In the courtyard, Li Taohua, who had just returned, put the washed pig offal in the water, said hello, and was about to go home to cook when Jiang's mother called her back and told her that she would be hired by her on a monthly basis.

"Look, I'll give you seven yuan a month, what do you think?"

Li Taohua couldn't believe that such a good thing had really fallen from the sky. Had her daily prayers finally worked? How could such a good thing have happened to her?

He asked awkwardly, "Sister-in-law, don't scare me. It really is only seven yuan a month. I'm just doing some work. How can I ask for so much money?"

"My health isn't very good during this pregnancy, so I have to take medicine every day to regulate it. Er Ya doesn't want me to be too tired, so I'll rely on you from now on. We've already agreed on the salary, so don't worry."

Li Taohua was so moved that her eyes welled up with tears. She uttered a tearful "Ai" and then couldn't say anything else.

Er Ya came back humming a nursery rhyme. As soon as she entered the yard, she shouted, "Mom, we dug up so many river clams today! Let's eat these tonight! We also have a soft-shelled turtle. It's very nutritious, but Mom, you can't eat it."

Lin Xiao, who was following behind, also called out, "Auntie."

Jiang's mother sighed and looked at the river clam that Lin Xiao had brought back: "What are you going to do with this thing? Is it edible?"

She had never heard of this being edible. If it were edible, it would have been fished out long ago. The children from the village run up and down the river seven or eight times a day, and they would have already plundered everything edible.

Er Ya chimed in, "Mom, this is delicious! After I'm done cleaning, you can cook and we'll have a big feast."

If Er Ya says it's edible, then it must taste pretty good.

Er Ya pulled Li Tao Hua: "Aunt Tao Hua, why don't you eat here today too? Call Brother Gou Dan over as well. Brother Lin Xiao is here too, let's have a belated housewarming dinner."

Li Taohua readily agreed, smiling as she said, "Then I'll go home and get some pickled cabbage and pickled peppers. You probably don't have much of that, so let's make a few more dishes to have some fun."

Having a stable job and being able to take care of the family is such a wonderful thing; we should definitely celebrate!

Jiang's mother nodded: "That's great. When we divided the family property, the pickled cabbage we were given was all gone. I'm even craving some pickled cabbage now."

Li Taohua ran home to get her things.

Er Ya and Jiang's mother discussed how to prepare the turtle. It tastes better when stewed for a while, so they needed to clean it first.

Jiang's mother, who had been a young girl at home before, had seen the turtle being handled by her family. While processing it, she exclaimed in amazement, "How did you catch such a big turtle? This thing is very fierce; once it bites someone, it won't let go."

Er Ya winked at Jiang's mother: "Hehe, maybe it likes me. When it crawled in front of me, I turned it over, and it couldn't run away."

Jiang's mother immediately understood, and without asking any further questions, focused on preparing the turtle.

First, turn the turtle over so its shell is facing down. Sensing danger, the turtle will try to flip itself over, stretching its neck. When its neck is fully extended, chop it off with a knife.

Stand the turtle upright, cut along the shell with a knife, remove all the internal organs from its belly, and rinse it clean with water.

Put the turtle shell and meat into the pot, add ginger, scallions and peppercorns. Add a large pot of water for the large number of people. Lin Xiao had been watching over the place for a long time, and finally he had something to do. He quickly took the lead in starting the fire before Lin Jianguo.

Seeing that the boy was stealing his credit, Lin Jianguo glared at him and went back to the yard to continue whittling bamboo sticks.

After the turtle was prepared, Er Ya and Li Taohua went to clean the river clams. There wasn't much water left at home, so they had to go to the river again.

It's so inconvenient to do this every time. I wish we could have a well dug at home someday. Er Ya had this idea in mind and planned to start looking for someone to dig a well when she had some free time.

"Hey, Li Taohua, I see you running to Lin Jianguo's house every day, trying to curry favor with the Lin family. They're dirt poor, what's the use of you trying to curry favor with them?"

"That's right, you'd be better off spending that time feeding more pigs or something and paying back our debts as soon as possible."

The one speaking was Gou Dan'er's aunt, who was extremely sharp-tongued and sarcastic, especially when it came to Li Taohua's shortcomings. Every time she saw Li Taohua, she would make a few sarcastic remarks.

Li Taohua could only force a smile and say, "Auntie, please give me a little more time. I'll give it to you first when I get it."

"Hey, don't say I'm being heartless. I'll give you another month. If you don't pay up by now, I'll raise the interest rate."

Li Taohua nodded helplessly and fled to the riverbank as if she were escaping.

Er Ya, with her short legs, couldn't keep up with her and was pulled back by the woman:

"Let me tell you, Er Ya, go home and tell your mother not to get too close to Li Taohua. She's the worst kind of bad luck. That old woman was perfectly healthy before, but she's only been married a few years and she's already ruined your family. Be careful, or your family might get ruined too."

Er Ya glanced at the woman in front of her who was trying to sow discord and said, "Auntie, our family knows what kind of person Aunt Peach Blossom is. You should mind your own business."

He struggled free from her and went to find Li Taohua.

"Pah, you ungrateful wretch! I'm trying to warn you, but you're just like that jinx Li Taohua. You're a waste of my breath."

When Er Ya arrived at the riverbank, Li Taohua had already been waiting for a while. Seeing Er Ya approach, she said apologetically, "Er Ya, look at your aunt's memory. She was so busy hiding from her aunt that she forgot you were still behind her."

She hated her sister-in-law for always making sarcastic remarks whenever they met. Because she owed her money, she could only smile and be accommodating every time. She would save a little this month, and when she got her salary, she would definitely pay her back the ten yuan.

"It's alright, Auntie, let's hurry up and wash the clams. Let's eat all the good food and not care what others say."

Pry open each clam one by one, discard the unwanted black innards and skirt, and what remains is the delicious white meat.

There weren't many clams in the basket to begin with, but Li Taohua quickly cleaned them all and then took Er Ya's hand as they went home.

Jiang's mother had already prepared several dishes at home. She stir-fried the offal into "bandit pig liver," stir-fried the pig stomach, fried a few eggs, and used the pickled cabbage that Li Taohua had brought to make a pickled cabbage stew with meat. She also added some chopped pickled peppers, stir-fried two dishes to go with drinks, and there was also a large bowl of turtle soup.

The table was piled high with food, and some rice and steamed buns were also prepared. You could eat whatever you wanted.

As soon as Er Ya entered the courtyard, she smelled a rich aroma. She ran to the main room and exclaimed, "Wow! This is such a feast! I want to eat more!"

Jiang's mother looked at the happy Er Ya with amusement: "Alright, let's all eat our fill today. Whoever isn't full isn't allowed to leave the table."

To be continued!