"Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. Er Ya, bring out your father's wine and let him have a good time."

"Okay!"

Li Taohua brought some food to her mother-in-law. When she returned, Er Ya greeted her as soon as she reached the door and urged her to sit down and eat.

A lively group sat down at the table. Er Ya picked up her wine glass and said to everyone:

"This is the first time we've all gathered together. It's fate that we can sit at the same table and eat together. I hope that in the future we will all have enough to eat, be warm enough to wear, and have all our wishes fulfilled. I'd like to offer you all a toast with tea instead of wine."

"Alright, kid, what are you toasting for? Look at this table, besides your dad, who else can drink? Where did this kid learn all these drinking skills?"

Lin Jianguo said happily, "I love to hear that. My daughter can toast me now. I wish our future will be even better."

Li Taohua stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, I don't want to hear you say that. I'm happy today, so I'll have a drink with you."

Jiang's mother pulled her to sit down: "Alright, hurry up and eat first. Look at the eyes of these little ones, they're all staring at the food. You all should eat quickly."

Upon hearing Jiang's mother speak, Lin Jianguo and Er Ya immediately started picking up their chopsticks and grabbing the dishes they wanted. Lin Xiao stood there stunned. Er Ya nudged his arm and said, "Brother Lin Xiao, what are you doing? Hurry up and eat. Make yourselves at home, or there won't be any food left."

Then he pointed at Gou Dan'er and shouted, "You should eat too! I'm not going to be polite with you guys, you're the ones who are going hungry anyway."

Seeing Er Ya quickly picking up the dishes they had been drooling over, the two of them didn't stand on ceremony and started eating with her. Every now and then they would argue over a piece of meat: "This is the one I saw first."

"Hehehehe, whoever grabs it first gets to keep it."

"Er Ya, you've gone too far. How come you always manage to get the food I want first?"

The group scrambled to eat, creating quite a lively scene. Lin Jianguo watched their commotion, took a sip of his drink, and occasionally glanced at Er Ya with a smile. Only when the house was bustling and noisy like this did it feel alive.

Jiang's mother and Li Taohua each took a steamed bun and started eating. Li Taohua watched as Gou Dan and Er Ya fought over food. She wanted to say a few words to him, thinking, "How old are you? Why are you still fighting with your younger sister for food?"

Just as she was about to get up, Jiang's mother pulled her back: "Peach Blossom, let them make a fuss. Er Ya is no pushover either; that child has a lot of mischievous ideas. They're just trying to have some fun."

Look at Gou Dan'er, how long has it been since he's been this happy? And Lin Xiao, he's always so quiet and reserved, it's rare to see him like this. Let's just eat our food in peace and not concern ourselves with their childish affairs.

Li Taohua watched as Er Ya deliberately flaunted a piece of meat in front of Gou Dan'er, making Gou Dan'er's face turn red with anger, yet he seemed helpless. She secretly smiled for a while, finally seeing the boy get his comeuppance.

Lin Xiao was worried that if he went back too late, his stepmother would take the opportunity to cause trouble, so he quickly ate some food and was about to go back when Er Ya handed him a steamed bun with some vegetables inside.

"Brother Lin Xiao, you don't eat as much as I do. You won't be able to sleep if you don't eat enough at night. Here, take this and eat it slowly on the way."

Lin Jianguo told Jiang's mother to let him take it, so Lin Xiao accepted it. Afraid of running into people, he deliberately chose to walk on secluded paths. Fortunately, there were not many people wandering around on the road at that time, and he returned home safely.

Er Ya's family treated him so well, he didn't want his mother to go to their house and scold them like she scolded that old woman. When would he grow up? When he grew up, he could leave this family.

Er Ya and Gou Dan'er were fighting over food and were so full that they were groaning and clutching their bellies. Da Hei rolled around in their bellies, indicating that he was also full.

"You two, eat some of these wild fruits to aid digestion. Don't go to bed too early tonight, or you'll feel terrible."

The two of them sat in the courtyard, leisurely eating fruit.

Li Taohua drank a glass of wine and got a little drunk. Jiang's mother told her to go home, but she refused and insisted on helping to tidy up, chatting as she did so.

"Sister-in-law, you don't know how I feel. I don't even know what kind of life I'm living every day. There's someone in the family who needs money to support, even though we don't only have one son."

But as you know, my mother-in-law didn't give birth to my eldest daughter. When she first got sick, she helped take care of her for a couple of days, but then she saw that she was completely bedridden and abandoned her completely.

There was no other way; we couldn't just watch my mother-in-law die like that. We had to shoulder this burden. My sister-in-law had always disliked me, and ever since we borrowed money from her last year, she's become even worse.

Every time you see me, you make sarcastic remarks. You have no idea how painful it is for me, sob sob sob~.

Jiang's mother comforted her, "Alright, Peach Blossom, things will get better. Look at the life I had before, it's not like things are getting better now, is it?"

Li Taohua couldn't stop the tears in her eyes: "Sister-in-law, I'm so glad you didn't look down on me and even hired me to work. I don't know how to thank you enough."

"Okay, didn't I tell you? If you keep saying that, I'll really get angry."

Li Taohua wiped away her tears: "I'm so happy today. You're paying me a salary, and the family has an extra source of income. I feel like there's finally something to look forward to. I've already made up my mind. This month, even if I don't eat or drink, I'll pay back that money to her. I never want to see her face again."

Hearing Li Taohua's crying, Er Ya turned to look at Gou Dan'er and saw that his eyes were also glistening with tears. However, he kept blinking to prevent the tears from falling, afraid that others would see.

Er Ya patted his shoulder: "Brother Gou Dan, go ahead and cry, I won't laugh at you."

Dog Egg stubbornly turned his body away, not wanting Er Ya to see his tears.

Er Ya knew he needed some quiet, so she stood up to go play with the little pig for a while, when a weak voice came from behind her:

"Er Ya, thank you, thank you your family. You gave my mother hope. I've seen her secretly cry more than once."

Once, I even saw her take a bottle of rat poison and put it under her bed. I was so scared that I hugged her and cried. I was so afraid that one day I would wake up and only be able to touch her cold body.

So I was mischievous and tried all sorts of ways to annoy her, just to give her the motivation to live. Otherwise, without her, I don't know what would become of me in the future.

Er Ya patted his hand: "I'm sharing some of my good fortune with you. I believe your family will get better and better. You should also work hard so that when you grow up, Aunt Tao Hua can enjoy a good life."

Li Taohua was still rambling on and on, but then she fell asleep.

"Dog Egg, your mother is drunk and asleep. Let me help you take her home."

To be continued!