The other passengers on the vehicle quickly covered their noses. The smell was bearable in the basket, but now that it was on their faces, it was incredibly foul, like a stink bomb.
The woman was furious and shouted in a shrill voice, "Lin Jianguo, are you all so poor that you've gone mad? Why did you buy so many disgusting pig offal? You're making me so angry!"
When Er Ya saw her like that, she wanted to laugh but had to hold it in, otherwise she was afraid that Er Ya would go crazy. She eagerly handed her the handkerchief she used to wipe her nose.
The woman took the handkerchief and began wiping her face. Suddenly, Er Ya remembered something and said weakly, "Auntie, I have a bit of a cold today, and the handkerchief is full of my snot."
Upon hearing this, the woman was so angry that she quickly threw away her handkerchief. Seeing that the people riding with her were looking at her with disgust, and noticing that they were almost at the village, she angrily disregarded the fact that the oxcart was still moving and jumped off the cart.
When Old Man Lin saw her jump off the bus by herself, he was no longer hard of hearing and added quietly, "You got off the bus by yourself, so I'm not going to refund your fare."
Upon hearing this, the woman behind her, who had gotten off the cart early with the intention of taking advantage of the situation, quickly scurried to climb back onto the oxcart when she heard that she wouldn't get her money back. She didn't care if she smelled bad on others; after all, the Lin family was the one who caused the stench on her, so it was good for them to rot.
Old Man Lin cracked his whip, startling the ox, which then galloped forward, leaving the woman far behind.
Her furious curses could be heard from afar, and everyone burst into laughter at her embarrassing appearance.
When she finally reached the village entrance, panting, Old Man Lin had already driven the oxcart home, and everyone had gone home. She had intended to go and cause a scene with Lin Jianguo's family again, but after smelling herself, she couldn't stand the odor and had to hurry home to take a shower and change her clothes.
Er Ya's family returned home and took the pig offal out. The smell was really unbearable. Seeing that it was getting dark, they decided not to let anyone wash it at night, so they just put it in the yard to soak so it wouldn't smell the next day.
Knowing that Aunt Peach Blossom was anxiously waiting for news at home, Er Ya told Jiang's mother and ran to the next yard to call for Li Tao Hua. When she got to the door, she said, "Aunt Peach Blossom, are you home? It's me, Er Ya."
Li Taohua's family was having dinner when they heard someone calling outside. Upon recognizing Er Ya's voice, they quickly dropped their bowls and ran to open the door.
"Oh, it's Er Ya. You're just back? I saw your door was locked when I passed by earlier."
She opened the door, picked up Er Ya, and carried her inside. Er Ya was shy and wanted to get down, but Li Taohua insisted on carrying her into the main room. She called to her son to quickly make room for Er Ya and asked, "Have you eaten yet? Auntie is eating right now. Let me serve you a bowl, but it might not be as good as your food."
Several bowls of wild vegetable porridge were on the table, and a few hard-looking steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water were on a plate. Her son was eating them with great relish, without even looking up!
Li Taohua patted her son: "Look at you, child. Your little sister Er Ya is here, and you don't even let her play with her."
"Didn't you say I wasn't allowed to talk or move around while eating? Besides, she's just a little brat, how am I supposed to play with her?"
Li Taohua was so angry that she was about to hit her again, but Er Ya quickly stopped her: "Auntie, we ate at the market and came back. You don't need to worry about me. You should eat quickly, or it will get cold."
Upon hearing that she had already eaten, Li Taohua hurriedly grabbed a bowl, made her a bowl of sugar water, and handed it to her, saying, "Then drink some brown sugar water to sweeten your mouth, don't mind it."
Unable to resist Li Taohua's enthusiasm, Er Ya had no choice but to take a sip from her bowl. It was sweet, and it made Gou Dan'er, who was eating nearby, keep glancing over. Er Ya noticed and poured him some, but he just snorted.
"I don't like drinking this stuff at all," she said, her eyes fixed on the sugar water.
Er Ya smiled and said, "Then please consider it a favor from your brother. I've already eaten, and I really can't drink anymore. It would be a waste to throw it away."
Gou Dan'er licked his lips again, unable to resist. This sweet soup was only made for them when guests came over; he himself never got to drink it.
"If you really can't finish it, I'll drink it for you." Holding the bowl, she was reluctant to drink it all, and took small sips.
Li Taohua patted Gou Dan'er and said, "You child, why are you fighting with your sister for a drink?"
"It's alright, Auntie, I really can't drink anymore. I ate a big bowl of wontons at the market tonight."
When Gou Dan heard the word "wonton," he realized how long it had been since he'd had any, and suddenly the sweet soup in his hand didn't seem sweet enough.
Er Ya saw that Li Taohua couldn't eat anymore, so she said to her directly, "Auntie, don't bother. I came here today to tell you to get up a little earlier tomorrow. We bought everything today, so we can start tomorrow. I'll settle the money with you one payment at a time. You can get the money after you finish washing."
When I saw Er Ya come over, I felt a little uneasy, thinking that something had gone wrong. But when I heard that Er Ya could start tomorrow, I immediately felt relieved. As long as things were going well, that was good.
"Don't worry, I'll come to your house before dawn tomorrow. Just tell me how to do it, and I'll make sure it's spotless."
Er Ya finished the sweet soup in one gulp: "Auntie, I don't care about you. You should eat first, get some rest early tonight, and wash up early tomorrow so my mom can make the braised dishes. I'm going now, my mom must be getting impatient waiting for me."
"It's getting dark, and the road is difficult to walk on. Let me see you off."
Li Taohua escorted Er Ya home, said goodbye to Jiang's mother, and went back to have dinner.
Er Ya's biological clock is already fixed. She gets so sleepy at the appointed time that she can barely keep her eyes open, and her head nods. Jiang's mother chuckled and carried Er Ya to bed, gently coaxing her until she fell asleep. Only then did she quietly close the door.
After Lin Jianguo finished tidying up, he went to the kitchen to check on the progress of the medicine. When he came back, he started brewing the medicine he had taken. It was almost ready by now. He carefully poured the medicine into a bowl and gave it to Jiang's mother.
Jiang's mother looked at the dark medicine, which emitted a strong herbal smell. How could she possibly eat it?
Lin Jianguo took out the candy he bought for Er Ya and put one in Jiang's mother's mouth first: "Why are you still like a child, afraid of taking medicine? Don't be afraid, for your health, just bear with it for a while."
To be continued!
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