Wang Meili deliberately darkened her face: "If you keep doing this, I'll get angry. We're family, so let's not be so formal."
Er Ya said with a smile, "I like my aunt. Mom, just listen to Grandma and Aunt. Look at me, I'm just as free, aren't I?"
Jiang's mother gently pinched Er Ya's nose: "You, you're still young, how can I compare to you?"
"It's alright, we'll just bring more things to Grandma's house in the future. Your situation is special right now, isn't it?"
Wang Meili deliberately put on a fierce face and said, "Er Ya, are you saying that if you don't bring anything, I won't let you in, right?"
Er Ya quickly massaged Wang Meili's shoulders: "Auntie, that's not what I meant. You misunderstood. What I meant was that you've been so good to us, so in return, we should be good to you too."
Wang Meili was overjoyed by what she said: "Oh my, you little girl, you speak so eloquently! Alright, go play, I'll hurry up and tidy up this."
Chen Xiuhua returned after borrowing the scissors, and she and Wang Meili were cutting snails with their heads down. Jiang's mother sat next to them mending clothes. Only Er Ya was extremely bored, teasing the pigs and chickens for a while.
After they finally managed to clean a bucket of snails, they rinsed them several times until they were completely clean, then put them in a basin to cook and eat later.
Jiang Damin and the others also came home from school. They hurriedly scribbled through their homework and were eagerly waiting to take Er Ya out to play.
Er Ya flipped through his notebook and shouted, "Auntie, my cousin just wrote it all wrong, it's all typos."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Damin knew things were going badly. He pointed at Er Ya and said, "You little girl, have you ever been to school? What do you know? This is how teachers teach."
Jiang Ermin also stepped forward to take a look: "Brother, that's not how teachers teach. Er Ya is right, you're just writing nonsense. Be careful, the teacher will come looking for you tomorrow."
Wang Meili was so angry that she was about to hit him again: "You child, our family has scrimped and saved so that you two can go to school, and you still don't study hard. How can you face us?"
Jiang Damin retorted, "Then how do you know that Ermin isn't just writing nonsense? Maybe he's just like me."
"Cousin, I've seen my second cousin's work. He wrote it exceptionally well. Look, the teacher even gave him an 'Excellent' to show that it was written exceptionally well."
Er Ya was also quite surprised. To be honest, she didn't have a particularly good impression of her second cousin. She thought he was a sly and lazy person. She didn't expect him to do such a good job on his homework. It seems that his studies are not too bad either.
My opinion of Jiang Ermin has changed somewhat.
"Er Ya, you...whose side are you on? Have you forgotten who took you to collect snails just now?"
Er Ya, hiding behind Wang Meili, said mischievously, "I'm on the side of justice, so you'd better revise and rewrite it quickly."
Jiang Damin threw a tantrum, yelling, "Ahhh, I don't want to rewrite it! I want to go fishing! I haven't eaten fish in ages!"
Wang Meili waved her arms: "If you don't correct it, don't even think about leaving this door today. When you've finished writing it, hand it to Ermin for inspection, and then you can eat. Otherwise, you can just go hungry."
"Ahhhhh, I don't want to! Someone please save me!"
Wang Meili slammed the door shut: "Go ahead and make a scene. Come out when you've had enough and finished writing."
"Ah ...
A series of clattering sounds came from inside the room, accompanied by Jiang Damin's angry roar.
Wang Meili called Er Ya and Jiang Ermin over: "Don't pay any attention to him. That's just how he is. He needs to be disciplined like this every two or three days. He'll behave for a couple of days after that."
Er Ya asked in surprise, "Auntie, does my older cousin still cause trouble like this often?"
"That's right. He doesn't want to go to school. All he thinks about is how to play. He's so young. How can he learn a few words if he doesn't go to school? What will he do in the future?"
She suffered because of her lack of education. She couldn't read a single word when she went out, which made everything inconvenient for her. So she thought that she must do everything she could to raise her two sons well. Even if nothing else, at least they could learn to read more words and learn a trade in the future. It would be better than them having to toil in the fields.
Seeing that Wang Meili's face was not looking good, Ermin comforted her: "Mom, don't worry, I will study hard, go to university in the future, get a good job, and let you and Grandma enjoy a good life."
"Ermin is so sensible. You two were born from the same mother, he was just born a little earlier than you, how come there's such a big difference? Sigh, never mind, why don't you take Erya out for a walk? This little girl has been cooped up all afternoon."
When Er Ya heard that she could finally go out to play, she excitedly grabbed Er Min's hand and ran outside. She wanted to go to the river to retrieve something, and she had been thinking about it all afternoon. Unfortunately, her father and grandfather had gone out together, and everyone in the family was so busy that she was too embarrassed to say anything.
Seeing that the wild girl was about to run away again, Jiang's mother quickly called out to her, "If you leave, what will happen to these snails? I've never made them before."
Er Ya said dismissively, "Mom, they're all cleaned up. They'll taste good no matter how you cook them. Just cook them like stir-fries, and remember to add some wine to remove any fishy smell."
Anyway, her mother's cooking skills are so good that even if she stayed at home, her mother wouldn't let her cook. Besides, she's only ever eaten it before. Isn't cooking all the same? As long as it tastes good, that's all that matters.
After hearing what Er Ya said, Jiang's mother understood.
Wang Meili was so upset by Jiang Damin that she lost all her composure and sat listlessly on the stool without saying a word.
Chen Xiuhua comforted her, saying, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. He knows what his future holds. If you keep beating and scolding him, he will only make things worse."
Jiang's mother also said, "Yes, sister-in-law, everyone has their own thoughts and things they want to do. I think Damin is not a bad person, he's just too playful. You can talk to him nicely, but don't start by hitting or scolding him. He's not a child anymore, he's over ten years old. The more you push a child this age, the more he will resist."
When Wang Meili heard Jiang's mother and the others say this, she thought to herself: Could it really be that I was wrong? But I am his mother. I gave birth to him and I have to be responsible for him. Who doesn't want their child to be successful?
Seeing that the two of them were looking at her with concern, she decided to let it go and not bring it up again. In any case, Jiang Damin wouldn't be able to learn properly anytime soon, so she should focus on dealing with the immediate issues first.
She wiped away her tears and said, "Don't look at me, I'm fine now. Let's go cook, the children must be hungry."
To be continued!
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