Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Lin Chen tapped the lamb chopstick with his chopsticks, and the crispy outer skin trembled slightly. He casually sprinkled the last handful of sesame seeds, and the aroma of the meat, the charcoal fire, and the roasted sesame seeds instantly filled the entire courtyard. Absolutely amazing!

"Yutian, bring the lamb chops to the table!"

"Okay!"

Lin Chen took a swig of ice-cold beer, the heat from the barbecue instantly dissipating, and shouted cheerfully to everyone:

"We're all family, so let's skip the formalities and eat and drink as we please. There are no rules today; the main thing is to relax, have fun, and enjoy ourselves!"

Upon hearing Lin Chen's words, the people present stopped being formal and simply removed the table, sitting in a circle around the grill. Amidst the smoke and laughter, everyone could grill whatever they wanted to eat.

"Oh? Look at my memory!"

Lin Chen had just sat down when he stood up again and went back inside, taking out the liquor that Wang Dana had given him.

"Let's start with some baijiu (Chinese liquor)."

Liu Yishui, being quite knowledgeable, glanced at the liquor and exclaimed in surprise:

"Brother Chen, is Boss Wang treating you so well? This wine is way too expensive!"

"Forget about the price, let's drink! Good wine is only good if it's in our stomachs. Let's drink to our hearts' content today!"

Once the first batch of meat skewers was grilled, Lin Chen was the first to pick up his wine glass, look around at everyone, and start drinking.

"Come on, everyone, raise your glasses! We all grew up in the same village, always playing and fighting together, but our friendship is genuine. We've all been busy growing up, so it's not easy to get together today. Let's just eat, drink, and have fun. Forget all your worries today. I wish us all a prosperous future and smooth sailing in everything we do. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses in unison, the glasses clinking together with a crisp, clear sound.

Everyone tilted their heads back and took a sip of wine, as if all their daily worries had been swept away with that sip.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere relaxed completely, and everyone started talking freely.

Liu Ying, while eating a meat skewer, turned her head to look at Zhao Yutian and said with a helpless expression:

"Zhao Yutian, I'm truly impressed by you. What's the point of arguing with me for so long? My father is waiting for you to come and propose marriage, and instead, you're just suffering for the sake of saving face!"

Zhao Yutian became even more defiant, his voice booming:

"I will never back down. I did nothing wrong. Your father came to break off the engagement, so why should I be the one to do it? He always tries to control me. If I back down this time, I'll be at his mercy for the rest of my life. I, Zhao Yutian, will never live a life of humiliation!"

"Just tough it out!"

Liu Ying rolled her eyes and turned her head away angrily:

"If we stick it out until the very end, it'll be a complete disaster. Then you'll be stuck single forever!"

"Liu Ying, do you think you're the only woman in the world? You really think you're something special."

"Who else can follow you but me? You start acting like a brat the moment things get going."

The two started bickering, and the laughter in the courtyard grew even louder. Everyone joined in the commotion, already used to the couple's daily squabbles. Despite their arguments, Liu Ying's feelings for Zhao Yutian were genuine.

"Yongqiang, how have you been at work these past few days? Is working at the elementary school not tiring? Is the pay good?"

Lin Chen asked while gnawing on a lamb chop, and everyone turned to look at Xie Yongqiang, all of them curious.

Xie Yongqiang, biting into a meat skewer, stole a glance at Wang Xiaomeng, and spoke in a flat, lifeless tone:

"What else can we do? It's just like that. We go to work and leave work on time every day, living a peaceful life. It's meaningless and there's no future in it."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiangxiu immediately curled her lip, her eyes full of disdain. In her heart, she thought to herself, "She's hopeless. So what if she's a primary school teacher? Maybe she can be transferred to the town or county later. She has no ambition at all. This is all she'll amount to in her life."

The situation became slightly awkward, but Liu Yishui immediately smoothed things over with a smile:

"Stability is good too! Finding a job isn't easy these days; life outside is so tough. Having a stable job is better than anything else!"

Zhao Yutian nodded, agreeing with Liu Yishui's words, and said:

"That's true. My dad has a brother whose wife ran away a couple of years ago, but she came back this year. You can imagine how tough it is to make a living out there!"

"Hahaha……"

Lin Chen laughed so hard he almost fell over, and patted Yongqiang on the shoulder:

"Stability is good too. In this day and age, having a stable job is much better than drifting around aimlessly. A simple and peaceful life is the best. Look at me, I don't have any job, but I'm still happy every day!"

Xie Yongqiang couldn't help but complain:

"Brother Chen, if I could just casually pull out a million, I'd be happy every day."

Lin Chen shook his head, thinking to himself: You can't understand my happiness.

Liu Yishui was in a very relaxed state of mind, with a smile on his face the whole time, drinking and grilling skewers without stopping for a moment.

After a few rounds of drinks, it got a little dark, and the evening breeze became increasingly cool.

But the atmosphere in the courtyard became more and more lively. Everyone let loose, drinking beer one glass after another and eating skewers one after another, with no one keeping quiet.

Even Xie Dajiao, who had just returned, was forced to drink two bottles of beer by the group before she could enter the house.

Zhao Yutian, his face flushed from drinking, slapped his thigh and shouted:

"To be honest, among the young people in our village, I admire Brother Chen the most. He's straightforward, reliable, and steady. No matter what it is, as long as Brother Chen takes the lead, I'll definitely follow!"

