Chen Xiuhua and Wang Meili were a little reluctant to leave. They thought about how they were getting money in return and didn't want to go back now. They had just gained some experience and were full of energy.

Er Ya coaxed them like children: "Just catch enough to sell. Think about it, the river is right here, it's not going to run away. If you catch too much, we won't have anywhere to put it."

Sigh... I'm the one who's the little kid, okay?

Jiang Heping was also tired, having worked non-stop for half a day. He said, "Alright, let's go. Damin and Ermin will be home from school soon. That kid Damin always complains of being hungry as soon as he gets home. Let's hurry home and cook."

The head of the household had spoken, and the two women had no choice but to leave, no matter how unwilling they were. Several people carried buckets and baskets, while Er Ya leisurely hummed a song and followed them home empty-handed.

Who told her to have this right when she's just a child? Hehehe.

Once we got home, we poured all the snails into buckets, and put the rest in basins. The buckets were all full.

Chen Xiuhua glanced at it and said, "Wow, there's so much. It'll take half a day just to wash it."

While I was picking them, I was only thinking about making money, so I didn't feel tired. But when I came back and saw that there were quite a lot, I realized that it would take an entire afternoon just to cut off the snails' tails one by one.

Er Ya said with a laugh, "Grandma, you're complaining now. You didn't want to come back when I called you earlier."

"You silly girl, you're making fun of your grandma. Actually, snails are fine to catch, it's just troublesome to cut them."

Wang Meili said with a smile, "Mom, it's okay. I'll cut them after they've vomited all out. I'll stay up all night to clean them up."

.

This concerns the future of her two sons, and she doesn't mind being tired as long as she can make money.

"I was just saying that. Anyway, we've already gotten it back, so we'll just take our time cutting it."

Wang Meili looked at the crayfish crawling around and asked, "Er Ya, do these crayfish have to spit things out like snails? If they do, we'll have to borrow a couple more basins, otherwise these things will be crawling everywhere."

"No need, Auntie. Just use a small brush to clean the dark parts off the crayfish, and then wash the insides clean. Get me a pair of scissors, and I'll teach you how. We can eat them for lunch."

Scissors were put into action, and they were put away one by one.

Er Ya first caught the crayfish, cut it open about halfway down the shell of its head, and pulled it outwards just before it was completely severed, bringing out the sand sac from the head along with the black clump of substance. Er Ya pointed and said, "Be careful to keep the crayfish roe; you can eat that."

Then remove the head after removing the sand sac, leaving only the shrimp roe, which is clean and delicious; finally, cut straight down from the pulled-off tail fin to the head.

"Okay, that's how it is. Cutting it like this is to make it easier for the flavors to penetrate, and also to make it easier to peel when eating."

They were all experienced workers, so they understood as soon as Er Ya explained. Chen Xiuhua and Wang Meili took turns brushing and cutting, and in no time they had a small bowl of clean crayfish.

With their permission, Er Ya held a bowl of brown sugar water, with Jiang Heping sitting next to her. One of them drank water, and the other smoked, watching the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law work.

It wasn't that she didn't want to help; she was just too tired. She hadn't noticed it when she was catching crayfish, but now she felt like she couldn't even lift her arms, so she openly took a break.

The door creaked open, and it turned out that Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother had returned. There was a large piece of lard in the basket of the bicycle, and Jiang's mother was holding several strings of candied hawthorns. Er Ya, who liked them, quickly put her bowl on the ground and ran to get the candied hawthorns.

Jiang Heping took the lard and put it in the kitchen. Seeing that Lin Jianguo and the others had bought some fabric and snacks for the children, he asked Chen Xiuhua, "Old woman, how much money did you give them? Why did they buy so much stuff?"

Chen Xiuhua said, "It's only one yuan. Did you two put any money into it? Just this piece of lard must have cost five or six mao."

Jiang's mother smiled and said, "Mom, this lard and salt were bought with your money, and the fabric was what Jianguo said he wanted to buy. We didn't buy you any clothes for the New Year, and we forgot to buy them yesterday because we came in a hurry. He reminded me today."

Chen Xiuhua wiped her hands on the apron, took the fabric and said, "This must have cost a lot of money. You two are at the age where you need to spend money, why are you buying this? Your father and I can still wear our clothes."

Touching the fabric, I couldn't put it down; I loved it so much.

“I’ll buy these for you, so make them and wear them. Keep your old clothes for work. You’ll be going to the market to do business soon, and it won’t look good if you’re dressed in rags. Er Ya told me this before. People will only buy your things if you dress neatly.”

She pulled out another piece of fabric from under the basket and handed it to Wang Meili: "Sister-in-law, this is for you. I bought it specially in the color you wear. Don't save it to make clothes for those two boys."

Excitedly, she took the fabric: "Oh, there's more for me too? Thank you, girl!"

“I don’t go home often, and you’ve taken good care of my parents. You’ve fulfilled your filial duty for me, so I should give you something in return.”

Wang Meili held up the fabric against her body and said, "Girl, you have great taste! This fabric is comfortable and stain-resistant. Thank you so much!"

Jiang's mother winked at Er Ya. It turned out that Er Ya had told Jiang's mother in advance last night that they were going to the market and asked her to buy clothes for her grandparents.

They treat me well, so I should be grateful. I specifically told them that I must buy a set for Wang Meili as well. The reason was already explained by Jiang's mother earlier. In fact, the elderly are usually taken care of more by their daughters-in-law. No matter how close a daughter is, she has her own family after marriage and can't take care of her parents' family all the time.

Seeing Wang Meili's beaming smile, it was clear that the fabric had won her heart. Er Ya was right; there should be give and take. If someone is good to you, you should be good to them in return. It's not enough to be good to only one side.

Seeing that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both so happy they were practically out of their minds, Jiang Heping said, "Alright, stop being so smug. Hurry up and cook. We're hungry, even if you're not."

Chen Xiuhua was in high spirits when Jiang Heping poured cold water on her enthusiasm, her expression changed, and she was about to say something to him.

Er Ya, munching on a candied hawthorn, said, "Yes, Grandma, Aunt, I'm hungry too. Let's make some crayfish to eat!"

Chen Xiuhua's expression changed immediately: "Oh dear, Er Ya is hungry? Okay, Grandma will go cook right away."

Chen Xiuhua and Wang Meili carefully placed the fabric in the cabinet. When they reached the door, Wang Meili came back, picked up the fabric, and held it up in front of the mirror a few times before reluctantly putting it away.

"Mom, you do it. You can teach Aunt how to make it."

To be continued!