She forced a smile. "Er Ya is hungry. Let's start eating, Mom."

When Jiang's mother saw that Lin Jianguo's face was not good, she knew that the old house must have caused trouble again. There were some things she couldn't say, so she could only quickly serve him a big bowl of chicken, hoping that eating more meat would make him forget these troubles.

Er Ya took a sip of the stewed chicken soup. The flavor was fresh and rich, without any seasoning. It was the pure, original flavor of the wild pheasant, making it so delicious that she couldn't stop drinking it. The mushrooms were infused with the flavor of the chicken soup and tasted even better than the chicken itself.

"Mom, your cooking is amazing! It's so delicious. You could open a restaurant someday!" Er Ya said as she ate.

"Just eat your food. You're running a restaurant? I'll just cook for you. My cooking skills aren't good enough for a proper meal," Jiang's mother said with a smile, then put a big chicken leg on Er Ya's plate. There was a lot of meat in this place, which was suitable for children.

Er Ya smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Mother." She secretly thought to herself, "I'll definitely work hard to open a restaurant for Mother someday—no, I'll let her be the boss, and she'll just have to collect the money."

After the family finished eating, they emptied out all the mushrooms they had picked that day, cleaned them, and laid them out to dry on the ground, waiting to take them to the market to sell the next day.

After a long day, Er Ya fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed. Her body was too small and she needed plenty of sleep to grow up quickly.

Jiang's mother tucked Er Ya in, took out the floral fabric she had bought last time, and took advantage of the few days she had free to quickly make clothes for her daughter. While sewing, she chatted with Lin Jianguo: "What's wrong with you today? Did your mother say something again?"

Lin Jianguo felt sorry for Jiang's pregnant mother and didn't want her to feel bad after hearing the harsh words his mother had said, so he smiled and said, "It's okay. Dad said your chicken is delicious, and Mom also told you to take care of yourself and not overwork yourself."

Jiang's mother thought to herself, "Has the sun risen in the west? She actually cares about me now." She shook her head, somewhat disbelieving, but said nothing and silently continued with her work.

The next morning, Jiang's mother got up early to cook. They had agreed the day before that the three of them would go to the market today.

I reheated the leftover chicken soup from yesterday and steamed some cornbread. The cornbread soaked in the rich chicken soup tasted pretty good. The three of us quickly finished eating, then carried the mushrooms and headed out.

Lin Jianguo felt sorry for Er Ya, who had walked such a long way last time and was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she got back. Moreover, Jiang's mother was also here today, so he couldn't let her get tired. After thinking it over, he decided to take the oxcart.

Arriving at the place where the oxcart was parked at the east end of the village, the driver was Old Man Lin from the village. During the busy farming season, he would drive the oxen to work in the fields. Now that it was the off-season, he would harness the oxen to the cart and make two trips a day to earn enough money for food.

Seeing that there was still space inside the oxcart, Lin Jianguo handed six cents to Old Man Lin, picked up Er Ya, and got on the cart, taking the basket down and placing it at his feet.

Li Taohua, Lin Shengli's wife, was extremely envious when she saw the basket full of mushrooms. She said, "Sister-in-law Lin, where did you pick so many mushrooms? They must be worth a lot of money. Oh, can you take me with you next time?"

Er Ya replied with a smile, "Auntie, it's up on the mountain. You can go pick it if you want."

Another woman chimed in, "We can't believe you. Yesterday, your mother told Han that there were lots of mushrooms on the mountain, which made Han search for them all night. She even caught a cold when she got back."

Jiang's mother was very surprised: How could that be? There are indeed many mushrooms on that mountain, how could she not find them?

Li Taohua said, "Maybe she didn't find the right place. The mountain is so big, it's possible she got lost. Sister-in-law Lin, you must call me when you go up the mountain again."

Jiang's mother responded with a smile, and the group then chatted merrily about other people's gossip.

The oxcart was much faster than a person. The group was talking animatedly about Wang Dabao's wife in the village. She was very shrewish and had scratched his face over a trivial matter.

Just as the story was getting to an exciting part, we arrived at the market. We were so engrossed in the conversation that we had to abruptly interrupt, feeling a little reluctant to leave.

They agreed to meet here at a certain time. Lin Jianguo then led Jiang's mother and Er Ya to go shopping. There were too many things to buy this time. Jiang's mother brought 100 yuan. When the family divided the property, they only had a little grain. With the weather getting warmer, they also wanted to buy some piglets to raise until the end of the year. They could then slaughter them and sell half of the piglets, keeping the other half for their own consumption. This would also be a source of income.

We need to buy a few more chicks so that Er Ya can raise them and they can lay eggs for her to eat. There are also many other things to buy, so we need to be careful with our money. Although 200 yuan seems like a lot, we still need to give 50 yuan to the old house and 100 yuan to buy the new house. Although the village chief guaranteed that the money could be given slowly, it would be difficult for the village chief if it dragged on for too long.

Once they had decided what to buy, they dragged Er Ya straight to the farmers' market. They found an empty stall, paid the stall fee, poured out all the mushrooms, arranged them neatly, and then waited for customers to come in.

Hearing the hawking calls from the side, Er Ya's eyes lit up, and she shouted loudly: "Come and see! Freshly picked mushrooms, they'll make you feel good, you won't regret spending the money, only two cents a pound, come quickly if you want some, limited quantity, first come first served, if you come late, they'll be gone."

The child's innocent voice attracted people's attention. A little girl, about three or four years old, was not shy at all, greeting passersby.

"Pretty auntie, would you like to buy some mushrooms? They're good for your skin and will give you plenty of energy."

His words made the man feel bad if he didn't buy anything. He stepped forward and touched Er Ya's face: "Oh my, this little girl is so good at talking. She's also very pretty. She'll definitely charm a lot of young men when she grows up. These mushrooms are pretty good. Give me five pounds."

Hearing the praise, Er Ya smiled and her eyes curved into crescents: "No way, Auntie is still the prettiest. Mom, hurry up and weigh the mushrooms for Auntie."

Jiang's mother smiled broadly at the woman in front of her, who was older than her. "Oh my daughter's mouth! She really knows how to sweet-talk people. Now business is coming to her door." She quickly weighed out a full five catties of mushrooms and handed them to the woman.

"Pretty auntie, I've weighed it for you. If you like it, come again next time. We've been selling mushrooms here for the past few days." Anyway, it seems that only they have found the mushrooms on the mountain. There aren't that many, enough for them to sell for several days.

The woman responded, gave Jiang's mother a dollar, and left happily. Er Ya was busy calling for the next target:

"Grandma, would you like some mushrooms? Look how fresh they are! My mom and I just picked them. They're only two cents a pound. If you're tired of eating cabbage and pickled vegetables, you can give your family a change of pace."

To be continued!