Xie Yongqiang's eyes were a little glazed over, and he nodded in agreement:

"That's right! Brother Chen is much more mature than us. He can stay calm in the face of problems and thinks things through thoroughly. I used to be a little unconvinced, but now I have no choice but to admit it."

Lin Chen waved his hand; he had drunk the most, and his eyes were a little unfocused.

As darkness fell completely, the people in the courtyard were having a blast. The charcoal fire crackled, the meat skewers sizzled, and empty beer bottles littered the ground. With the alcohol taking effect, everyone let loose. The women's laughter grew louder and louder, and the men chatted loudly.

Zhao Yutian was completely drunk. He grabbed an empty beer bottle and used it as a microphone, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was completely off-key, but he was singing with great enthusiasm and passion.

Liu Ying laughed so hard she clutched her stomach, then reached out and patted him on the back, teasing him:

"Stop howling! It's a good thing nobody lives around here, or they'd all come and beat you up! Even the big yellow dog at the village entrance is too scared to come out of its kennel because of your singing. It's awful, just shut up!"

Zhao Yutian wasn't shy at all; he grinned foolishly and sang with increasing enthusiasm.

"What do you know? This is called a genuine expression of emotion. Today, Brother Chen is treating, so we have to drink our fill, have a blast, and not leave until we're completely drunk!"

The group of people at the table laughed so hard they were doubled over, and the laughter never stopped in the courtyard.

Xie Yongqiang completely let loose tonight, a far cry from his usual listless self. He downed four or five beers in a row, his face flushed, and he started talking non-stop, hugging Lin Chen and reminiscing about their childhood.

Wang Xiangxiu was the most uninhibited, holding her wine glass and toasting everyone in turn, displaying a carefree and cheerful spirit.

"It's not easy to get everyone together like this, so let's not spoil the fun tonight. Those who can drink should drink as much as they want, and those who can't should at least have a sip!"

Liu Yishui swayed and squatted in front of the grill, then dazedly sat down on the ground, but even then he didn't forget to heat up the skewers for everyone:

"Don't worry, there's plenty of meat here, Chen-ge. Eat as much as you want, let's eat more! If anyone's still hungry, I'll grill some for you!"

Wang Xiaomeng and Xie Xiaomei also put aside their secret rivalry and joined in the laughter and banter with everyone. They still habitually poured wine for Lin Chen from time to time, but the overall atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful among young people, without any restraint or repression.

Everyone completely let go of all their worries, joked around with each other, and revealed each other's secrets.

Off-key singing, hearty laughter, the clinking of glasses, and the crackling of charcoal fire all blended together, filling the courtyard with the vibrant energy of young people—authentic and lively.

Lin Chen looked at his friends around him. This was the feeling he wanted. In this small mountain village, he didn't have to pretend, he didn't have to think about interpersonal relationships, and he didn't have to calculate gains and losses.

A group of friends who have grown up together eat, drink, and have fun without any restraint. No one laughs at them for their crazy antics and boasting. They do whatever they want, carefree and happy. It's simple, yet incredibly heartwarming.

Just as they were having a blast, at Wang Changgui's house—

An old-fashioned small table was neatly placed in the middle of the kang (heated brick bed). On the table was a simple dish of fried peanuts, and next to it was a half-full vat of bulk liquor with a high alcohol content.

Wang Changgui sat cross-legged on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), wearing a white vest. With no one to chat with and no other entertainment, he drank alone to pass the time. He would take a sip of wine, pop a peanut into his mouth, and live a leisurely and boring life. It was all because Dajiao stayed at Lin Chen's house every day, making it difficult for him to even see her.

Just as he was leisurely drinking, the landline phone suddenly rang. The ringtone was crisp and urgent, and it sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet room.

Upon hearing the phone ring, Changgui immediately leaned forward and reached for the receiver, afraid of missing an important call.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Changgui, it's me. What are you doing?"

A familiar voice came through the receiver; it was Mayor Qi Santai.

At that sound, Wang Changgui jolted awake, hurriedly spitting out the peanut in his mouth. He frantically wiped his mouth with his hands, straightened his back instantly, and swept away all the laziness from his face. He deliberately made his tone upright and respectful, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

"Oh dear, Mayor Qi, I'm not busy with anything. I'm just at home reading documents and studying policies!"

Qi Santai, on the other end of the phone, couldn't help but chuckle at his polite words. His tone was far from serious; instead, it was as casual as a familiar friend chatting.

"Changgui, don't give me that fancy talk. I'm here today not for village or town business, but for purely personal matters."

"Alright, mayor, you go ahead."

"You've been living alone for so many years, doing everything by yourself inside and out, without anyone to lend a hand. It must have been really tough."

As your long-time colleague and friend, I feel sorry for you and am thinking of helping you find someone to settle this serious personal problem. Do you have anyone in mind who might be a good match? If so, let me know.

The first person that popped into Wang Changgui's mind was Xie Dajiao. For so many years, he had been thinking about only this one person, and his obsession with her ran deep.

But the words were already on his throat, but he swallowed them back. He knew that ever since Xie Dajiao moved to Lin Chen's house, the two of them had only met a handful of times. Let alone chatting and having a heart-to-heart talk, it was difficult for them to even exchange a glance.

Moreover, he could see clearly that Xie Dajiao had no feelings for him whatsoever. Bringing it up herself would only make her look foolish and be a laughingstock, and would serve no purpose whatsoever.

(Spoiler alert: Xiaomei will be taken down tomorrow.)