Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Xiangxiu nestled in his arms, her shoulders trembling, crying with obvious grievance. However, Lin Chen could tell that she was mostly faking it.

With a sob in her voice, she recounted the whole story of her argument with Xie Yongqiang at the clinic.

After Xie Yongqiang's business failure, he became mentally unbalanced and started to sulk every day. This led to mutual suspicion between the two, and then to a stalemate and cold war where neither was willing to back down. They talked on and on for a long time.

The tears came quite quickly, and in no time, a large area of ​​Lin Chen's shirt shoulder was soaked.

Lin Chen listened quietly to her finish speaking, then gently touched... no, patted her back to comfort her, his tone slow and gentle:

"These are all trivial matters. Why get so angry? When two people are in a relationship, if they get along, they can talk it out. If they don't, they can part ways amicably. There's no need to hold grudges. Getting yourself sick from anger is a complete loss."

"I'm not going to have a proper conversation with him; I have absolutely no interest in putting up with him!"

Xiangxiu raised her head, her face full of stubborn defiance, her tone obstinate:

"He's obsessed with Wang Xiaomeng and doesn't care about me at all. He has plenty of other people who do. He wants to drag things out with me and wear me down, right? Fine, then I'll play along! I'll cheat on him and make him taste the bitterness of being a coward!"

After saying this, before Lin Chen could speak, she snuggled even tighter into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, a mixture of stubbornness and selfishness in her expression.

"Brother Chen, I'm happy to be with you. Xie Yongqiang has someone else in his heart, right? Well, so do I. We're even. I'll make him suffer and regret it!"

Lin Chen said helplessly:

"What, you've come here to have some fun?"

"Oh, of course not, Brother Chen, I'm willing to stay with you whether Xie Yongqiang is there or not."

Lin Chen looked down at her, raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and gently comforted her:

"Silly girl, don't gamble with your life. It's not worth making yourself suffer just to spite others."

"I wasn't being spiteful; I meant it sincerely."

Xiangxiu shook her head vigorously, pressing her head tightly against his chest:

"I saw through Xie Yongqiang a long time ago, and I no longer care about him. Don't you understand what I'm thinking and what I like?"

"That's all in the past, but I have a boyfriend now."

Xiangxiu sat up straight, puffed out her chest, and said:

"So what if you have a boyfriend? I have a fiancé! I won't make you take responsibility."

Lin Chen gave her a thumbs up. "You're awesome, isn't that enough? So nonchalant?"

The young lady had already gone this far, so it would be rude of Lin Chen to refuse again. He slapped Xiangxiu's back with one hand, and Xiangxiu exclaimed in surprise, crossing her arms over her shoulders.

"Wow, Brother Chen, how did you get here so fast? How many women have you been with?"

Lin Chen glanced at her:

"Who's solving this the slowest?"

Xiangxiu's expression froze for a moment. When masters clash, they stop when they've reached their point. She immediately put on a smiling face and buried herself in Lin Chen's arms again.

"How annoying..."

……

The stream in front of Lin Chen's house is usually quite gentle.

It flowed lazily, its splashes smaller than withered wildflowers, sliding along the smooth pebbles, only occasionally letting out a "plop" as it swallowed a dewdrop that rolled down from the bank.

The moss at the bottom of the water was combed neatly by the water flow, like a piece of silk that someone had casually laid out, swaying gently with the ripples, so tender that you could squeeze water out of it.

But this gentle flow lasted less than ten minutes. Some corner upstream accumulated water, or some rock could no longer hold back the current, and the stream suddenly became wild. It no longer followed the path of the stones, but instead raised its head and crashed against the bluestone slab that lay across the middle.

With a "splash," it shattered into countless pieces. Before it could fall, it was swept up by the surging muddy water behind it and crashed headfirst into the crevice of the rock.

The sound also changed, from a soft drizzle to a muffled roar.

The wild grass on the bank was the first to suffer, softened by the water, and sank into the water without even a ripple. The two huge rocks that were previously motionless were now being tossed about by the current, as if they were about to be overturned at any moment.

The turbulent stream had reached its limit and finally found an outlet.

Beneath that giant, eagle-beak-shaped rock, a long-accumulated stream of water suddenly broke free from its restraints.

The stream is no longer flowing slowly, nor is it cascading down; rather, it is bursting forth after being suppressed for too long upstream.

The water column roared as it shot out from the crack in the rock and crashed heavily into the pool below.

The waves surged several tens of centimeters high, and the splashing stream water, even against the wind, could reach the bank several meters away, right in front of Lin Chen's house. Lin Chen would have to tidy up the front gate properly in a while.

The sound of the flowing stream was frighteningly loud, drowning out the cicadas chirping in the trees and the cows mooing in the distance, leaving only a rumbling outpouring, as if trying to expel all the pent-up frustration of the day.

After the outburst, the water gradually slowed down, leaving only a few huge ripples that continued to swirl in the pool, like the lingering, trembling echoes left by the rushing stream.

……

Although life in the countryside is slow-paced, it's still a constant chase between days.

At around 7 a.m. in Xiangyashan, smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household, and the sounds of cattle and sheep echoed everywhere. This was the time when the villagers were sitting on their kang (heated brick bed) eating breakfast.

