Jiang's mother responded, "Lin Xiao is here. Perfect timing. Don't leave today, your aunt is making noodles."
Er Ya winked at Jiang's mother and called out to Lin Xiao to pour out the medicinal herbs first, teaching him how to wash and dry them. Seeing Lin Xiao seriously tidying up the herbs, she ran back to the kitchen.
He whispered to Jiang's mother about Lin Xiao's ordeal, and Jiang's mother was furious upon hearing it:
"That Lin Shitou is a fool. That's his own son. Lin Xiao's mother was such a good person when she was alive. It's only been a few years, and she wants to kick her son out. This family will get their comeuppance sooner or later."
Er Ya whispered, "Mom, I was also very angry when I heard that, but Brother Lin Xiao was kicked out and has nowhere to stay. I just told Brother Lin Xiao to stay at our house for the night. Mom, you won't blame me, will you?"
Jiang's mother said lovingly, "How could I blame you? I'm so happy that you can help others. You can stay here for more than just one night. Our family can support one person now."
“Mom, I knew you would agree, but I already told him that we would stay for one night and then ask Grandpa Village Chief to take care of their mess. Isn’t it better to rent a small courtyard like this than to be beaten and scolded every day in their house?”
“Okay, it’s fine if he can’t find a place to stay. He can stay as long as he wants.”
Er Ya gave Jiang's mother a quick kiss: "Mom, you're so good."
"Alright, Mom, hurry up and cook. He must be feeling really upset right now. Go and play with him, don't just wander around in the kitchen."
Lin Xiao was packing up the medicinal herbs. Thinking of his father's heartlessness, he worried about how upset his grandfather would be if he knew he wasn't going home that night, and whether his cough would get worse.
As I thought about it, tears started streaming down my face, washing away the dirt from the herbs.
Er Ya ran over and saw Lin Xiao's shoulders trembling. She knew he must have been crying. She cursed Lin Shitou's family in her heart, but she couldn't go up to them now.
Lin Xiao is a very proud person. If he knew that I saw him crying, he would definitely feel embarrassed. But if he doesn't vent his frustration, it will be painful to keep it inside. Oh well, let him cry it out.
She ran out again to find Lin Jianguo.
Lin Xiao had no idea that Er Ya was giving him space to grieve. He cried for a while before wiping away his tears and vowing that when he grew up and became successful, he wouldn't even acknowledge them kneeling before him. Since they had beaten him out, they shouldn't even think about letting him go back.
I will treat those who are good to me even better, but I will definitely take revenge on those who are not good to me when I have the ability to do so.
Having vented my emotions, I felt much better and continued to carefully clean the medicinal herbs.
Er Ya found Lin Jianguo weeding in the field and pulled him to hurry home for dinner: "Dad, don't you know to come home if I don't call you? Look, it's almost dark."
Lin Jianguo said, "I was thinking that this was all I had to do, so I quickly finished it and then stopped."
"Alright, let's go, Dad. Let me tell you, Brother Lin Xiao is at our house. Don't ask any questions later."
She recounted Lin Xiao's ordeal to Lin Jianguo in its entirety. Oh dear, she really didn't want another person to come along and make her explain Lin Xiao's situation to her.
Actually, when Lin Jianguo passed by the village entrance while working, he heard some things about Lin Xiao. He was originally planning to ask Er Ya to call the child back when he got home, but who knew that he was already at his house.
Once inside the courtyard, after putting down the tools, I saw Lin Xiao still bending over to sort through the medicinal herbs. I called out, "Lin Xiao, stop what you're doing and go wash your hands and eat."
Lin Xiao sighed. Although he had eaten here before, the feeling was different this time. He was really just here to freeload.
He silently washed his hands and was about to help serve the food when Jiang's mother chased him out: "Oh dear, go back to your room and sit down, don't burn yourself. Lin Jianguo, come and help serve the food."
Er Ya pulled Lin Xiao to sit down at the table: "Brother Lin Xiao, let's wait here. My mother never lets me help when we're eating noodles."
"Your aunt is so good to you. I really envy you. I will never experience your happiness in this lifetime."
Seeing Lin Xiao's face darken again, Er Ya patted his shoulder to comfort him: "I can be generous and give you half of Mom and Dad. They've always been good to you anyway."
Jiang's mother brought over two bowls of rice and handed one to each of them, saying, "What are you two talking about? Er Ya, help bring the dishes over."
Er Ya, who had just boasted to Lin Xiao, said "Oh" and ran off to the kitchen.
"You child, slow down, you'll fall and hurt yourself."
Hearing Jiang's mother speak to Er Ya in a gentle and tender tone, Lin Xiao felt an even stronger longing for this wonderful home.
Er Ya brought over a plate of braised meat. Knowing that Lin Xiao was coming, Jiang's mother also fried a few eggs and made a stir-fried pork with chili peppers, and gave each person a large bowl of meat noodles.
The food was all ready, and Lin Jianguo urged Lin Xiao to eat quickly, complaining, "Your aunt only prepared such a lavish meal because she saw you were here. We don't usually have this many dishes when we eat noodles."
Jiang's mother rolled her eyes at him: "What's wrong? Have I ever mistreated you two? I make sure you're well-fed at every meal. Lin Xiao, ignore your uncle and eat up."
Afraid that he would be embarrassed to take food, I put a big chopstick of braised meat on Lin Xiao's plate, and also some eggs, urging him to eat quickly because it would get cold soon.
Worried that Er Ya's arms were too short, someone picked up a piece of noodles for her as well. Er Ya slurped the noodles and mumbled:
"So you still remember that you have a daughter like me? I thought you only had eyes for Brother Lin Xiao. Hmph, I'm angry. I need another bite of meat to appease you."
The child's innocent words made the whole family burst into laughter, and even Lin Xiao had a smile on his face.
"Okay, your parents will put some on your plate. Here, eat up."
They also put some food on Lin Xiao's plate without favoritism. Lin Xiao held the bowl and said, "Uncle and Aunt, that's enough. We can't even finish this."
The family enjoyed their meal together. Er Ya ate more than half a bowl of noodles in one go. These handmade noodles were different from those made by machine; they were more chewy, and Er Ya really liked them.
"Mom, these noodles are so delicious! Your cooking skills are amazing. You could open a noodle stall; you'd definitely attract a lot of customers."
"It's not as exaggerated as you say. I just made it on a whim. Eat more if you like."
To be continued!
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