Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Upon hearing the sound, Xie Yongqiang immediately sprang to his feet and craned his neck to look at the road.

Before long, a white van slowly drove up along the dusty dirt road.

This is Wang Xiaomeng returning from delivering goods.

Yongqiang's eyes lit up, and he quickly took two steps forward, raising his hand to block the road and signal the car to stop.

The truck slowed down slowly, its tires rolling over the dust and kicking up a cloud of gray smoke.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Wang Xiaomeng's delicate face. She frowned, her eyes filled with impatience and aloofness as she looked at Xie Yongqiang, who was blocking her way, her tone harsh:

"Yongqiang? What are you standing there for? Why aren't you home resting in this heat? What's wrong?"

She's now completely focused on her tofu business, working from dawn till dusk every day making tofu and delivering goods. She's so busy she barely has time to breathe, and these past two days she's been so exhausted she hasn't even had time to visit Lin Chen.

Wang Xiaomeng has absolutely no desire to get involved with Xie Yongqiang anymore. The two of them have long since moved on and are living their own lives. It's really annoying that he's back to bother her again.

Xie Yongqiang scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed, and leaned half his body against the car window, dawdling:

"It's nothing serious... Xiao Meng, I just feel a tightness in my chest, like I'm feeling suffocated."

He sighed, his face full of dejection, and muttered:

"My job is completely gone, and I'm nothing now. I can't even hold my head up when I go back to school. As for Xiangxiu, she's always picking on me and doesn't like me no matter what. I feel really frustrated and have no one to talk to, so I wanted to chat with you for a bit."

Wang Xiaomeng was speechless for a moment, her face growing colder and her tone filled with obvious impatience:

"You and Xiangxiu are having a falling out and things aren't going well, that's between the two of you. Why are you coming to me? Xie Yongqiang, we're just ordinary friends and fellow villagers now, we don't have any real relationship."

"You're blocking my way on the main road, rambling on and on. If the villagers see this, they'll start gossiping, and that'll look bad. I'm busy right now, I need to get back and unload the truck. Please move aside."

"I know you're busy, I'll just say a few words and then leave!"

Xie Yongqiang refused to move aside at all, his voice growing softer and softer, filled with regret:

"Xiao Meng, I truly regret it now. If I hadn't been so foolish back then and had treated you well, things wouldn't have come to this..."

"Stop!"

Wang Xiaomeng interrupted him coldly, showing no mercy whatsoever:

"Let's not talk about the past, it's pointless. You're engaged now and getting married soon. I'll focus on my business, and we'll each live our own lives, keeping to ourselves. That's for the best. You should go back now and stop blocking the way and making yourself a laughingstock."

As the two were locked in a stalemate, a series of crisp footsteps suddenly came from the roadside.

Wang Xiangxiu was carrying some things in her hands. She had just bought some from Xie Dajiao and was walking home when she looked up and saw this scene on the side of the road.

Xie Yongqiang leaned half his body against the truck window, bowing and scraping as he chattered on and on to Wang Xiaomeng. His humble and ingratiating manner instantly infuriated her.

She rushed forward, slammed the thing in her hand to the ground, grabbed Xie Yongqiang by the back of his collar, and pulled him back hard. Xie Yongqiang was pulled so hard that he almost fell to the ground.

Wang Xiangxiu pointed at his nose and started cursing, her voice shrill and loud:

"Xie Yongqiang! Have you no shame?!"

"Xiao Meng is too lazy to even acknowledge you, she's clearly drawn a line between you, and you still have the nerve to keep trying to get close to her! Look at your worthless face! I knew you'd been so absent-minded lately, so you've been thinking about your old flame all this time, haven't you!"

Xie Yongqiang panicked instantly and frantically tried to explain himself:

"Xiangxiu, don't talk nonsense, you've misunderstood! We just bumped into each other by chance, exchanged a few words, nothing more!"

"Just a few words?"

Xiangxiu sneered in anger:

"I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears! You were practically pressed against the car window! Xie Yongqiang, you're really something!"

"Fine, since you can't let go of Wang Xiaomeng and don't care about me at all, then there's no need for us to get married. Let's call it off! Let's call it off now!"

"I, Wang Xiangxiu, cannot bear the shame, nor will I serve a fickle man like you! This marriage is off!"

After uttering those words, she bent down, picked up the things on the ground, angrily swung her arm, turned around, and walked home without even glancing back at Xie Yongqiang.

A crowd instantly gathered around to watch the spectacle. Wang Xiaomeng looked at Xie Yongqiang, who was covered in dust and dirt, and sighed helplessly, utterly speechless. What kind of person was he?

She didn't say another word, rolled up the window, and the driver stepped on the gas. The truck sputtered and drove straight away from the village entrance.

At this moment, Xie Guangkun was tinkering with the mountain produce he had just harvested in his courtyard.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate. Wang Changgui, his face long and drawn, strode into the courtyard with his hands behind his back, radiating anger. He was clearly there to cause trouble.

