Gu Xingye: "Mom, why didn't you let me know you were coming? I could have picked you up."
Li Xiulan said as she brought out bowls and chopsticks, "You still have work to do. Letting your sister come was enough."
"Third brother, fourth brother, you have no idea how much stuff Mom brought. I've been recovering all afternoon, and my arms are still not back to normal."
Li Xiulan chided, "That's because you're usually too lazy to move. You get tired so easily after doing a little work. Luckily, you got into college. Otherwise, I'd worry you'd stay home and never get married even if you were farming."
Gu Xingping pouted, "Mom, am I still your biological daughter?"
Everyone present burst into laughter.
"Mom, you'll have to share a bed with Rui Rui tonight. I'll have someone send over another bed in a couple of days."
After dinner, Chen Lishu asked Zhao Qiuyue to bring out the quilts she had made and spread them out for Li Xiulan.
Li Xiulan quickly said, "That's fine, I just need a place to sleep."
In the evening, Gu Xingdong brought her hot water to wash her feet. Seeing that her feet and calves were much plumper than usual, he unconsciously reached out to gently massage them.
"I didn't expect swelling so soon."
"The doctor said so during the examination. Carrying twins is a bit harder than usual," Chen Lishu said, reaching out to touch her already large belly, smiling gently. "After all, it's double the joy."
"I'd rather have just one," he said. After massaging her feet for a while longer, he wiped them clean with a towel, helped her lie down, and then washed his own feet in the water from Chen Lishu's basin.
"Pour some hot water for yourself too. Soaking your feet in hot water can relieve fatigue," Chen Lishu reminded him as she saw him put his feet in.
"I'm too lazy to move. I'll soak them next time," Gu Xingdong said, quickly washing and drying his feet before putting on his slippers and going to pour water.
Chen Lishu's belly was getting bigger, and she could only sleep on her side at night. To prevent herself from accidentally bumping her belly if she rolled over, Gu Xingdong deliberately placed a pillow between them.
Lying in bed, they first talked to the children for a while, then felt their greetings in return through her belly. Only then did the couple turn off the lights and go to sleep.
The next day, Lin Qi found out the location of the station manager's house and deliberately waited for him on his usual commute home. Seeing him pushing his bicycle over, Lin Qi smiled and stepped forward, "Station Chief Zhou."
Station Chief Zhou immediately frowned, "Why are you here?"
Seeing that no one was around, Lin Qi took out the envelope he had prepared and was about to slip it into Station Chief Zhou's coat pocket, but was sternly rejected. "What do you take me for, young comrade? If you continue like this, I'll have you arrested."
However, as Station Chief Zhou pushed it away, he felt the thickness of the envelope, and his heart couldn't help but ache.
But compared to his future prospects, he gritted his teeth and endured.
"Station Chief Zhou, this batch of equipment is truly very important to our company. Please, could you do us a favor and let us take the equipment? If you ever need anything in the future, just say the word, and it will be easy."
Since the money wasn't accepted, Lin Qi had to be conciliatory when it was time for softness. He pleaded in a low voice.
Station Chief Zhou glanced at him and turned to leave.
Guo Xingli hadn't wanted Chen Lishu to worry about such a big matter during her pregnancy, but he knew he couldn't hide something of this magnitude. Moreover, he feared that further delays might lead to complications. Thus, Lin Qi had no choice but to inform Chen Lishu about the situation.
"They've impounded the equipment?" Chen Lishu's brows furrowed tightly after hearing Lin Qi's account.
She always preferred to spend more money to complete all procedures properly rather than leaving loose ends. She hadn't expected that even after purchasing the equipment, it would get stuck at the freight station.
"I've tried all the proper channels, but this Station Chief Zhou is completely unmoved. He insists it's not compliant and that the equipment must be handed over."
Chen Lishu thought the same as Lin Qi. If the equipment was taken away from the freight station, it would be even more troublesome to resolve. Therefore, it was best to settle this matter as soon as possible.
"Do you have all the necessary documents? I'll go with you to take a look."
Chen Lishu said as she got up and went with Lin Qi to the freight station.
To their surprise, upon arriving, they saw staff members dismantling their equipment, and the newly delivered loader had already been started!
"Stop! Who authorized you to move other people's property without permission?"
Seeing the situation, Chen Lishu's expression turned grim, and she quickly walked over.
"Sister Chen, slow down," Lin Qi said, quickening his pace to catch up as he saw her move.
"Who are you people? Who allowed you to move customers' goods without authorization?"
The other party, seeing her heavily pregnant, maintained some restraint. "Is this your cargo? The higher-ups said it's considered contraband and needs to be taken away."
"Who said this is contraband? I have the import invoices, and all the taxes due have been paid. What right do you have to just take it away? Who gave you permission to arbitrarily label it? What's the difference between this and outright theft?"
Once the goods left the freight station, they would no longer be easily under her control. Therefore, Chen Lishu would not let them touch her equipment under any circumstances.
"You woman, seeing that you're pregnant, we don't want to argue with you. Hurry up and get out of the way so you don't delay our work. If you want to argue, go find the manager. We are just following instructions."
The staff member gestured for others to lift the two pieces of equipment onto the loading vehicle, then waved to the person in the truck to drive away.
"Today, whoever dares to leave, I'll let them run over me first!" Chen Lishu placed herself in front of the loader, holding her belly.
"You woman, why are you being so unreasonable?"
"I'm being unreasonable?" Chen Lishu sneered. "It's my property, I paid you to transport it, and now you're holding my goods. Who is the shameless one? Go call your leader, or I'll call the police!"
The crowd hesitated to confront a pregnant woman. In the end, one of them turned to call the station manager.
"It's you?" Station Chief Zhou frowned when he saw it was Lin Qi. "Didn't I already tell you that your batch of equipment is not compliant?"
"Which part is not compliant? Please, Station Chief Zhou, point it out specifically. Don't be vague and try to bully us weaklings who don't understand the rules. To put it bluntly, we are more cautious than you these days. I paid you to transport goods, so why won't you release them when they arrive? Do you have the right to impound my goods?"
Chen Lishu had already heard from Lin Qi. Since the soft approach didn't work, she had to resort to a tougher stance.
She had spent fifty to sixty thousand yuan on the equipment, and they wanted to confiscate it with a mere claim of non-compliance. Wasn't this plain bullying?
"I..." Station Chief Zhou was rendered speechless by her barrage of questions. After a long pause, he finally said, "We don't have that right, but the higher authorities have given us supervisory responsibilities. Your batch of equipment is suspected of harming collective interests, so it must be handed over."
Chen Lishu couldn't help but laugh angrily at his words. "My goods are suspected, so they are to be seized? Transporting oil also carries the risk of harming social security. With a baseless suspicion, you can move my property without authorization? When you accepted this order, didn't you already inspect it? Now you're telling me there's a suspicion?"