Gou Dan'er responded and stepped forward to help Li Taohua: "Mother, let's go home."
Li Taohua opened her eyes, looked at Gou Dan'er, and smiled:
"You brat, you're driving your mother crazy all day long. You're not nearly as considerate as Er Ya." After saying that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
Er Ya was touched to see that Li Taohua was thinking of her even in her sleep, and she decided that she would never complain about Aunt Taohua's excessive enthusiasm again.
Jiang's mother and Gou Dan'er each helped Li Taohua home, while Lin Jianguo was still drinking. Er Ya ran over and snatched the wine glass from him.
"Dad, look, you've already drunk more than a bottle. If you keep drinking, Mom will scold you when she gets back."
Lin Jianguo glanced at Er Ya in a daze and said, "Nonsense. In our family, I'm the one who has the final say. Your mother? Your mother has to listen to me too."
"Who are you saying should listen to you?"
The sound startled Lin Jianguo, sobering him up halfway. He shamelessly approached Jiang's mother and said, "I was just talking nonsense. My wife is such a gentle person, how could she disturb me, right?"
"Look at the smell of alcohol on you, don't let it bother Er Ya, go to sleep now."
Lin Jianguo sighed and put his wine bottle away. This time he had to hide it carefully. Last time, Er Ya had almost finished it by sneaking it away. This time, he couldn't let Er Ya touch it no matter what.
Jiang's mother tidied up Er Ya simply and then took her to sleep in her room. This caused Lin Jianguo to stay up until midnight without seeing his wife come over, and he woke up several times during the night because of the cold.
It's a new day, a new beginning. Jiang's mother got up before dawn again. She had to hurry up and cook the pig offal so as not to delay the morning's business.
Just as she finished washing the pot, Li Taohua came over. Jiang's mother asked her, "Why did you come over so early? You were drunk again last night. Why didn't you stay home and rest a little longer?"
Li Taohua laughed heartily: "That little bit of wine is nothing. I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. Besides, since I'm taking your family's money, I have to work hard. There's no reason for me to rest while you're busy."
The two of them were much faster. By the time Er Ya woke up, two large pots of braised meat had already been cooked in the kitchen, steaming hot.
Seeing that Er Ya had gotten up, Li Taohua asked with a smile, "Er Ya, you're up? Come and wash your face, dinner will be ready soon."
Er Ya sweetly agreed and obediently went to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Li Taohua, watching from the side, was green with envy. She said to Jiang's mother, "Sister-in-law, we're all raising children, so how come your children are raised so well?"
"Come on, don't take your good fortune for granted. Look how good Gou Dan is. He knows how to care for you. I saw you crying yesterday, and his face looked bad the whole time. He probably cried too."
"But I still prefer a sweet little girl. When I have more money in the future, I will definitely have a little girl just like Er Ya."
Gou Dan'er, who had just brought back a load of water for Er Ya's family, felt a chill in his heart. Was he really going to fall out of favor?
Just as he was putting down the water and getting ready to go home, Jiang's mother called out to him, "Goudan, don't listen to your mother's nonsense. She loves my daughter, and I love you. Just eat here later, so your mother won't have to cook when she gets home."
Li Taohua immediately refused: "No way, sister-in-law. Yesterday was a special case. I can't eat here anymore. Everyone's food is bought with money. If you say that, I'll feel even more like I'm taking advantage of your family."
Having no other choice, Jiang's mother filled a large bowl with braised meat and insisted on handing it to Li Taohua: "Take this home and eat it. It's not anything valuable, so you won't have to cook when you get home."
Li Taohua declined, unwilling to accept the bowl, but Jiang's mother retorted, "If you don't want it, then eat at my house." So she had no choice but to take the bowl home.
During breakfast, Er Ya suddenly blurted out that she wanted to buy a bicycle. Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother were so shocked that they almost vomited. Jiang's mother expressed her disagreement.
"A bicycle must cost several hundred yuan. Why buy one now? We only have a few hundred yuan in total. After buying the bicycle, we won't have much left."
"Mom, you don't understand. If we buy a bicycle, we won't have to take the oxcart to the market anymore. It always makes my stomach hurt from all the bumps."
"But we only have so much money at home. We've already bought a bicycle, what are we going to do if we need more money?"
This is also a problem. The family says they're running a business, but they only make about 10 or 20 yuan a day. Buying a bicycle would certainly be much more convenient, but where would the money come from?
"If only a wad of money fell from the sky," Er Ya thought to herself.
We'll have to put buying a bicycle on hold for now. Mom's right, we don't have much savings. If we need more money in the future, we'll be in trouble if we don't have any.
To Er Ya's surprise, a large wild boar was running rapidly down the mountain, trampling countless flowers and plants along the way. When it reached Er Ya's doorstep, it seemed exhausted and slammed its head against the door, where it remained motionless.
The family, who were having dinner, suddenly heard a loud "thud," which startled Er Ya so much that she almost dropped her bowl.
What's that noise? Lin Jianguo mustered his courage, opened the door, and lo and behold, there was such a huge wild boar lying there, looking like it had just died. What's going on?
Seeing Lin Jianguo standing there motionless, Jiang's mother and Er Ya followed him out the door. Er Ya was so surprised that she almost cried out. What a big surprise they had received so early in the morning!
Once Lin Jianguo came to his senses, he urged Er Ya to quickly call Li Taohua over. It took several people a long time to lift the pig into the yard. Jiang's mother then brought a basin of water and vigorously washed the entrance.
It was early in the morning, and everyone was sleeping and eating at home. Despite the commotion, no one came to see what was going on. Lin Jianguo's heart was pounding for a while. He pulled Er Ya aside and asked her, "Did you make a wish again?"
Er Ya blinked innocently: "I just wanted a bicycle, I was hoping it would fall from the sky, but who knew..."
"You silly child, you mustn't make any silly wishes next time, or someone might kidnap you."
Li Taohua was so surprised by the size of the wild boar that she didn't know what to say: "This...this...is this a wild boar? My goodness, how did it die here? There are no bullet holes or anything on its body."
Jiang's mother glanced at the father and daughter whispering beside her and gave a perfunctory reply:
"Maybe this wild boar was so hungry that it got dizzy and its eyes were blurry. It just crashed into our door and broke it."
To be continued!
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