Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

After comforting his mother, Li Xiangdong went back to his room to play with the children.

It wasn't until Zhou Yuqin pushed open the door that she heard, "Dad and my older brother are back from get off work. Mom wants us to come over for dinner."

"Let's go eat."

Li Xiangdong patted Li Xiaohai's bottom and shooed him off the kang (a heated brick bed). Seeing his daughter trying to climb down like her brother, he picked her up and put her on the ground.

"Let Daddy help you, let's walk slowly, okay?"

Li Xiaozhu nodded and said, "Okay..."

"Go and eat first."

Li Xiangdong said something to Zhou Yuqin, bent down and grabbed the back of his daughter's collar, telling her to walk slowly.

Zhou Yuqin smiled and said, "Okay, be careful not to let her fall."

Seeing his younger sister learning to walk, Li Xiaohai wasn't in a hurry to eat. With a candy his father had given him in his mouth, he circled around his sister, saying, "Xiaoqi, hurry up, come and catch me."

Li Xiaozhu giggled as she tried to catch up with her brother, but her little legs gave way with every step. If Li Xiangdong hadn't been holding her back, she would have already sat down on the ground.

"Stop teasing your sister, go eat."

"I know dad."

Li Xiaohai reached out and tugged at the little braid on Li Xiaozhu's head. "My little sister is such a silly girl. I'm going to eat now."

Li Xiaozhu frowned, raised her head, pouted, and shouted, "Dad...hit...hit...dede!"

Li Xiangdong looked at her and laughed, "Then you should hurry up and learn to walk. Once you've learned, you can chase after him and beat him up yourself."

Li Xiaozhu nodded, clenching her little fist, "Hmm... punch..."

In the main living room, Li Xiaojiang and the others had candy in their mouths, while Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan were showing off the new hair accessories their third uncle had bought for them to their parents.

Seeing Li Xiaozhu toddling over the threshold, Li Ersao smiled and said, "Oh~ our little Qi can walk by herself now. How about sleeping in your second aunt's room tonight?"

Li Xiaozhu shyly hugged Li Xiangdong's leg, turning her head away without saying a word.

Li Xiangdong lifted her up and held her in his arms, then sat down at the table and said, "Everyone's here. I have something to tell you."

Seeing that his grandparents, parents, and brothers and sisters-in-law were all looking at him, he continued, "I've found a mentor for our Xiaotao."

He explained in detail the relationship between Hou San and his family, as well as the relationship between Hou Jianshe and Deputy Director Zhang.

Everyone was an adult, and they immediately understood what Li Xiangdong meant. This was simply arranging a job for Li Xiaotao in advance, and a good job at the train station at that.

"Dongzi, you're not joking with your older brother, are you?"

Brother Li's hands were trembling as he held the chopsticks; his second son was driving him crazy with worry.

Besides possessing strength far exceeding that of his peers, Li Xiaotao is not very bright and is simple-minded and stubborn.

These are the biggest problems in arranging his future work. Apart from doing manual labor, he is unlikely to be able to do other jobs. Sometimes when he thinks about these things, he can worry so much that he can't sleep all night.

Li Xiangdong naturally knew that Li Xiaotao was his elder brother's biggest worry, and nodded, saying, "It's true, Xiaotao has already accepted the tea offered for the apprenticeship ceremony. Now all that's left is to formalize the agreement. I'll take Xiaotao to the Hou family for a visit on an auspicious day, and then the matter will be settled."

"Yes, yes, yes! We need to pick a good day."

Brother Li bit his lip and nodded vigorously. He was honest and simple and didn't know how to say anything nice. He was so excited and grateful to his younger brother that he didn't know how to express it.

"Dongzi, thank you for still thinking of Xiaotao. Sister-in-law, thank you."

"It should, it should."

Seeing his sister-in-law constantly wiping away tears, Li Xiangdong couldn't bear it any longer.

"Mom, didn't I buy a braised chicken? Why wasn't it served?"

"It's still warm in the steamer, I'll go get it right away."

As Li's mother spoke, she got up and walked out. She looked at her eldest daughter-in-law and said, "This is a good thing, why are you crying? We're overjoyed. Go and get the wine that Dongzi bought. Let's have a drink tonight to celebrate."

"I'll go, Mother, you rest."

Li Ersao stopped Li's mother from leaving the house. She was happy that Li Xiaotao's future could be arranged.

Li Xiaotao had grown up in front of her after all. Apart from being a little slow-witted, this nephew was usually quite obedient and knew how to respect his elders.

Sitting at the dinner table, Old Man Li nodded happily, "It's time to celebrate. Let's all have a drink tonight."

Grandma Li laughed and said, "Our Taozi is blessed by Dongzi. With his third uncle looking out for him, he's sure to have a smooth life from now on."

When Grandma Li praised Li Xiangdong, everyone agreed.

Zhou Yuqin went over to comfort Sister-in-law Li, who was still crying, and said, "Sister-in-law, sit still and don't move. I'll go get the wine."

She was honest enough to take all four bottles of Niulanshan Erguotou that her husband had bought.

Mr. Li, smoking a cigarette, said with a smile, "Third son's wife, why did you bring all of this? We'll just have one bottle, and you can take the rest with you when we go back to your home tomorrow."

