Others joined in the jeering, saying, "Why are you running so fast? Are you in a hurry to go home and get money to buy sunflower seeds?"
"Hahahahaha".
An elderly man in the crowd asked, "Second son, did you really buy this? Oh my, you've really made something of yourself! Your parents are so lucky. Unlike me, this old woman has never even ridden a bicycle at my age."
Lin Jianguo said with a smile, "I just bought it because it's convenient, so I gritted my teeth and bought it."
Li Taohua's sister-in-law said sarcastically, "Oh my, where are you making money? No wonder Li Taohua runs to your house every day to curry favor with you. It turns out there's some lucrative business to be had."
Er Ya was displeased when she heard this: "That's not right. We neighbors are just helping each other. Aunt Tao Hua isn't doing this for any personal gain."
"Does anyone know? Didn't you remember what I told you last time? If you get stigma, you're just waiting to be unlucky."
"Then let's see who's going to be unlucky. Only those who do bad things and sow discord every day will be unlucky."
Just then, a bird flying in the sky suddenly felt a pain in its stomach, and with a "plop," a warm bird dropping fell on Sister-in-law Li Taohua's head.
Just as she was about to argue with Er Ya a few more times, she felt a heat on the top of her head. She reached up and touched it, exclaiming, "Aaaaaah! Where did this damn bird come from? Doesn't it have eyes?"
Er Ya covered her nose and said, "Go home and wash up, it stinks."
He stormed home in a rage, not forgetting to threaten her as he left: "You just wait, I'll talk to you when I get back."
Er Ya laughed until her stomach hurt, clutching her belly: "Hahaha, looks like she's the one who's going to be unlucky first. Humph, Mom and Dad, let's go home."
The remaining people didn't dare say anything in front of them.
After they saw them walk away, they started huddled together and whispering amongst themselves, saying things that were definitely not pleasant.
The ringing sound attracted Li Taohua. When she opened the door, she saw that Er Ya and her family from next door had returned, riding bicycles.
He ran up to the bicycle and touched it with great interest: "Did you just buy this? It feels so nice to the touch. It must have cost a lot of money."
Er Ya smiled mysteriously, afraid that the walls might be overheard, and pulled Li Taohua to their house.
Just then, a person lurked in a corner not far away, eavesdropping on their conversation: "What are they saying? Why can't I hear them?"
She glanced ahead furiously and stamped her foot, exclaiming, "How could this person be so sneaky? I didn't hear anything!"
There was nothing I could do but leave in a huff.
This was Lin Jianguo's first bicycle. He was so happy that after riding it back, he kept wiping it with a cloth, grinning from ear to ear.
Seeing Lin Jianguo's silly look, Jiang's mother laughed so hard she could hardly stand up straight, while Li Taohua anxiously paced around her, saying, "Sister-in-law, don't worry me, this is what you bought, right?"
Er Ya, unable to bear seeing Li Taohua so anxious, said to her, "Of course we bought it. It cost 180 yuan. If we hadn't sold the pork, we wouldn't have been able to buy it."
"You guys really went all the money from selling pork to buy bicycles? You're really willing to spend it!"
"There's no such thing as being willing or unwilling to part with it. The money is just sitting there anyway. Selling this car will bring in much more money than the car itself. This is called a long-term investment."
Listening to Er Ya speak like a little adult, Li Taohua didn't know why, but she felt that Er Ya was right, and she set herself a small goal.
"Alright, look at you, you've almost rubbed the paint off the car. Hurry up and push it into the woodshed, I think it's going to rain, don't let it get soaked."
Lin Jianguo looked up at the sky; it was covered with dark clouds, indicating that it was about to rain. He picked up the car and went inside.
Jiang's mother went to the kitchen and saw that the pig's trotters and other things had been given to Qian Lu. Only the pig's offal and pig's head were left. There was also a basin of stuffed pig's blood sausage, which Li Taohua had cleaned up and placed in the basin.
Jiang's mother felt a surge of warmth in her heart: Who still says that Tao Hua is doing this for their family's benefit? She clearly didn't tell her to tidy up these things, but look at her, she still did a good job. Isn't that much better than those so-called relatives in the old house?
"Peach Blossom, bring some of your sauerkraut over. We'll eat it at my house again today. Let's have a feast of pork stew."
"I'll just get you some pickled cabbage, it's not right for you to eat at your house."
Jiang's mother pretended to be angry and said, "I'm angry that you're not coming. You shouldn't do any more work for my family in the future."
These words struck at Li Taohua's weak spot: "Okay, okay, I'll take it to you. I'll eat at your house tonight, and I'll eat more."
Er Ya came out of the toilet at the back of the yard and ran into the kitchen shouting, "Mom, our vegetable garden has been turned over. Did Aunt Tao Hua do it?"
"What? She didn't tell me? Look at her, luckily I invited her to stay for dinner, otherwise I would have felt really embarrassed."
Li Taohua brought over a bowl of pickled cabbage and some cornmeal, and put everything in the kitchen.
Seeing the mother and daughter staring at her, she touched her face in confusion: "Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me?"
Er Ya spoke first: "Auntie, you've worked hard today."
"Oh, what are you talking about? Hurry up and cook, it'll be dark soon."
Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Why didn't you buy any pig offal today? What are you selling tomorrow?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother's suppressed anger flared up again: "I don't know who it was that bought the same things as us before us, causing us to not sell anything today."
Upon hearing this, Li Taohua's heart skipped a beat, and her hand, which was chopping vegetables, stopped abruptly: "What? The braised meat can't be sold?"
What should we do? I thought there was finally hope for the future!
Er Ya knew exactly what Li Taohua was thinking: "Don't worry, Auntie, we'll still hire you. If this business doesn't work out, we can always do another one. We're always short-handed."
Li Taohua was relieved: "Sister-in-law, you were speaking so breathlessly, it startled me."
Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "Do you know who did it? Normally, only you and I know about washing pig offal. I've never told anyone else."
Er Ya was also puzzled by this. She trusted Li Taohua's character and knew that she was not that person. Could it be that someone had really figured out a way to wash pig offal?
"I've decided to let her off the hook for now, and we'll talk about it again after I get back from my grandma's house tomorrow."
She absolutely had to find out who was stealing her business. It seemed like it was intentional, otherwise why would they be selling at their stall?
When Jiang's mother heard Er Ya say this, she was overjoyed: "Er Ya, are we going to your maternal grandma's house tomorrow? Your father doesn't know yet."
To be continued!
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