The door opened with a bang, and Jiang Ermin, standing in the doorway, burst into tears: "You'd rather endure your mother's beatings and scoldings than study properly because of me?"
Jiang Damin glanced at Er Ya and complained that she hadn't closed the door properly when she came in. Er Ya shrugged and said, "What does it have to do with me? Who knew he was at the door!"
Jiang Ermin walked into the house and said to Jiang Damin, "Brother, how could you do this? I always thought it was because your grades weren't good that you didn't want to study. How could you be so foolish as to trade your future for mine?"
Jiang Damin said casually, "I'm not as great as you think. I really didn't want to study, and my family was in financial difficulty, so I just decided not to study."
"No, we both need to study hard. I have money; I've been secretly saving it up, waiting for the day it will come in handy."
.
He ran to under his bed, took out a tin can, and opened it with force. Inside were coins of one, two, and five cents, which looked like quite a lot.
Jiang Damin asked him suspiciously, "Where did you get the money? With our family's circumstances, it couldn't have been given to us by our parents. Tell me, where did you get it from? Did you steal it...?"
Jiang Ermin quickly explained, "No, I saved all of this myself. It's from the money I earn when I run errands, and it's also from the money people give me when I help them with their homework. I saved it all myself, and I definitely didn't steal it."
It turns out that Jiang Heping likes to drink, and he always asks Jiang Ermin to buy the alcohol. After this happened many times, Jiang Ermin came up with a plan: he would secretly have people not fill the bottles completely, and then add a little water to them, so he could save up the price difference.
Because the liquor was diluted little by little each time, Jiang Heping never noticed the difference over a long period of time. Occasionally, when too much water was added, he would only curse the liquor seller for being dishonest.
Jiang Heping hid in a corner and cried silently: It turns out he had been drinking fake alcohol for so long.
The liquor seller: You're much better than me. I've taken so many of your insults for nothing.
Jiang Damin said guiltily, "No wonder you're so busy every day, always doing homework. It turns out I misunderstood you."
"Brother, when I grow up, I'll earn even more money. Don't give up on yourself. Let's both study hard. It's only a few years, right? Wait a few more years, and I can do some odd jobs, which will ease the burden on Mom and Dad."
.
Jiang Damin said with a wry smile, "Let's forget about it. My ambitions lie elsewhere. Continuing to study would just be wasting my time. I might as well quit school early and do some work."
Watching this dramatic display of brotherly affection unfold before her, Er Ya shook her head helplessly and said:
"Big cousin, did all that I just said go to waste? Don't worry about the money. Auntie will be starting some small business in a few days."
Putting everything else aside, saving money to send both of you to school shouldn't be a problem, so... what you need to do now is study hard, improve every day, and stop daydreaming all the time."
The brothers' eyes lit up, and they said in unison, "Really? That's great, Er Ya, thank you."
"Hey, don't thank me yet. Apologize to your aunt later, and then you can make her worry less. You can see that she hasn't looked well this afternoon."
"Oh? I understand, I'll apologize to Mother."
Just then, Jiang's mother pushed open the door and came in: "What are you two whispering about in the room? Dinner's ready, hurry up and wash your hands and eat."
Jiang Damin winked at Er Ya, trying to tell her not to tell such an embarrassing story. If everyone knew, he would lose all face.
Jiang Ermin also looked at Er Ya nervously. Although he was not afraid of being found out, if his grandfather found out that he had been drinking water mixed with alcohol for so long, he would definitely get a beating.
Er Ya opened her mouth, looked at the four eyes staring at her nervously, and grinned mischievously: "Mom, she didn't say anything, it's just that my eldest cousin made a mistake again, and I found out. He's trying to argue about it now."
"Oh, I thought you two were arguing inside. You were crying and laughing all the time. Alright, Damin, have you finished writing yet?"
Jiang Damin nodded repeatedly. The fish outside were still waiting for him, so he had to write quickly.
"Then let's hurry up and go, we're just missing you guys."
Jiang Damin cheered and ran off quickly. Er Ya looked at her cousin, who seemed like he would never grow up. He was willing to give up everything for a little food, completely forgetting that she herself was the same way.
Upon entering the main room, Jiang Heping urged, "Hurry up, we've been waiting for you."
The young players found their seats and stared at the food in front of them, eager to try it. Jiang Heping looked at them and said with a smile, "Alright, hurry up and eat. Look at you guys, it's like you haven't eaten in a long time."
Jiang Damin picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and didn't forget to answer the question: "Grandpa, it's been a long time since I've eaten meat, isn't it? I dreamed last night that I was eating braised pork, it smelled so good that I woke up with a start."
Wang Meili said with a stern face, "All you do is eat all day long. Look at Er Ya, she eats slowly and carefully. And look at you."
"..."
Chen Xiuhua tried to smooth things over: "Alright, the child is eating well, don't scold him anymore."
Er Ya picked up a snail and put it in Wang Meili's bowl: "Auntie, try this, how does it taste?"
Wang Meili looked at the snails in front of her, puzzled: "How do you eat these? We've never eaten them before."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Damin snapped the snail in half with a "crack," making a loud yelp as he bit into it.
"What is this thing? It's digging into my throat!"
Oh, how could I forget about that? Er Ya picked up a snail and put it to her mouth: "Look, just like this, suck hard and you'll get the snail meat into your mouth."
There's a bit of skill involved in eating snails. Use your index finger and thumb to put the snail's tail into your mouth, first suck out the juice, then gently pull the snail's tail meat out. This is called "playing hard to get."
Turn the snail over, put the head into your lips and suck hard. The whole snail meat will fall into your mouth. Savor it carefully. Your taste buds will be fully engaged. The freshness and sweetness are so delicious that you will always feel like you can't get enough of it.
Following Er Ya's instructions, the family sat together and tasted it, each making a "sizzling" sound, commonly known as "kissing".
Like playing a unique symphony, the wonderful pleasure is unforgettable.
Jiang Damin sucked for a while, then became impatient: "Hmm~ these snails are really delicious, the only downside is that they're not very filling. I'd better eat the spicy fish I've been craving first."
To be continued!
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