Daya quickly cried and explained, "No, Grandma, I didn't hold it properly. I won't do it again. Please don't send me away."

"Hurry up and do the laundry. If I see you throwing things again, you're not allowed to eat anymore."

Er Ya's family was happily strolling around the market. They had already told Qian Lu about it earlier. Qian Lu hadn't expected that he would cause all this trouble. The chefs at the shop had almost finished their training. It was fine if Jiang's mother wanted to stay home to rest during her pregnancy; they couldn't keep letting people talk behind their backs.

They agreed to meet next month at Er Ya's house to give her the dividends and Jiang's mother's salary. Qian Lu watched with resentment as Er Ya's family went shopping in a carefree manner, while he himself had to stay busy in the store. Sigh, career is more important. He cheered himself up and went back to making money.

Er Ya, holding a candied hawthorn in one hand and leading Jiang's mother by the other, headed straight for the place where they had bought the cloth last time. A few days ago, Jiang's mother had wanted to change the inside and outside of the quilt. The old quilt was as stiff as a rock. Now that she had money, she wanted to change it quickly so that the old woman wouldn't covet it.

After searching for a long time, they settled on a red embroidered quilt set for themselves. They also picked out a light green one for Er Ya and weighed out enough cotton. The total came to twenty-two yuan, which was really expensive. Cotton production is so low these days that cotton prices are incredibly high. Some people can use one quilt to cover two generations.

Knowing they were going to buy things today, Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother each carried a basket. After paying, they put the cloth and cotton into the baskets and were about to leave when Er Ya tugged at Jiang's mother's sleeve:

"Mom, the weather is getting warmer. You and Dad should each get some clothes. Look at your clothes, they're patched up so badly they can't be patched any more."

Lin Jianguo, who was standing next to him, shook his head and said, "I don't want the clothes. Otherwise, you can tear them off yourself, my wife."

Jiang's mother also refused: "We're about to have a new addition to the family, so we can't waste money. I'm so pregnant, I won't be able to fit into any clothes if we wait any longer. It would be a waste to give me clothes."

"Dad, Mom, don't worry. I've already talked to Aunt Peach Blossom. We'll start our pig offal business as soon as we start chatting. You don't need to do anything, Mom. I'll have Aunt Peach Blossom clean it. You just need to do the cooking. Dad and I will handle the selling. So don't worry, our family's money will only increase. Listen to me, pretty auntie, get a set of fabric for each of my parents according to their measurements."

The seller, hearing how sweet-talking this young girl was, took extra measurements for her, but still charged her the original price.

After buying the fabric, their business for the day was finished. The three of them wandered around for a while, bought some odds and ends, and then prepared to eat and go home.

I had steamed buns for breakfast, so I didn't want to eat them for lunch. After wandering around for a while, I finally found a place selling oil-splashed noodles. They rolled out the noodles, put them in boiling water three times, added some chili powder and chopped green onions, and then poured hot oil over them. The aroma was so strong that Er Ya could smell it from far away.

When we went up to ask the price, it was 50 cents a bowl. The flour and chili oil were expensive, so the noodles themselves weren't cheap either. We each ordered a bowl and sat down to eat.

Er Ya hadn't eaten noodles in a long time. She ate rice, cornbread, or steamed buns all the time. She ate half a bowl of this fragrant oil-splashed noodles in one go. At that time, the bowls were all big ones, and it was already remarkable for a child of a few years old to eat half a bowl.

After eating her fill, Er Ya patted her round belly and let out a long burp. "Life is so wonderful! I'm well-fed and warmly dressed. I'm as happy as an immortal."

"Mom, let's make more noodles at home from now on, okay? We can make meat noodles, chicken noodles, and make different kinds every day. Let them be so envious that they'll talk badly about you behind your back."

"Okay, okay, if you like this, Mom will make it for you every day from now on, until you don't want to eat noodles anymore."

Lin Jianguo didn't say anything. He poured the half bowl that Er Ya had left into his bowl, added some peeled garlic, and started eating it with gusto. It was so delicious!

After finishing their meal, they drank a bowl of noodle soup, wiped their mouths, and finally felt full. After paying, they had bought almost everything they needed. They reached out, picked up Er Ya, and took Jiang's mother's hand. Then, they prepared to find an oxcart to go home.

Before leaving home, I spread out the medicinal herbs to dry in the yard, afraid that if I returned late, the herbs would get damp from the dew and become worthless.

Er Ya was also worried that Da Hei at home wouldn't be used to it. When she left in the morning, Da Hei insisted on following her. Afraid that it would run away, she had no choice but to find a rope and tie it to the yard. She didn't know how it was doing at home.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they finally found the oxcart. Several people from their village were already sitting on it. When they saw Lin Jianguo and his family approaching from afar, they lowered their heads and whispered:

"Isn't that Lin Lao Er's family? Have you heard? At first, there were rumors that his wife was seeing someone else outside, a young boss, and they were saying it in great detail."

Another woman chimed in: "Your information is clearly outdated. These past few days you've been saying that Han was wronged. Haven't you seen Han standing under that big willow tree these past few days, explaining herself to everyone she meets? Some people even think she's possessed by a ghost."

"That's formidable. There aren't many who can make that old woman Han suffer. This second wife of Lin is no pushover either. We mustn't offend her."

As they were talking, Lin Jianguo and his family walked up to the oxcart, paid the money, and the three of them sat on the oxcart.

A woman called out, "Old man Lin, we've almost finished cooking for everyone. Let's go. Look, it's the middle of the day, and we haven't eaten yet. Let's hurry home so we can cook something."

Old Man Lin had originally planned to wait a while longer until a few more people arrived before leaving, but seeing that someone was urging him on and that it was indeed a bit hot, he drove the oxcart towards the village.

The people on the bus glanced at the baskets Lin Jianguo and his companions were carrying, which were crammed full. After holding back for a while, they finally couldn't help but say:

"Oh my, you bought quite a lot of stuff, look, it's almost overflowing!" she said, while rummaging through the container with her hands.

Another woman chimed in, "Oh my, this must have cost a lot of money. Look at this material, it's really nice. When will we be able to afford such good material?"

"Yes, yes, look at this pattern, isn't it beautiful?"

Er Ya moved the basket around and said with a smile, "It must have cost a lot of money. Luckily, my mother worked at the restaurant for a few days. She told the boss she was quitting, got her wages, and then bought these things."

To be continued!