Er Ya knew that Li Taohua was doing it for their family's good and was afraid they would suffer losses, so she felt warm inside and smiled as she said to Li Taohua:

“Auntie, I know what you mean. It’s alright. The purpose of this banquet is to make everyone feel more lively. You know that my family isn’t very close to many families in the village. Setting up a few tables here can help bring us closer together.”

Anyway, I've said what I needed to say, and Er Ya is right. Not to mention her family, even my own family, after making money in business these past few months, we're not short of money for food. If we have money, it wouldn't be bad to invite the villagers over for a lively gathering.

Li Taohua nodded and said, "Okay, then we'll do as you say. I'm going to help Meizi prepare the vegetables; she probably isn't familiar with your family's food."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie. I'll be counting on you to take care of things tomorrow."

Li Taohua pretended to be angry: "You child, you're always so polite to me. If you keep doing this, I'll really get angry."

Er Ya hugged her arm and said coquettishly, "Okay, Auntie, I won't say that anymore. You go ahead and do your work. I need to go see my little brother."

Li Taohua chuckled and pinched Er Ya's cheek with satisfaction before letting her go to see her younger brother.

Er Ya was right; everyone had to rely on her. Sure enough, as soon as she went into the kitchen, Mei Zi nervously asked her, "Sister-in-law, can you tell me how to prepare all this stuff? I'm a little scared."

Li Taohua completely forgot her previous fear, patted Meizi on the shoulder and said, "Meizi, it's okay. Just cook with confidence and don't worry about saving meat or vegetables. Er Ya's family are all good people. As long as you cook well tomorrow, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits."

These words reassured Meizi. Putting everything else aside, as long as they ate as much meat as they wanted, even if the taste wasn't quite right, she guaranteed they would still enjoy it.

The two of them started busying themselves, one cooking the meat and the other kneading the dough.

When Chen Xiuhua had some free time, she helped out, but neither Old Lady Shen nor Madam Niu came from beginning to end.

Having learned from Lin Shitou's lesson, Er Ya instructed Mei Zi to prepare a few dishes for those who came to help to have a meal first.

With the kitchen arrangements settled, she was still quite busy and needed to visit the village chief's house. The two families usually had a good relationship, and since it was a family matter, she had to go in person.

After the two of them had busily finished preparing the dishes, Old Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Niu arrived at a leisurely pace.

As soon as Grandma Shen entered the courtyard, she ignored everyone and went into the house while calling out "my precious grandson".

Seeing that everyone here was a grown man and there was nothing she could do to help, and not wanting to see Jiang's mother's face in the house, Niu turned and went into the kitchen.

"Oh, you've all finished cooking! I've arrived just in time."

With his hands covered in soot, he reached for the meat on the plate to eat.

Chen Xiuhua grabbed her hand: "Auntie, you've come at just the right time. Look, we were short one person to tend the fire, and you're perfect to fill that role."

Niu didn't want to start the fire; in this sweltering heat, who would want to crawl around and start a fire? But seeing Chen Xiuhua staring intently at her, she couldn't very well refuse.

His eyes darted around and he saw Meizi chopping vegetables next to him. He nudged Meizi aside with his big bottom and shouted, "Go and start the fire, I'll chop these vegetables."

Meizi was a good-tempered person, and she wasn't annoyed when she heard this. She put down the knife and went to start a fire.

Seeing that Niu was chopping vegetables in a very professional manner, Chen Xiuhua was worried about Jiang's mother dealing with her mother-in-law alone. She also thought that the people in the kitchen could be busy, so she took off her apron and carried the chicken soup she had made for Jiang's mother into the house.

As soon as Niu saw Chen Xiuhua leave, she immediately put down the cleaver, picked up a piece of fatty meat and put it in her mouth. While eating, she would take another piece and mutter, "Who made this dish? It tastes pretty good."

Seeing that she had already eaten several pieces and was still eating, Li Taohua couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward, moved the dishes aside, and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, look how much you've eaten. The dishes won't look good when they're served later."

Niu glared at her, spitting out bits of meat, and said sternly, "You're meddling in too many other people's business. What does it have to do with you? I'm eating my own food, not yours."

Because this was Er Ya's aunt, Li Taohua smiled and said, "No, sister-in-law, these dishes will be on the table soon. If you pick out all the meat, it won't look good later."

"Hmph, there's not that much meat. Why don't you cook another pot?"

He stuffed a few more pieces of meat into his mouth, and when he was almost done eating, he picked up a piece of pork that had been cut up next to the cutting board, and wiggled his hips as he walked away.

Li Taohua looked at the plate and saw that only chili peppers were left. She said angrily, "How... how can there be such a person?"

"Okay, sister-in-law, let me cook another plate. It's not too late now."

Li Taohua said through gritted teeth, "I just can't stand such a shameless person. She was nowhere to be seen when I was helping, but she showed up after everything was done and took such a big piece of meat."

Mei said good-naturedly, "She's right, they're family. That's Er Ya's aunt. Let's not talk about it here, or it'll get ugly if she hears us and makes a scene."

Li Taohua muttered a low "Pah!": "What kind of bullshit old lady is she? She's not even as good as an outsider as me in saying or doing anything."

Despite her complaints, she still reluctantly cut another plate of meat, since that plate of chili peppers was really hard to explain.

After leaving, Niu Shi never returned. When all the food was prepared, placed on the table, and everyone was seated, just as they were about to call for dinner, Niu Shi came over with Da Ya. Seeing that they were all seated, she complained, "Why are you all seated? Second brother, that's not right of you. You didn't even go and call us."

He sat down on the table without any ceremony, picked up some meat and put it in his mouth. Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he smiled and said, "Eat up, everyone's here now. Don't be shy, make yourselves at home."

As she spoke, she kept putting meat on Daya's plate. Daya was very excited. Her mother finally knew to put food on her plate. It seemed that her idea to make her mother happy last time was the one that worked.

On such a lively day, Er Ya didn't want to cause any unpleasantness. She decided to just pretend they didn't exist and warmly invited the village chief and the others to eat, saying she was grateful for their help today.

The dishes tonight were the same as those on the menu that Er Ya had mentioned. They ate with gusto, their mouths watering, and they kept praising the cook's excellent skills. Er Ya's family was also very generous; look at this meat, they served it up like it was free.

"Brother Lin, your second son has really made something of himself."

To be continued!