“They’re eating big meals here, while my husband and I are eating coarse food over there. What use is this son to me? I might as well strangle him. God, please strike him dead with lightning.”

Hearing Old Mrs. Shen's increasingly absurd remarks, Jiang's mother chimed in, "Mother, we've already separated the family. We don't need to report to you what we eat, do we? Besides, Jianguo is your own son. Listen to what you're saying! Are you happy if you curse him to death?"

These words left Old Mrs. Shen speechless for a long time. Seeing that Old Mrs. Shen was silent, Mrs. Niu chimed in:

“Sister-in-law, you’re wrong to say that. Our parents are both doing well. Even if we’ve separated the family, you should still think about them. We can’t have one side being rich and the other starving to death.”

Jiang's mother understood now; these two had come for that pile of stuff. How could anyone be so shameless?

“Mom, it’s not like we’re not going to give you anything. You said you’d give us fifty yuan a year as a New Year’s gift, and we gritted our teeth and agreed, didn’t we? It’s just that Jingyu brought over some children’s things today. Jianguo and I were planning to pick out a few things that you and Dad could eat and send them to you later, but who knew you would come first.”

When Grandma Shen heard that there was a chance, she stopped crying and making a fuss on the ground, stood up and said, "Take me to see what you took. I'm here now, so I can just take it back with me and save you from having to make another trip."

How could someone so blatantly ask for things, and so self-righteously at that? Jiang's mother definitely didn't want Old Lady Shen and Madam Niu to see the things. Just kidding, if they saw them, would they still leave anything for Er Ya? They would definitely take it all.

Jiang's mother pointed to the things on the table in the main room and said, "Mother, look, we've already eaten half of the fish we took. We also took a bucket of malted milk powder for Er Ya, and some other food. They've all finished eating today."

Grandma Shen pursed her lips: "Look at them driving cars, they must be quite rich. How come rich people are so stingy? Never mind, since you've already eaten half of the fish, I'll take the other half. And this malted milk powder, why would a little kid like her drink this? Your father likes to drink this, I'll take it back for him to drink."

Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother realized that they were going to take everything away. Luckily, she had put the other things away, thinking she would save them to eat slowly, otherwise they would definitely have been taken away all at once today.

When Lin Jianguo heard that his mother was going to take everything away, he hesitated and said, "Mom, why don't you take the fish and eat it? How about we leave the malted milk powder for Er Ya? Look how thin Er Ya is, she can gain some weight if she drinks this."

"Why is she so thin? She's just a little girl, why does she need to be so fat? She can't be eaten. Eldest daughter, take the things and let's go." As soon as Old Mrs. Shen spoke, Madam Niu quickly stepped forward to take the things and followed Old Mrs. Shen.

Er Ya thought to herself: You guys go ahead and eat, but be careful not to get fish bones stuck in your throats. I've never met such shameless people in my past and present lives. They're like bandits, they're practically robbing us.

Jiang's mother glared at Lin Jianguo as she watched Old Lady Shen and her companion swagger out, then put her arm around Er Ya and went inside. She was seething with anger, but she couldn't vent it. She had thought that everything would be better after the family split up, but things were still the same. When would this end?

Lin Jianguo felt wronged. He didn't want things to be this way and tried to reason with his mother, but what could he do if she insisted on doing it this way? In this era, filial piety is the most important thing. If he disobeyed his mother and the old lady got sick, he would be scolded and cursed wherever he went.

Seeing that Jiang's mother was ignoring him, Lin Jianguo had no choice but to go to Er Ya's room to sleep.

Er Ya's good mood for the day was ruined in an instant. She thought to herself that she must raise a fierce dog. If they came again, she would bite them out and scare them so that they would never dare to step into their house again.

Knowing that Jiang's mother was upset, Er Ya deliberately teased her: "Mom, don't frown. I heard that if a pregnant woman is in a bad mood and always frowns, the baby she gives birth to will look like a little old man. Do you want my little brother to look like a little old man?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother felt a little scared. She didn't want a child who looked like a little old man, so she forced a smile.

"And it's just some stuff. Don't worry, if you want to eat fish, I'll catch you an even bigger one tomorrow. They'll be so envious."

Thinking of her daughter's extraordinary abilities, Jiang's mother felt no more unhappy. Her daughter was a very fortunate person, and she couldn't let her daughter be unhappy because of these things.

"Alright, Mom knows you're trying to make me happy. I'm content with you two children. If she wants those things, she can have them. Just don't bully my Er Ya anymore. Alright, go to sleep now. Mom will hold you while you sleep tonight."

Nothing was said that night.

The next morning, Qian Lu sent someone to pick up Jiang's mother. This time, Er Ya went along as well. The pig offal she had bought last time hadn't been eaten because of the family division dispute. Today, she wanted to see if there was a chance to buy some more.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Qian Lu, who was supervising the construction, was overjoyed to see Er Ya: "Er Ya, what brings you here today? Was the fish delicious yesterday?"

Er Ya made a face: "It smells so good! Too bad some people can't have it, hehehehehe."

Qian Lu was so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time. Er Ya saw that Jiang's mother had gone to the kitchen to work and wouldn't be able to accompany her to the market for a while, so she decided to go by herself.

When Jiang's mother mentioned it, she immediately refused. There were so many people and it was so chaotic at the market. What if there were people trying to seduce her? She coaxed Er Ya to play by herself in the house for a while, and said she would go with her after she finished her work.

Er Ya could only play by herself in frustration. Then, her eyes darted around and she saw Qian Lu idling over there. How could she have forgotten about him?

She ran into the kitchen and called out to her mother, "Mom, can I go with Brother Qian Lu? He said he's going to buy something."

Upon hearing that Er Ya would be accompanied, Jiang's mother felt relieved. Qian Lu seemed like a reliable child. Er Ya was indeed quite bored here by herself, and she couldn't finish her work in a short time. If she wanted to go out and have some fun, then let her go.

Er Ya, bouncing around, ran up to Qian Lu again: "Brother Qian Lu, do you want to eat fish? Delicious pickled fish, I didn't get enough last night."

Upon hearing this, Qian Lu's eyes lit up. What? Fish? Where? I want to eat it, I want to eat pickled fish!

To be continued!