Lin Xiao scratched his head and said shyly, "I went to the market to buy things yesterday and suddenly saw this hair clip. I felt that you would like it, so I bought it to give to you. I waited for you for a long time but you didn't come up the mountain, so I couldn't wait any longer and came to your house."
Er Ya took the hair clip and saw that the metal wire tip supported the entire rabbit. When the hair clip swayed, the rabbit rotated and swayed with the metal wire tip as the fulcrum. It was so lifelike, lively and cute, that Er Ya fell in love with it at first sight.
But she knew she shouldn't accept things from others casually, and besides, Lin Xiao wasn't very rich, so how could he spend money to buy her hair clips?
Er Ya reluctantly handed the hair clip back to Lin Xiao, saying, "Brother Lin Xiao, I can't accept your things. This must have cost you a lot of money. Why did you buy this for me?"
Lin Xiao took the hair clip and pinned it in Er Ya's hair. It looked just as good as he had imagined. Seeing Er Ya reach to take it off, he quickly stopped her, saying:
"I've already bought it for you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten so much money. This hair clip didn't cost much, so you can keep it."
Er Ya really liked the hair clip, and touched it again with great affection: "How much is this hair clip? I'll pay you, consider it as if I bought it myself?"
"If you keep doing this, I'll get angry. Just wear it properly, it's very beautiful, and people can't take their eyes off it."
Er Ya had no choice but to accept it, thinking that she would definitely give him something in return next time, and she couldn't take advantage of him for nothing.
Suddenly remembering something, she asked Lin Xiao, "Brother Lin Xiao, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come on, let me see what delicious food my mom made."
Unable to refuse, Lin Xiao was dragged into the courtyard by Er Ya, who told him to wander around as he pleased while she went to see what Jiang's mother had prepared: steamed egg custard, reheated leftover pancakes from yesterday, and some corn porridge.
After eating with Jiang's mother, Lin Jianguo went off to do something. He left the rice in a pot for Er Ya to heat up. Er Ya noticed there were no side dishes. It was the first time her brother Lin Xiao was eating at her own home, so how could there be no side dishes?
I lit a fire, cracked four eggs, beat them well, and then made scrambled eggs after the oil was hot. I also scooped out some leftover pickled vegetables, chopped them up, and put them on a plate. Two dishes, that was barely enough.
The food was brought into the main room, and Lin Xiao was invited to eat. Lin Xiao, who was helping chop wood, put down his axe upon hearing this. Upon entering the main room and seeing the sumptuous meal, he immediately became a little reserved.
"Er Ya, any meal will do, why did you make so many eggs?" Lin Xiao's stomach rumbled as he smelled the delicious aroma of the eggs. He hadn't eaten anything that morning.
Er Ya found it a little funny when she heard Lin Xiao's stomach rumbling. She pulled Lin Xiao to sit down and pushed the steamed egg custard towards him to drink.
Lin Xiao quickly waved his hand: "No, no, Er Ya, this is what your aunt made for you. I can't drink it. I'll just eat some flatbread." After saying that, he took a flatbread and took a bite. Mmm! The flatbread was also very delicious. Flatbread made from white flour and lard, how could it not be fragrant?
"Just drink it, Brother Lin Xiao. My mom heard from someone that drinking steamed egg custard can make you grow taller, so she steams a bowl for me every morning. I'm so tired of drinking it every day. Just finish it for me today."
"Nonsense! Who ever gets tired of eating steamed egg custard?" Lin Xiao was deeply moved, knowing that Er Ya meant well and wanted him to eat something good. He sipped the steamed egg custard slowly, finding it to be the best he had ever tasted.
Seeing that Lin Xiao was only focused on drinking the steamed egg custard, she quickly handed him a pancake and put a few pieces of egg on it for him: "Eat it quickly, it will get cold in a while."
He then picked up a bowl of corn porridge and began to eat it in large mouthfuls.
Just then, Jiang's mother returned. It turned out she had gone to the village doctor to get medicine. Her chicks had recently fallen ill, and several of them were listless and not eating well. So she went to get some medicine to force-feed them.
"Oh, Lin Xiao is here."
Lin Xiao, who was eating, quickly stood up and greeted her, "Hello, Auntie."
Jiang's mother stepped forward and pressed Lin Xiao down onto a stool: "Look at you, child, you're always so polite to your aunt. Hurry up and eat. Is there enough food? I'll cook you another dish." After saying that, she prepared to go to the kitchen.
Lin Xiao quickly stopped her: "Auntie, this is already good enough, don't cook it anymore. This is even better than what I ate during the Chinese New Year."
"Then you two eat quickly. I'm going to feed the pigs, otherwise they'll start kicking the pigpen soon. Lin Xiao, you have to eat more. Make yourself at your aunt's house, don't be shy."
Lin Xiao was deeply moved. His aunt was so kind; he wished she were his own mother. He silently wiped away his tears, sat down on the stool, and continued eating.
Er Ya had no idea about Lin Xiao's inner thoughts. As a good girl, she never looked around while eating and ate her meal attentively with her bowl in her hand. She had no idea how complicated Lin Xiao's feelings were at that moment.
After eating, Lin Xiao had to hurry up the mountain. His mother hadn't finished chopping the firewood she'd asked him to do today, so he had to get back and finish it quickly, otherwise he wouldn't be allowed to eat tonight.
Er Ya had nothing to do at home, so she decided to go to the mountains with Lin Xiao. She really didn't want to play in the mud and catch bugs with those little kids in the village who hadn't even grown their hair yet. She was someone who was going to do big things.
After telling Jiang's mother, Er Ya picked up her little basket and excitedly headed up the mountain with Lin Xiao. As they passed the big willow tree at the entrance of the village, they saw Han Shi talking loudly and forcefully again.
When he got excited talking, he slapped his thigh and cursed occasionally. Just as he was getting into it, he looked up and saw Er Ya walking over. He quickly said that something had happened at home and ran home.
"What did this person see? Why is he acting like he's seen a ghost? The Lin family's matter hasn't been finished yet, why did he run away? This is really boring."
Another woman quickly echoed her words, muttering about how Han had run away. She felt too uncomfortable listening to gossip halfway through. Just then, she saw Er Ya skipping over, tugged at the person who had spoken, and left guiltily.
Seeing how badly Han was beaten the day before yesterday, her facial injuries still haven't healed, and then she had to stand under the tree to explain to everyone she met, even giving Jiang five yuan in compensation—it was utterly shameful. They didn't want to end up like that, so they'd better stay as far away as possible.
When Er Ya reached the big willow tree, everyone had already left. Er Ya asked in confusion, "Huh? What happened? I was all clean, why did they leave as soon as they saw me?"
To be continued!
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