It turned out that the puppy was showing her what it had dug up. There was a small pile of gastrodia elata on the ground, still covered in dirt. This was much more valuable than the half-coin she had just dug up.

"Wow, you're amazing, little puppy! Did you dig all of this up? How did you know this stuff would be useful to me?"

The puppy wagged its tail rapidly and let out a soft yelp. "Great! I'm glad I could help her." It remembered the spot because it had seen someone digging there before.

Er Ya picked up the gastrodia elata from the ground and put it in her basket. She waved to the puppy and said, "I'm going home now. Goodbye, little puppy. I'll come back to play with you next time."

The puppy, which was wagging its tail happily, became visibly unhappy when it heard that Er Ya was leaving, and stopped wagging its tail.

Er Ya walked back slowly. She had been out for half a day and was thirsty. She needed to hurry home and get some water.

After walking for a while, she felt a sound following her. She turned around but saw nothing. Was she just being paranoid? She continued walking, and then the sound came from behind her again.

She pretended not to hear the sound and continued walking forward. When she felt the sound getting closer, she suddenly turned around and found that it was the little dog following her.

"Little puppy, I'm going home now, don't follow me anymore."

After she finished speaking, seeing that the puppy was still following her, she didn't care whether the puppy could understand or not: "Are you lost? Do you want to come home with me? But in my area, dogs are all tied up with leashes. If that happens, you'll lose your freedom. Are you willing to do that?"

As if understanding her words, the puppy came forward and rubbed against her feet to show its agreement. It liked the scent of the person in front of it, which had a great attraction to it.

Seeing that the puppy was willing to go home with her, she thought that it must not be able to find its mother. It was probably going to be eaten by wild animals in the deep mountains. Going home with her was fine, at least she wouldn't let it go hungry.

"Then you can come with me. I see you have all black fur, so I'll call you Big Black, okay?"

No, the puppy isn't right. From now on, we'll call it Big Black. Wagging its tail, it really likes the name.

The girl and her dog went home. On the way, they met someone, the same Han Shi, who had been waiting for Er Ya for a long time. As soon as she saw Er Ya return, she quickly went up to her and asked, "Hey, Er Ya, I heard your mother doesn't want you and your father anymore? Is that true? Does that mean you've become an unwanted child?"

"Who said that? Her mouth is rotten! Does having a mouth mean you can just spout nonsense? If I knew who was talking behind her back, I would have gone to her house and smashed her pots and pans."

"Look at you, child, you can't even let people say what they want to say. If your mother didn't do this, people can't just make things up about her like that. Fine, I won't ask you anymore." She walked away, swaying her big buttocks guiltily.

Er Ya was so angry she felt like her lungs were about to explode. How dare they ask her that to her face? You can imagine how much the rumors had spread throughout the village.

She stormed home and, upon seeing Lin Jianguo, asked, "Dad, do you know what people in the village are saying about Mom? How could they say such things? Mom was clearly going to work."

When Lin Jianguo saw Er Ya's expression, he knew that she knew everything that was being said in the village. He thought to himself, "Why are you telling such things to a child who is only a few years old?"

"Don't worry about what they say, just know what we're doing and live our own lives well."

"Father, but we can't let Mother suffer these insults for no reason. No, I have to find out who spread these rumors."

Er Ya suddenly remembered that she still owed Aunt Tao Hua next door a few eggs, so she took six eggs from the kitchen and went next door.

He knocked on Aunt Peach Blossom's courtyard gate first: "Aunt Peach Blossom, are you home?"

Li Taohua was cooking when she heard someone shouting outside. Who could it be in the middle of the day?

When they came out, they saw it was Er Ya: "Oh my, who is it? It's Er Ya! Come, come, come in and play."

Er Ya handed the eggs to Li Taohua: "Auntie, I came today to return the eggs. I've been forgetting to give them to you for the past few days."

"Look at you, child, you could have just taken the eggs and eaten them, why did you have to bring them back to your aunt?" She hesitated, unwilling to accept them.

"Auntie, as the saying goes, 'If you borrow and return it, it's easy to borrow again.' I said I borrowed your eggs, so you have to return them. I put them in the kitchen for you."

"Auntie, Brother Gou Dan isn't home."

"That brat, who knows where he's gone off to for the rest of his life. Unlike you, Er Ya, who's so well-behaved and helps with chores around the house. Unlike that rascal, he's always getting into trouble." Li Taohua was furious just thinking about her son.

"Auntie, Brother Gou Dan is still young. He'll be more sensible when he gets older."

"What do you mean 'young'? You're even younger than him! Look at him, he goes out for a bit and comes back covered in dirt. I've told him so many times, but he won't listen. Ugh!"

"Auntie, actually, I came here today because I need to talk to you about something. I'm planning to start a small business in a few days. We just need to pay a stall fee at the market, right? That way, we can set up a stall."

I was thinking of selling some food, but as you know, my mother is pregnant now, and I'm worried that some chores might tire her out. So, I'd like to ask my aunt to help us with some cleaning. I'll teach you how to do it.

Then each time, I'll give you two cents for your work. If business is good and you wash a lot, I'll give you more money. It depends on whether you can do it.

Upon hearing this, Li Taohua thought it was a great thing. She was idle at home with nothing to do anyway, and this was just washing some things to earn money. Two cents a time was enough for her family to buy some meat to improve their meals.

On the surface, she remained modest, saying, "Look at Er Ya, if you want your aunt to help you, I can help you for a few days. How could I possibly take your money?"

"Auntie, if you agree, we'll go with this price. How can we let someone work for free? Besides, we might need more people later, and we'll definitely give you priority."

Li Taohua had no choice but to agree immediately. Goodness, the Lin family is really something else. Their business is obviously huge. Old Mrs. Shen will regret giving away such a capable family later.

With the matter settled, Er Ya wanted to ask about other things:

"Auntie, there's something else I want to ask you. You've heard what's been going on in the village about my mother, haven't you? They're all talking nonsense. My mother works as a chef in a restaurant, teaching people how to cook, and that's how these rumors started."

Auntie, I want to ask you if you know who said that?

Upon hearing this, Li Taohua hesitated. She did know who had spread the rumor, and they had described it in a very convincing way. But it wasn't good to talk about someone behind their back.

To be continued!