, and the belt had been freshly pierced with holes, otherwise his big belly wouldn't be able to fit. His leather shoes were stretched wide by his big, fat feet. He was full of pride, especially when the brand name was displayed, which greatly satisfied his vanity.

After a night of drinking, Li Fu was much more sober, and the effects of the alcohol had mostly worn off, but the jealousy and resentment in his heart had not subsided at all.

Upon seeing Wang Changgui, his eyes widened instantly, he stopped in his tracks, crossed his arms, and blocked the doorway, adopting a confrontational stance with a sarcastic expression on his face.

"Wow, Director Wang is quite diligent, coming to my house so early in the morning? While I've been away for the past six months, have you been coming this punctually every day? You come more often than I, the head of the household, go to my own home!"

Wang Changgui's heart skipped a beat, and he panicked instantly. His eyes darted away, and he dared not look directly at him. He forced an awkward, fake smile onto his face.

"Oh dear, Li Fu is back? When did he get home? I didn't hear a sound from the village, I had no idea."

"Don't play dumb with me! Did you make that phone call last night?"

Wang Changgui blurted out "Ah!" without thinking, but immediately realized he had been exposed. He hurriedly waved his hands in explanation, looking flustered.

"No, no! You must have misheard!"

"What's wrong with that? That's definitely your voice! Shall we go check it out?"

"If you want to check, then it was me who made the call. I was just thinking that you're rarely home, and Big Foot is running the shop all by herself... It's not easy running a business, and the business license is due for its annual inspection soon, so I thought I'd call to remind her in advance!"

"A vehicle inspection reminder in the middle of the night?"

Li Fu sneered, not believing this explanation at all:

"Wang Changgui, are you trying to fool a three-year-old? Does the government call to remind people in the middle of the night, in the dark, when they're handling official business? I think you've figured out I'm rarely home, that there's no man at home, and you're just having these thoughts on me. You're up to no good!"

"That's utter nonsense, slander, and an attempt to defame my innocence and tarnish the image of cadres!"

Wang Changgui's face turned red with anxiety, and he frantically tried to explain himself, at a loss for words:

"My relationship with Xie Dajiao is completely innocent and aboveboard. Don't spread rumors and make baseless accusations that will ruin my reputation!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Xie Dajiao, who was inside the house, immediately pushed open the door and came out.

Hearing their conversation, my heart skipped a beat; my worst fears had come true.

She wasn't afraid of Li Fu's unreasonable demands and tantrums; what she feared was that the farce would escalate and attract more onlookers. If it spread throughout Ivory Mountain and eventually reached Lin Chen's ears, it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings. What if Lin Chen stopped talking to her afterward?

That's my little sweetheart!

She strode forward, blocking Wang Changgui's path, and sternly reprimanded Li Fu:

"Li Fu, stop spouting nonsense! I have absolutely no dealings with Wang Changgui. If you keep talking nonsense and slandering me, I'm not letting this go today!"

"If there's nothing fishy going on, why are you protecting him so much?"

Seeing this, Li Fu immediately raised his voice deliberately, intending to attract villagers to watch, escalate the situation, and embarrass the two men.

"Making a phone call secretly in the middle of the night, and you're still desperately protecting her early in the morning? Xie Dajiao, in the six months I've been away from home, haven't you two been having an affair all along?"

These words, once spoken, were incredibly damaging.

The villagers passing by all stopped instantly, gathering in twos and threes, some craning their necks to look over, others whispering and chattering amongst themselves, and the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger.