Someone immediately asked, "You must be getting paid quite a bit, right? You've only been working for a few days, and you've already bought so much fabric and cotton."
Er Ya said, "No, my parents saved up for a long time, and with the wages they got today, it's enough."
A woman quickly said, "Oh, this is not bad at all. If your mother quits, do you still need someone else? My cooking skills are also quite good."
Er Ya knew what she was up to as soon as she heard this, and pretended to be aggrieved, saying, "No, it's only because we were busy during the opening days that we let my mother go for a few days. Now that business has slowed down a lot, we don't want my mother to work anymore."
Qian Lu, who was busy and dizzy in the restaurant, sneezed loudly, rubbed his nose, and heard someone coming from the door, so he quickly went to greet them.
Upon realizing there was no hope, the group stopped asking and began discussing the Han family's affairs.
Er Ya had no idea that the latest gossip in the village was about Han's apology.
Hearing them talk about Han's embarrassing moments, Er Ya was very happy. This Han had tried to cheat her out of things time and time again, and she thought she was too young to be fooled.
Moreover, this time they've spread rumors about her mother again. If Aunt Peach Blossom hadn't spoken up for her, she wouldn't have been able to find out who said it no matter how hard she tried. As the rumors spread, they only got more and more outrageous. Even if they came out to clarify...
But how could the gossip of the three of them stand up to the gossip of the whole village? They didn't care if it ruined their mother's reputation; they were just happy to finally have some new gossip to tell.
Thinking about how all the talk these past few days has been about Han's apology, it seems that Mother's matter is now behind us, which is something to be happy about.
Er Ya lay beside the oxcart, looking at the scenery and listening to the women talking about Han Shi. She would laugh out loud every now and then, and wink at them from time to time. Soon they arrived at the village.
Carrying large and small baskets, they disembarked from the oxcart. Before they could even stand still, a person suddenly appeared in front of them, grabbed Jiang's mother, and began to ask:
"You went to town again? Why are you back so early today? What do you think about what I asked the second son to tell you? If you think twenty is too much, I'm your mother-in-law, I can give you fifteen if you want."
After a flurry of words, it turned out to be Old Lady Shen. After returning from Lin Jianguo's house, she felt increasingly uneasy, wondering if they had secretly hidden away her money. After dinner, she stayed in the village, waiting for Lin Jianguo and the others to return.
Seeing that Old Mrs. Shen was asking anxiously, Jiang's mother didn't want to offend her directly, so she nudged Lin Jianguo and asked him to speak.
Lin Jianguo could only say, "Mom, let's go to town today and quit our jobs. You didn't want her to go out and run around either, did you? After her last fight, she had some trouble with the pregnancy, and I want her to rest at home. You can leave the money-making to me."
When Grandma Shen heard that she had quit her job, she immediately exploded: "What? You quit? Who told you to quit? You came here to earn money, but the little money you earned from manual labor isn't even enough for your own household expenses, let alone to supplement your income..." She didn't finish her sentence.
Seeing that she was getting a little out of control, she softened her tone and said, "Didn't I tell you? Kitchen work isn't tiring. It's just cooking. You can do it until you give birth and it's worth a dollar a day. Where else can you find such a good job? Why are you so stubborn?"
Jiang's mother tried to make her tone sound nice, and said softly, "Mom, what's the use of saying this now? I've already quit my job. My boss was a good person and paid me for the past few days. I'm going to stay home and rest during my pregnancy."
Upon realizing there was no way to back out, Old Mrs. Shen had a sudden inspiration and came up with another idea: "Then you should just quit. If you don't go, won't the restaurant be short-staffed? Otherwise, I'll go in your place."
Lin Jianguo sighed and said, "Mother, you're so old, it's time for you to stay home and enjoy your retirement. Why are you still going out to earn money?"
Grandma Shen glared at her: "Don't look down on me. Look at me, I'm much more capable than your wife. Maybe if I go there, the boss will even give me a raise."
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Jiang's mother realized that if she said a few more words, Lin Jianguo might actually agree to let Old Lady Shen take her place at work, which wouldn't do. She quickly helped Old Lady Shen up, saying:
"Mom, you can stay home and rest. After I quit my job today, two chefs came to the restaurant. They tasted the dishes and thought they were good, so the boss decided to keep them on the spot. So we don't need any extra staff for now."
"Are you sure you don't need more people? If you think I'm too old and not efficient, you can send your sister-in-law. It's better if we keep the money ourselves."
Seeing that nothing she said could extinguish Old Mrs. Shen's burning desire to make money, Jiang's mother could only grit her teeth and use her trump card. She took two yuan from her pocket, stuffed it into Old Mrs. Shen's pocket, and said with a pained expression:
"Mom, I got my wages today and bought some things, but I don't have much left. I didn't buy anything for you. Here's some money. Go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy whatever you want to eat."
When Old Lady Shen heard that there was money to be made, and saw that the couple said they didn't need any more people, and also heard that the restaurant was owned by the town mayor's son, she knew that the common people wouldn't fight against the officials, so she didn't dare to cause trouble at the restaurant. She was willing to take the money, even if it wasn't much, it would at least be enough to buy two pounds of meat.
He took out the money, looked at it, and said to Jiang's mother, "Now that you've separated from the family, you're much more sensible than before. If you had done this earlier, wouldn't I have favored your family?"
Jiang's mother inwardly scoffed, thinking: Even if my husband and I fawned over you without eating or drinking, you wouldn't necessarily look up to us. With her husband's mouth, how could he possibly be as eloquent as my brother and his wife? They could turn black into white.
He didn't show it on his face and said, "Yes, yes, Mother, I've remembered. I will definitely take good care of you two in the future."
Seeing that Jiang's mother was so nice, and considering the money, Old Mrs. Shen praised Er Ya, saying that she had gained weight. Without waiting for Er Ya's response, she took the money and left satisfied, forgetting to check what was in their baskets.
When I got home, I carefully locked the money in the box, then slapped my thigh and realized I hadn't checked what was in their baskets. I figured by now everything would be put away, so I gave up.
Er Ya's family had no idea they had escaped a disaster. When they got home, seeing that it wasn't dark yet, Jiang's mother quickly laid out the quilt she had bought, put a layer of cotton on top, and carefully checked that it was spread evenly, otherwise the quilt wouldn't look good.
After laying out the cotton, put the quilt cover on top, thread a needle through it, and start moving the quilt up, down, left, and right.
"Mom, you're amazing! Look at these stitches, they're so neat."
To be continued!
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