Zhou Yuqin said, "Father, you don't need to take so much. We've prepared quite a lot of things."

Li's mother said, "Then bring two bottles. An even number sounds nice and is auspicious."

Looking at the happy family, Old Man Li felt indescribably joyful. "Dongzi, bring your father-in-law some extra things tomorrow. You've troubled him quite a bit over the years."

Li Xiangdong nodded and said, "Grandpa, I understand. I've prepared everything."

The braised chicken is served.

Looking at her grandsons who were sitting obediently at the small dining table eating, Li's mother asked, "Why are they being so well-behaved today? They won't even come over when there's meat to eat?"

Li Xiangdong also found it strange; this was completely unlike the style of Li Xiaojiang and his group. Even his son, Li Xiaohai, was sitting on a stool with his head down and didn't come over.

He took a closer look at the roast chicken on the table, and sure enough, something was fishy!

The whole chicken looked shriveled, so he used his chopsticks to pry it apart and start cooking.

Everything else was fine, but the chicken wings he gave Li Xiaotao had almost all the skin hollowed out!

Looking at the shriveled braised chicken in front of her, Li's mother laughed and said, "When you were studying, you didn't use your brain at all. You used all your clever ideas on this. I told you that the weight of this braised chicken was a bit off, but I thought they were all like this."

Li Dasao, who had just recovered from her shock, was now completely flustered. Her face was flushed with anger. Of the four mischievous boys, her two were the eldest, and this must have been started by her two sons.

Moreover, the bad idea must have come from the eldest brother; the second brother doesn't have that kind of brain.

She got up to beat someone up, but was stopped by Li Ersao and Zhou Yuqin.

Brother Li poured drinks for everyone, saying, "Li Xiaobo, have you had your braised chicken yet?"

"have eaten."

Li Xiaobo hung his head, not daring to lift it.

"Then you shouldn't eat it later."

"Oh."

"Just eat a roast chicken, why are you making so much noise, second brother?"

Old Man Li scolded his second grandson, then chuckled and said to his four great-grandsons in the room, "If you want to eat, come and eat openly. Your great-grandfather is here, and your parents won't dare to hit you. But let me make this clear: this is only once. If you dare to do this again, I'll be the first to hit you. Do you understand?"

"Great-Grandpa, we understand."

"We won't do it again, Great-Grandpa."

The family finished dinner in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

The women went out to wash the pots and dishes, while the men sat inside drinking tea and chatting. Brother Li was especially happy today and had already drunk himself into a stupor before going back to his room to sleep.

Li Xiangdong wanted to give the 10 yuan that Hou San had given to Li Xiaotao to his sister-in-law, but she refused. Finally, Li's father said that he should take the money to buy a gift for the apprenticeship ceremony when he visited the Hou family.

"Third Uncle, do you think my sister and I look good in our hair accessories?"

Li Xiangdong smiled as he watched the Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan sisters run over, "Beautiful, beautiful."

"Dad... Flower..."

Sitting in Li Xiangdong's lap, Li Xiaozhu sucked on her right index finger and pointed at the hair ornaments on her sisters' heads with her left finger, shouting, "I want..."

Li Xiangdong tugged at a small tuft of hair on her head, kissed her, and laughed, "When you're a little older, Daddy will buy you one, okay?"

"it is good..."

Li Xiaozhu reached out and pushed him, "Scumbag..."

Li Xiangdong chuckled, "You don't like your dad's beard scratching you?"

Li Xiaozhu grabbed his ear, "Mmm..."

"Uncle Three."

Li Xiaojiang walked over with a grin and held out his hand, saying, "Xiaomei and Xiaolan have hair accessories. What did you buy for us, Uncle? Hurry up and give them to me, I can't wait."

Li Xiangdong countered, "You want a gift?"

Li Xiaojiang nodded and said, "Yes, I want it."

Li Xiangdong looked at Li Xiaotao and the other two, "You want it too?"

"I want Uncle Three."

"Dad, I want a present too."

"Okay, you guys wait."

Li Xiangdong carried his daughter back into the house, then picked up a paper package and returned to the main room.

"Come all over."

Li Xiangdong called his four mischievous sons over to him, took the calligraphy practice books out of their packaging, and said, "Here you go, five books each."

Ah~ a calligraphy practice book!

"Third Uncle, I don't want it anymore!"

"Uncle, I haven't finished my summer homework yet!"

"Father, I can't write."

Li Xiangdong looked at the four mischievous boys who kept pushing him back and said, "Come here and take this. It's too late if you don't want it now! If you haven't finished your homework, then do more every day."

"And you."

Li Xiangdong looked down at Li Xiaohai and smiled, "It's okay if you can't write. You can put the calligraphy book under your pillow. Let me tell you, if you sleep with the calligraphy book under your pillow, you won't wet the bed at night, and you'll sleep soundly."

"Keep these calligraphy practice books to yourself. Dad will buy you some more later. When you start school, your schoolbag will be full of calligraphy practice books. How envious the other kids will be of you, son?"

Li Xiaohai looked up and saw his father smiling at him, and he shuddered...