Hard work after winning the lottery

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Baixi Village.

As the snow began to melt, water droplets dripped from the icicles under the eaves, forming trickles that meandered down the bluestone path.

On the shore of Baixi Lake, those old willow trees seemed to have been holding back all winter, and finally sprouted tender yellow buds on their branches, trembling and peeking out in the cold wind.

But Zhou Yanjin had no time to appreciate this leisurely spring scenery.

At this moment, the president of the Zhou Group, worth hundreds of billions, is facing the biggest challenge of his life—

How do you fit all these supplies into the trunk of a Maybach?

"Mom, we really can't fit any more." Zhou Yanjin looked at the bag of walnuts in her hand, which weighed at least twenty pounds, and rubbed her temples helplessly. "The supermarkets in the city have walnuts."

"Can anything in the city be the same as this?" Li Guifen glared at him, her hands moving non-stop as she forcefully stuffed the walnuts into the gap in the spare tire well. "These are from your Uncle Hua's century-old tree, good for the brain! Yunyun needs to use her brain right now, she has to eat them!"

Beside her, Lin Yi, dressed in a bespoke cashmere coat, was not to be outdone.

She directed Zhou Ye, carrying two bulging snakeskin bags: "My mother-in-law is right! Yan Jin, move aside. These are five hundred farm eggs that I asked Uncle Man to collect! I had them all wrapped in cotton. Xiao Zhang, Xiao Li, put these boxes on top of the car!"

Zhou Yanjin: "..."

Zhou Yanjin turned around and looked at Hua Yun, who was standing at the door.

Hua Yun was holding a hot roasted sweet potato and eating it with great relish.

Two months pregnant, her appetite is now frighteningly good since her morning sickness disappeared.

"Why are you looking at me?" Hua Yun took a bite of sweet potato, her cheeks bulging. "Mom gave it to me, so just take it. This is love, a deep and meaningful love."

"It's quite heavy." Zhou Yanjin sighed as she looked at the rear shock absorber, which was almost flattened by the weight. "I'm afraid the tire will blow out."

"It won't explode!"

Grandpa Hua walked over with his hands behind his back, carrying several colorful cotton-padded jackets. "These were made by your grandma these past few days, all handmade with cotton, so they're breathable! They're for your great-grandson whom you haven't met yet."

What else could Zhou Yanjin say?

I have no choice but to accept it.

Besides the Maybach, the car following behind was also packed full.

From free-range chickens, ducks, cured meat, and sausages, to Baixi Village's specialties like sweet potato noodles and dried green beans, there were even two large buckets of freshly drawn spring water.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were robbing the village.

"Alright, alright, it's all installed!" Li Guifen patted the dust off her hands, but her eyes suddenly reddened.

The atmosphere of parting always reaches its peak just as the car door is about to close.

Three little dumplings, carrying Lin Yi's newly bought schoolbags, stood in front of the car, their little mouths pouting so much they could hang oil bottles on them.

"Mom, can't I not go to school?" Sitao tugged at Huayun's clothes, her eyes brimming with tears. "I want to go herding sheep with Great-Grandpa."

"No, that won't do." Hua Yun squatted down and wiped her son's snot. "Great-Grandpa's sheep need to rest too, and besides, didn't Tao Tao promise Xiao Mei that he would tell her the story of Ultraman fighting monsters when we got back?"

When Xiaomei was mentioned, Sitao paused in her crying, as if she was weighing the pros and cons.

Si'an seemed much more mature. He walked up to Hua Mutou, tilted his little head up, and said, "Great-Grandpa, I'll miss you. You have to take your medicine on time and don't you dare smoke secretly."

Hua Mutou's old face beamed with joy as he knelt down and hugged his great-grandson: "Good, good, great-grandfather is a good boy. You two should be good when you go back, and don't make your mother angry."

Si Le threw herself into Li Guifen's arms, crying the loudest, "Grandma, I want you and Grandpa to go back to City A... Waaah..."

Li Guifen burst into tears, hugging and kissing her grandson again and again: "My dear Lele, Grandma will come to the city to see you next time, okay? Don't cry."

Zhou Ye and Lin Yi stood to the side, their faces also showing reluctance. Although they had only stayed in the village for a little over half a month, these days full of lively atmosphere were the most unforgettable Spring Festival of their lives.

"My dear in-laws, you absolutely must come to the city!" Lin Yi said, holding Li Guifen's hand. "I'll have someone pick you up by car!"

"Definitely! Definitely!"

The convoy started moving slowly.

Hua Yun sat in the passenger seat, looking through the rearview mirror at the familiar little courtyard getting further and further away.

Parents, grandparents, and younger brother Hua'an stood at the intersection, waving until they became tiny black dots.

Grandpa Hua's last words drifted in through the car window on the wind:

"Yunyun! Take good care of yourself! When you come back for summer vacation, the baby will be due soon. Remember to bring him back for Grandpa to see!"

Zhou Yanjin grasped Hua Yun's hand, her palm warm: "Reluctant to part with her?"

Hua Yun sniffed and swallowed the last bite of sweet potato: "A little. But, thinking about having to take care of three mythical beasts and have a baby in the city, I think... the village is still better."

Zhou Yanjin chuckled softly, "Don't worry, I'm here."

On the third day after returning to the city, I had my first scheduled prenatal checkup.

A private maternity hospital in the city center, with VIP consultation rooms.

The air was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant, but even more so with the soothing aroma of high-end fragrances.

Compared to Zhou Yanjin's meticulousness, Hua Yun appeared remarkably calm.

She even had the leisure to scroll through her phone and read the messages in the group chat.

"Stop looking at your phone, it emits radiation." Zhou Yanjin reached out and took her phone away, handing her a glass of warm water. "Are you nervous?"

Hua Yun rolled her eyes: "President Zhou, I've had three children. Do you think I'm nervous?"

"I'm nervous."

Zhou Yanjin's honesty is heartbreaking.

He sat on the sofa chair next to Hua Yun, his back ramrod straight, his hands clasped together, his knuckles slightly white.

He looked even more serious than when he was negotiating a merger or acquisition deal worth hundreds of millions.

"Last time..." Zhou Yanjin's voice was low, tinged with guilt, "When Huai Sitao and the others were born, I wasn't by your side. I missed every prenatal checkup, every fetal movement, and even their birth..."

This is a thorn in Zhou Yanjin's side.

He was absent from the most difficult period of Huayun's life, and from the very beginning of the lives of his three children.

Hua Yun was stunned for a moment, and her heart softened when she saw the regret in the man's deep eyes.

She reached out and placed her hand on the back of his hand, patting it gently: "Then this time, you'd better do your best. This is a VIP ticket, you get to watch the whole movie."

"Mrs. Zhou, please come in."

The nurse's sweet voice broke the cozy atmosphere.

The ultrasound room was dimly lit.

Hua Yun lay on the bed, lifted her shirt, and revealed her slightly protruding belly.

Although she's only two months pregnant, her belly is a bit loose because she had triplets before, and the food she's been eating these past few days has made her look a little more pregnant than the average pregnant woman.

However, it feels hard to the touch.

The cool coupling gel was applied to the abdomen, and the probe slid slowly.

Zhou Yanjin stood by the bed, her eyes fixed on the monitor in front of her, holding her breath.

He held Hua Yun's hand tightly with one hand, his palm covered in sweat.

"Yes, it's developing very well."