“That won’t do. You should beat him up. Matters of principle cannot be tolerated.”

Li Taohua looked at Jiang's mother with admiration and said, "Sister-in-law, I think you are so cultured now. You are a completely different person from before. You speak so eloquently."

"Really? I don't think so. Maybe it's because I've been spending too much time with Er Ya. That girl often talks like an adult." Thinking of her daughter, Jiang's mother's worthless smile reappeared.

"I don't know how many times I've said it myself, I also want a daughter like Er Ya, I'm so envious."

At this point in the conversation, Jiang's mother asked curiously, "Has Gou Dan's father not sent any news yet?"

Thinking of this, Li Taohua could no longer smile: "No, he came back once after he found out his mother died, and left in a hurry the next day. He has never come back since."

"How about we ask someone to look for him? Let's see what he's up to outside?"

Li Taohua shook her head and said, "I don't care about him. Let him die wherever he wants. Anyway, I have fulfilled my duties as a wife. I took care of his mother and gave birth to his son. I have never wronged him in this life. If he doesn't want to come back, he doesn't have to. I can raise my son by myself."

"But……".

Li Taohua stubbornly wiped away her tears and forced a smile, saying, "Sister-in-law, let's not talk about him anymore. Today is a good day, don't let him affect our mood."

"Okay, then I won't mention it anymore. From now on, we'll raise our son to be successful, and even if he comes back, we won't let him come back."

Just then, a commotion broke out outside. From afar, she could hear her sister-in-law's shouts. Jiang's mother quickly took off her apron. Before she could even step out, she saw her parents and sister-in-law coming over with things on their backs. She was overjoyed: "Father, Mother, why did you come all this way?"

Wang Meili glared at him: "What? You don't welcome us? It's Er Ya's birthday, how can we not come as relatives from her maternal grandmother's side?"

Li Taohua hurriedly came over to take the things: "Welcome, welcome! You are honored guests. Come, come, give me the things, please sit inside and have some tea."

"Oh, I bet this is Peach Blossom, right? Er Ya mentioned you to me quite a bit last time. You've helped their family a lot. Thank you!"

“Er Ya mentioned me to you? Oh dear, I didn’t help her much. You’re her aunt, right? Look at her, she’s obviously a very generous person.”

The two cheerful people burst into laughter. Jiang's mother quickly invited her parents into the house and then took out the candies and snacks she had bought, filling the table with them.

Jiang Heping couldn't stay idle. Seeing so many medicinal herbs drying in the yard, he took a rake and started turning them over, and his mother couldn't pull him into the house.

"Daughter, don't worry about him. That's just the kind of person your father is. He can't stand seeing anyone working. Let him do his work. Where's Er Ya?"

Wang Meili quickly added, "Yes, where's Er Ya? We brought her a lot of crayfish and snails today. That girl is really craving them and she's so happy."

“He went up the mountain early this morning and hasn’t come back yet. Mother, sister-in-law, please sit down first. Tao Hua and I will go cook.”

Wang Meili said with a smile, "Let's sit together. It's no fun sitting here with my mother. It'll be nice to have more people and chat."

"Yes, clean up some of those crayfish and snails. Er Ya loves them. Your sister-in-law and I have already cleaned them at home. You can rest for a bit. Let Er Ya try my cooking today."

"Mom, you and my sister-in-law have come all this way, how can I let you cook?"

Chen Xiuhua glared at her: "What? You think your mother is too old? I have plenty of energy cooking for my granddaughter. Look at your belly, do you think you can get tired?"

"Yes, sister, your mother and I are here, and her aunt is here too, so we don't need you. Go and rest."

Seeing that they wouldn't let her into the kitchen, Jiang's mother had no choice but to move a small stool to sit at the door and chat with them: "Alright, then I'll just wait to eat today."

To be honest, maybe it's because she's in her late pregnancy, even though she hasn't done much work, her back is aching terribly. And she gets hungry very easily now; she's only been eating for a short while before she's hungry again.

Jiang's mother held a piece of sponge cake, eating as she spoke: "Mom, how's business over there? It's been so long since I've been there. The last time I saw you was at the market, wasn't it?"

They used to do business at the market and could still see each other, but Er Ya and Lin Jianguo strongly demanded that they stop doing business there.

Anyway, her family wasn't short of money, and the most important thing was for her to recover her health. After discussing it, they handed the business over to Li Taohua, and they never had the chance to meet again after that.

Chen Xiuhua beamed with joy: "Business is booming! That restaurant is taking 40 to 50 jin a day now, and we're making a lot of money too. Our family is really rich now."

Jiang's mother asked doubtfully, "Selling so many every day, can you manage? You must be too busy to handle catching and cleaning crayfish and snails all day long."

Wang Meili laughed and said, "That's right. At first, we were so busy we didn't even have time to eat. It was Ermin who came up with a solution: he had Damin gather his friends and get them involved in the operation."

They paid two cents per pound. Goodness, the first day's catch almost filled our yard. We had to limit the weight later, but it really helped us a lot and saved us a lot of time.

Jiang's mother said with a smile, "Ermin is quite good at business, and Damin is not bad either. These two boys can also help you."

"Those two kids are a bit dishonest. It's their own business, isn't it normal to help out? You don't know, they swindled with those kids, and when they came back they asked for a dollar's worth of money. Those brats, what we earn will still be yours in the end, won't it?"

Chen Xiuhua said irritably, "You still have to talk. I told you there should be rewards and punishments. The children should be rewarded for doing good deeds. I asked her to give those two children 50 cents each, but she wouldn't let me. That's why the children came up with this idea when they had no other choice."

Wang Meili said with a wronged expression, "I was just thinking of earning money for them so they could go to school, but who knew those two boys would be such a troublemaker."

Jiang's mother laughed heartily, "Haha, sister-in-law, there are plenty of opportunities to make money. You dampened their enthusiasm this time, so they won't try to help you next time."

Wang Meili glared and said, "I don't think they dare. I'm their mother, and they can't possibly rebel against me. But I regretted it later. I thought it wouldn't hurt to give them a little something, as long as they don't squander it. Who knew they would do something like this? Now I can't give them any more money. If they want money, they should earn it themselves."

To be continued!