Breakfast was laid out on the kang table in Liu Neng's house: steamed buns with corn porridge, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a plate of leftovers from last night, which had been reheated.

Liu Ying and her son sat facing each other at opposite ends of the kang table, quietly shoveling porridge into their mouths without making a sound. The whole room was quiet except for Liu Neng, who sat cross-legged at the end of the kang, all alone.

The mother and daughter were clearly working together to give him the silent treatment; they didn't even prepare chopsticks for him, and they couldn't be bothered to look at him.

Liu Neng stared longingly at the breakfast on the table, tentatively reaching out to grab a steamed bun. Liu Ying's mother, quick as lightning, raised her hand and slapped his hand with her chopsticks. With a swift and decisive movement, she picked up a piece of meat and put it into Liu Ying's bowl. Throughout the entire process, she didn't even lift her eyelids, completely ignoring Liu Neng beside her.

Liu Neng awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand, cleared his throat, and tried to make conversation to ease the atmosphere at home:

"Well... today is a really nice day. By the way, why hasn't that kid Yutian come to propose marriage yet? He should have come over with sincerity by now."

Liu Ying kept rummaging through the porridge in her bowl, her voice muffled and full of resentment:

"Don't you know why they haven't come to propose marriage? Why are you pretending to be confused?"

Liu Neng was thoroughly embarrassed by his daughter's retort and felt a little guilty, but he stubbornly insisted on saving face and argued back:

"How...how would I know what happened?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yingniang lost her temper immediately. She slammed her chopsticks down on the kang table with a loud "bang," echoing in the room. She glared at Liu Neng, her face full of anger.

"Stop lying through your teeth! Wasn't this all your doing from beginning to end? Think about it carefully. Is what you've done even human? When Zhao Yutian injured his leg, you broke off the engagement. Now that he's better, you want them to be together again!"

Liu Neng retorted, unconvinced:

"Well... so what? I just saw... I saw that our Yingzi couldn't let go of Zhao Yutian either, so I gave him another chance, is that not okay?"

Liu Ying's mother was so angry she laughed:

"There's definitely no problem with the two kids being together, I support it. Then why don't you go and have a heart-to-heart talk with Zhao Si? If you're wrong, just admit it. But instead, you put on airs, act all high and mighty, and try to control him, making him come to you on his own initiative. You've been putting on airs and causing the two kids a lot of trouble!"

"Now look what's happened. Yutian is completely disheartened and has stopped coming to visit. Yingzi is just being dragged along like this. Are you satisfied now? Do you feel better?"

After being scolded by his wife, Liu Neng's bald head drooped lower and lower as he muttered his defense:

"Wasn't I doing that for Yingzi's own good? I was thinking of manipulating things a bit more so that Yutian would value Yingzi more in the future and wouldn't dare to bully her. I...I...was I wrong?"

"If you want what's best for her, don't interfere or cause trouble!"

Liu Yingniang picked up her bowl of porridge and glared at him fiercely, her tone harsh:

"You call that doing it for the child's good? What's your pride worth? From now on, you'd better stop interfering in Yingzi's marriage and stop giving unsolicited advice. If you dare to put on airs and cause trouble again, you'll be cooking and eating by yourself from now on. Nobody will be waiting on you around!"

Liu Ying, standing nearby, seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, raising her head with a face full of grievance and anger:

"Exactly! It's all your fault! Yutian and I were doing fine, but you're always stirring up trouble and ruining everything. If this keeps dragging on, I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm going to Zhao Yutian's house myself!"

"Snapped!"

"You dare!" Liu Neng slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Liu Yingniang's face turned cold, and she crossed her arms, saying:

"Who were you having sex with?"

Liu Neng swallowed hard, unable to utter a rebuttal.

Liu Ying's mother pulled Liu Ying down to the ground and went to another room:

"Come on, honey, let's not stay with him. Just looking at him makes me angry!"

Liu Neng had another embarrassed look on his face, looking extremely aggrieved.

The sun was high in the sky, and Big Foot Grocery Store was open. Xie Dajiao was holding a rag and carefully wiping the counter and shelves, making them spotless.

Just then, the sound of a car came from in front of the shop. A black Santana was parked on the side of the road, standing out conspicuously in the village.

As soon as the car door opened, Wang Xia got out of the car, followed by a tall and strong woman, who was her sister Wang Yun.

Wang Yun was tall with a broad frame and a sturdy build. Standing at the entrance of the grocery store, she looked like half an iron tower, solid and robust, completely different from the ordinary women in the village, and she seemed to have a lot of weight to her.

Upon seeing a stranger, Xie Dajiao immediately put down her rag and greeted him with great enthusiasm.

Wang Xia greeted her with a smile:

"Are you Xie Dajiao? We've spoken on the phone before. I'm Wang Xia."

"Emma, ​​Mayor Qi's wife, please come in and have a seat!"

Wang Xia followed Xie Dajiao into the house, found a stool to sit down, and without beating around the bush, got straight to the point:

"Big Foot, my husband Qi told me that everyone in the surrounding villages knows you have good connections and are the most reliable matchmaker."