Xie Guangkun looked up and saw it was his in-law. He immediately put down what he was doing, smiled like a chrysanthemum, and stood up to greet him with boundless enthusiasm.

"Oh, Changgui's here! Come in and have a seat. I just bought some good tea at the market, come in and have a couple of sips!"

Wang Changgui completely ignored his words, not even bothering to smile. With a stern face, he walked straight into the house, plopped down on a stool, and said in a forceful manner:

"Guangkun, let's not stand on ceremony. I'll be frank today. I think we should call off Yongqiang and Xiangxiu's marriage. It's better for the two children and for both of our families if we break it off sooner rather than later."

These words were like a thunderclap out of nowhere, completely stunning Xie Guangkun and Yongqiang's mother. What was going on?

Xie Guangkun quickly took two steps forward and asked in a panic:

"Hey? Changgui, what are you talking about? A perfectly good engagement, why are you just calling it off like that? What happened? Did that brat Yongqiang upset Xiangxiu again?"

"Tell me, and I'll deal with him right away. This kid is young and immature, stubborn, and doesn't know his place. You're the elder, so please be more understanding and don't stoop to his level!"

Wang Changgui waved his hand, his tone firm and leaving no room for compromise:

"This isn't a matter of taking responsibility or not, Guangkun. Why did I agree to this marriage in the first place? I valued Yongqiang's reliability, education, and stable job, and I wanted the two children to have a good life together."

"And what happened? I didn't say anything when she lost her job, thinking it was fine as long as she was alright. But what did he do? He stopped Wang Xiaomeng at the village entrance in the middle of the afternoon, pulling and tugging at her, making a scene. She didn't want to talk to him, but he kept going after her! Xiangxiu caught him red-handed!"

"Since he still has Wang Xiaomeng in his heart and can't let go of her at all, then you shouldn't delay my Xiangxiu's life. When it comes to marriage, a forced marriage won't be sweet. If you force yourselves to be together, you'll just be arguing every day and causing chaos. If you can't live a stable life, it's better to part amicably and get it over with before you get married."

"A misunderstanding! It's absolutely a huge misunderstanding!"

Xie Guangkun was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh, his face turning red, and he desperately tried to explain:

"Changgui, believe me, Yongqiang is an honest and upright boy. He absolutely has no ulterior motives. We just bumped into each other on the road and chatted casually for a bit!"

"I'll call that brat back right now and make him apologize to you and Xiangxiu immediately. You're a magnanimous person, please give the child another chance. Our two families made a good agreement, and the wedding was just around the corner. How can we just break it off like this!"

As the two were arguing and pulling at each other, Xie Yongqiang walked in dejectedly, looking listless. It was obvious that something had happened.

Xie Guangkun got angry the moment he saw him, his temper flared up, and he stepped forward and slapped him hard across the back of the head, yelling at him with exasperation:

"You good-for-nothing spendthrift, hurry up and apologize to your Uncle Changgui! Say you'll never cause trouble again and beg your uncle to forgive you!"

Normally, Xie Yongqiang would have already bowed his head and given in, but today he felt frustrated and aggrieved. He was scolded in public by Xiangxiu and shunned by Xiaomeng, and he had nowhere to vent his anger.

Pressed by his father like this, he was full of resentment. After holding back for a long time, he blurted out a sentence in a stiff voice:

"What's there to apologize for? Let's just call it off! Xiangxiu has always disliked me and bullied me every day. It's good that the engagement is called off; it'll save me a lot of trouble!"

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Wang Changgui suddenly stood up from the stool, his face frighteningly grim, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation:

"Guangkun, did you hear that? It's not that I'm heartless, it's just that the child doesn't want to. So it's settled then, the marriage is off."

"Before we got married, our two families got along very well as neighbors, and we will continue to do so. As for the betrothal gifts, I will have them returned to you intact. Let's part amicably and neither of us owes the other anything."

After saying that, he didn't linger at all, put his hands behind his back, and angrily turned and left.

Xie Guangkun was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He quickly chased after Wang Changgui and tried to persuade him with kind words. He talked until his lips were dry and said a lot of nice things, but he still couldn't stop Wang Changgui. He could only watch helplessly as Wang Changgui's figure walked further and further away. A perfectly good marriage was completely ruined.

Back inside, Xie Guangkun was trembling with rage, his chest heaving violently, a surge of anger rising to his head, burning off even more of his hair.

He grabbed a broom handle from beside the kang (a heated brick bed) and lashed it out at Xie Yongqiang, cursing as he did so.

"I'll beat you to death, you spineless coward! You're such a troublemaker! You ruined a perfectly good marriage with your own hands!"

"I was hoping your father-in-law would give you a hand and help you get transferred to the town to find a better future, but you've blocked your own path! How could I have given birth to such a good-for-nothing? You're just a disgrace to me!"