Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Wang Changgui patted his chest while muttering to himself, his brows furrowed tightly, his heart pounding with anxiety:

"What bad luck! Why did Li Fu have to come back at this crucial moment? He's just trying to annoy me!"

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Feeling weak all over, he simply lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest for a while.

"I must have had so much free time on my hands to call Big Foot in the middle of the night. Was I just looking for trouble?!"

"The selection process hasn't been finalized yet, and this is such a crucial time. If Li Fu starts causing trouble, all the effort I've put into this promotion will be wasted."

Thinking of this, Wang Changgui panicked even more. He quickly stood up, peered out the window, and kept muttering to himself.

"Please don't come looking for me, please don't cause trouble at my door, Big Foot, Big Foot, you absolutely have to stay calm and smooth things over completely, without any mishaps, or I'm finished!"

He was muttering anxiously when a clear sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

Wang Changgui shuddered violently and quickly hid under the windowsill.

After waiting for a while and seeing no movement, he squatted up slightly and peeked outside. It turned out that it was just villagers passing by. He breathed a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Oh my god, what's going on...?"

……

Around 9 a.m., the Big Foot Grocery Store was closed.

Xie Dajiao sat quietly on the stool, her hair neatly combed, her eyes filled with exhaustion.

Li Fu sat on the small kang (heated brick bed), smoking silently, filling the room with smoke.

Both of them calmed down. After a long silence, Xie Dajiao took a deep breath, slowly raised her head, and said calmly:

"Li Fu, let's stop arguing. Stop guessing and dawdling. It's pointless. I'm exhausted too. Let's just get a divorce."

Upon hearing this, Li Fu threw his cigarette butt on the ground, stomped on it twice, and snorted coldly.

"You think you can just get a divorce like that? I'm not getting one!"

Xie Dajiao raised an eyebrow slightly, her eyes cold and hard:

"Really not leaving?"

"Never leave!"

"Fine, you won't leave, right?"

Xie Dajiao sniffed, got up from the stool, and turned to walk into the inner room.

"If you don't want to leave, then I'll pack my bags now and come to the city with you."

Even when Li Fu was being beaten, he wasn't this scared. He immediately panicked, reached out and grabbed her tightly, stamping his feet in frustration.

"Why are you coming to town with me? Are you going to starve?"

"I'll eat whatever you eat!"

Xie Dajiao flung his hand away, her attitude very firm:

"Didn't you always gossip about me and Changgui having an affair? You even said I was keeping a lover? Fine! I'll follow you around every day from now on. I'm quitting this shop. Let's go now, take the bus to town, and you'll support me from now on!"

"No, no, no! Please don't act rashly!"

Li Fu was sweating profusely with anxiety, holding onto her tightly and refusing to let go:

"Don't be ridiculous. How can I support you? I'm struggling to make ends meet on my own. I barely have enough to eat for three days and go hungry for two. I can barely take care of myself. Don't cause me any more trouble."

Xie Dajiao sneered at his flustered and guilty appearance, her eyes full of mockery.

"Hey, didn't you always brag about being a construction foreman? Didn't you make a fortune outside? How come you can't even support your own wife?"

One sentence from him made Li Fu's eyes dart away, and he stammered for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"Well...it's because there's less work in the city this year and the market is bad. Don't be impulsive, it would be a waste to close this convenience store."

Xie Dajiao showed him no mercy and ignored his explanations. She turned around, walked to the cabinet, opened the door, and started packing her things.

"Stop with the nonsense! Hurry up, pack your things and get going, or we'll miss the bus!"

Li Fu panicked and immediately lunged forward to grab her arm tightly, lowering himself to the ground and almost kneeling down.

"Bigfoot, I give up, I was wrong, okay? I won't say anything more, I'm leaving, I'll go back to the city right away!"

Xie Dajiao stopped what she was doing, her tone cold:

"Really leaving? No more fuss?"

"I'm really leaving, 100% really leaving!"

Li Fusheng was afraid she would take it seriously:

"I'll stop babbling nonsense. You just stay home and mind the shop!"

After saying that, he walked out. As he passed the counter, his thieving intentions remained unchanged. He quickly stuffed several packs of cigarettes into his pocket, still not satisfied with taking advantage of the situation.

As he reached the shop entrance, he paused, pondered for a moment, and then turned around and said:

"Let me tell you, Xie Dajiao, I may be leaving, but I'm not afraid of you. Your affair with Wang Changgui isn't over yet. I have to find out the whole story. You just wait, don't let me catch you."

After uttering those harsh words, Li Fu opened the shop door and disappeared in a flash without looking back. It must have been quite a feat for someone of his size.

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Xie Dajiao gritted her teeth and cursed:

"What a piece of crap, a complete coward!"

As soon as she finished speaking, all her strength was instantly drained, and she collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed). The grievances she had accumulated all morning could no longer be contained, and tears streamed down her face again.

……

Li Fu ran out of the grocery store and didn't head towards the station at all; instead, he deliberately took a detour to Liu Neng's house.

Liu Neng was squatting outside watching people play chess, constantly offering random advice, busier than the chess players themselves.

He spotted Liu Neng squatting under the tree at a glance, and immediately walked over and tugged at Liu Neng's arm.

Liu Neng turned around, saw him, paused for a moment, and casually said:

"Oh dear, Li Fu's back? When did he get home? Why is he rushing out again?"

Li Fu pulled him to a secluded spot, lowered his voice, and said angrily, with nowhere to vent his resentment.

"Brother, I have something upsetting to tell you. Wang Changgui is such a scoundrel. He took advantage of your sister-in-law while I was away."

Upon hearing this, Liu Neng's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately perked up, as he loved hearing the latest gossip in the village.

"Huh? Really? Changgui dares to bully Big Foot? Tell me in detail!" Liu Neng's eyes widened, and he leaned even closer.

"What else could it be!"

Li Fu was so angry he gritted his teeth, but suppressed his rage and said:

"I've been away from home for more than half a year, and he's been coming to my grocery store every day. He'll wander around there all the time. Last night, he even dared to call Dajiao in the middle of the night. I think there's definitely something going on between them, something unclear."

He stared at Liu Neng, his tone pleading for help.

"Brother Neng, I have to go back to the city to work soon, and I don't have time to keep an eye on them at all."

"I'm begging you for a favor. Keep a close eye on Wang Changgui. The moment he dares to go to the grocery store, you go there immediately and watch him. Don't leave until he does. Don't give them even the slightest chance to be alone together. If you manage to catch them doing something wrong, I'll definitely thank you properly!"

"That...that won't do, that won't do...you're a spy now..."

Li Fu looked at him, knowing exactly what kind of person he was, took out two hundred yuan from his pocket, and stuffed it directly into Liu Neng's hand.

"Take these two hundred yuan first, consider it a small token of my appreciation."

Liu Neng held the money in his hand, pouted, and looked unhappy, complaining that it was too little.

"Just...just two hundred? I'm keeping watch on Chang Gui all day...it's interfering with my work, and it's taking up so much of my time. This little bit of money isn't enough to keep me busy!"

Li Fu had no choice but to grit his teeth and take out another hundred yuan to hand over.

"Okay, here's another hundred, three hundred in total. If they really find a problem, I'll give you another five hundred later. I promise you won't be shortchanged!"

Liu Neng was immediately delighted. He quickly stuffed the three hundred yuan into his pocket, patted his chest, and confidently assured everyone.

(Brothers, you guys are really awesome! You've actually surpassed 500 words in your quest for more chapters, so I'll keep my word and post five chapters today!)