"It's settled then. If Xiao Lu asks again, just say we can't go. You stay with your mother, and I'll go to your grandma's house to check on her. She left early this morning; I wonder if she's feeling unwell."
Er Ya thought to herself: "What else could be making you uncomfortable? You're probably just too full from eating so much meat."
Er Ya coaxed Jiang's mother in a sweet voice, "Mom, isn't it great that we've moved to town? It's not far from Grandma's house, and we can go back to visit her whenever we want. Look at my dad, he's so stubborn."
“I don’t want to stay here either, but even though your dad usually listens to me, once he encounters something he really doesn’t want to do, no one can persuade him. Let’s take it slow, I’ll talk to him again later.”
Er Ya whispered something in Jiang's mother's ear. Chen Xiuhua came over and said, "What are you two doing, whispering to each other? What are you discussing?"
Er Ya waved her hand and said, "No, no, we didn't say anything, right, Mother?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang's mother nodded, took the baby, and carefully placed it on the bed.
"Alright, I just came to say that your postpartum period is over, and I still have a lot of things to do at home. I'm planning to go back with your sister-in-law and the others."
Jiang's mother said reluctantly, "You're leaving already? Don't stay a few more days."
Looking at her daughter who still seemed like she hadn't grown up, Chen Xiuhua said irritably, "Still staying here? Look at any other family's daughter who has a mother like you, having to take care of her during her postpartum period. Your body is recovering quite well, so I won't stay here any longer. If you stay too long, your sister-in-law will have something to say."
As soon as Wang Meili entered the house, she heard this sentence and quickly stepped forward to explain: "Mom, you have really wronged me. Even if you stayed here for a month or a year, I wouldn't say anything. Besides, my sister's mother-in-law is really no good. Doesn't she have to rely on you?"
“I was just joking with your sister. I’m definitely not staying here. Didn’t you just say you were pregnant and I had to go back to take care of you?”
A hint of shyness appeared on Wang Meili's usually carefree face as she gently touched her own. Her uncle smiled and said, "I just got this, it's not like I can't do anything."
Jiang's mother beamed with joy: "Really? Sister-in-law, you're pregnant? That's wonderful news! Our Jiang family is going to have a new baby."
Er Ya jumped up with joy: "That's great, Auntie! I'm going to have a little sister soon!"
Jiang Damin poked his head out from behind Wang Meili and said in an annoying tone, "How do you know it's a sister and not a brother? Besides, even if it is a sister, she's still my sister, your cousin. Don't try to get close to her."
Wang Meili flicked him on the forehead, and Jiang Damin, in pain, clutched his head and ran around, saying, "Mom, I'm telling the truth! Why are you hitting me again? Now that you have a younger one, don't you love me anymore?"
Jiang Ermin, standing to the side, made sarcastic remarks: "You asked for it, didn't you? You know how much your mother favors Er Ya, yet you still went up to get beaten. Who can you blame?"
After they started their own business and started earning money, the two brothers resumed their old bickering routine, always making fun of each other whenever they encountered something embarrassing.
Seeing that Jiang Damin still looked unconvinced, Wang Meili was about to go up and beat him up again: "Er Ya is your own sister. What do you mean by trying to get close to her? How can my daughter not be her sister? Your attitude towards Er Ya makes me very unhappy. I think you're asking for a beating."
"Help! Help! The tigress is going to eat me!" Jiang Damin ran around the house, howling as he was beaten. His loud cries woke up Xiao Bao, who, having not slept well, started crying in dissatisfaction.
Wang Meili quickly stopped and smiled sheepishly. She had been so angry that she had forgotten the little one was still sleeping.
She glared at Jiang Damin again, signaling him to get out of there or he'd be in for a beating when they got home.
There was no more noise disturbing him. Jiang's mother gently patted him a few times, and he fell into a deep sleep again.
"Hey girl, sorry, I'm used to having a loud voice, I just forgot for a moment."
Jiang's mother shushed them and pointed outside, indicating that they should go outside to talk.
The group went outside the courtyard together. Jiang's mother said to Wang Meili, "Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry. You're pregnant now, and our mother hasn't been home to take care of you. Let her go back with you today. I'm fine; I can manage."
“Sister, we’re family, so I won’t stand on ceremony with you. It’s fine to let Mom go back for a while. To be honest, I’ve been a bit too busy lately. The restaurant needs so much food every day, and there’s also business at the market. I really can’t keep up.”
Er Ya nestled sweetly in Chen Xiuhua's arms and said coquettishly, "Grandma, I'll miss you when you leave."
Chen Xiuhua affectionately stroked Er Ya's hair: "Grandma misses our Er Ya too. I'll go back for a while, and I'll come back again."
Having decided to leave, Chen Xiuhua hurriedly went to pack her things. Jiang's mother also went to the kitchen and picked up some whole pieces of meat and vegetables that hadn't been served yet, filling a basket with them. She also cut off a large piece of pork, and when she saw that it wasn't enough, she added two pig's trotters.
Wang Meili, standing to the side, tried to brush off the offer, saying, "Sister, why are you taking so much? Just keep it for yourself. Our family doesn't want to go there now, and we can't even afford meat. And these pig's trotters, Mom says they're great for milk production. Keep them, and Jianguo can make soup for you."
"Sister-in-law, please take it. I already feel bad that Mom has been here for so long. If I don't bring you something, Er Ya will complain about me, right, Er Ya?"
Er Ya chimed in with a grin, "That's right, Auntie. Besides, it's hot. Look at the few of us here, and there's so much meat. We definitely can't finish it all. Wouldn't it be such a waste if it went bad?"
Wang Meili looked at it and agreed. Although they had brought more than a dozen extra tables for the banquet, they had still slaughtered a pig, and they had only used a little over half of the meat. After thinking for a moment, she said:
"Okay, we'll take the meat, but you can keep the pig's trotters for drinking. We don't like eating them, so keep them for you to produce milk and help our little baby grow up healthy and chubby."
That works too, saves us from going to the market to buy things. Jiang's mother rummaged around for a while and got them some more things that the guests who came to eat had brought. Anyway, they couldn't finish them all, so leaving them here would benefit the old house.
Jiang Heping came over and urged them to pack up quickly, as they needed to get going soon because it was dark and the roads were difficult to travel; the sun was almost setting.
"Okay, okay, I'm all packed up now."
To be continued!
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