Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

West wing.

Having just been beaten, Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao dared not linger under their parents' noses and followed Li Xiangdong into the house.

Looking at his two unlucky nephews, Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Wife, get them some milk candy and fried dough twists."

Zhou Yuqin nodded, opened the locked cabinet, grabbed a handful of milk candies, and took out the last pack of fried dough twists as well.

"Xiaohai, go and call the older sisters and Xiaobo over here."

"I know mother."

Li Xiaohai first asked his mother for a White Rabbit milk candy before running out to call for help.

"Thank you, Third Uncle."

"Thank you, third aunt."

Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao stood in front of the table, each stuffing a piece of milk candy into their mouths, and then started eating fried dough twists.

"Are you feeling bitter? Eat something sweet to cheer yourself up. Are you thirsty? Uncle will pour you another glass of water."

Li Xiangdong poured a few cups of water from the thermos, then picked up a piece of milk candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

"Dad...eat..."

Li Xiaozhu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw everyone eating, so she also felt a craving for food.

"Dad will make you some water to drink."

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he poured half a cup of hot water and put in two pieces of milk candy.

"Third Uncle and Third Aunt, we've arrived."

Li Xiaomei and the others went inside, and Zhou Yuqin distributed the food among them.

"Take it out to eat, your third aunt and I will rest for a while."

Li Xiangdong chased his nephew and niece out of the house, then looked at Li Xiaohai, who was eating fried dough twists, and asked, "Are you going to sleep or not?"

Li Xiaohai shook his head and said, "Dad, I'm not sleepy."

"If you're not sleepy, go out and play. Don't make any noise, and keep it down while you're playing."

"Ah."

Not having to be confined indoors for a nap, Li Xiaohai happily ran out.

Only he, his wife, and daughter were left in the house. Li Xiangdong walked over and patted his wife's butt, saying, "Give me some money."

Zhou Yuqin rolled her eyes at him. "What do you need money for?"

"How am I supposed to sell crickets if you don't give me money?"

The capital for the next cricket trade is in A Zhe's hands. Li Xiangdong has prepared in advance. He is asking his wife for money now simply to make himself a little more financially secure.

"understood."

Zhou Yuqin went to the wardrobe to look for the small wooden box where she hid money. Li Xiangdong lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), reached out and pulled his daughter over, letting her lie on his stomach, and rubbed her head to play with her.

"bad..."

Li Xiaozhu was held in his father's arms and couldn't break free. He kept shaking his head to avoid his father's hands.

"What's wrong with you? Lie still and don't move. Why are you hiding? What's wrong with letting Daddy play for a while?"

Li Xiangdong petted Li Xiaozhu like he would pet a cat in later generations. She was still young, and if he didn't take advantage of the time to play with her, it wouldn't be as fun when she got older.

"I'll hit...you..."

Li Xiaozhu patted him a few times but it didn't work, so she opened her mouth and started biting him.

"Hiss! Let go of my mouth right now, Dad knows he was wrong!"

Li Xiangdong gasped as his chest was bitten. He patted his daughter's bottom, trying to get her to let go, but Li Xiaozhu was determined and wouldn't let go.

Zhou Yuqin walked over with a smile, placed the small wooden box on the kang (a heated brick bed), and picked up her daughter, who was still biting and refusing to let go, from her husband's arms.

"How about Mom re-braids your hair?"

Li Xiaozhu angrily pointed at Li Xiangdong, who was rubbing his chest, and shouted, "Mother...hit me..."

Li Xiangdong opened his clothes and looked at it. "Fuck your ass, you've bitten my chest all red."

Zhou Yuqin said speechlessly, "Why are you bothering her for no reason?"

"Children are only fun for the first two years. Once she can run and jump, you might not even be able to catch her if you want to play with her."

Li Xiangdong took twenty yuan from the wooden box and put it in his pocket. He glanced at his daughter, who was pouting as Zhou Yuqin braided her hair, yawned, and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) to take a nap.

Zhou Yuqin put the wooden box containing the money back in the wardrobe, then hugged her daughter and lay down next to Li Xiangdong, coaxing her to sleep together.

The heartwarming scene of the family of three lasted for more than an hour.

Li Xiaozhu woke up, climbed out of Zhou Yuqin's arms with her bottom sticking out, sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), rubbed her eyes, and saw that her parents were still sleeping.

"You...bad...I'll hit...you..."

Li Xiaozhu muttered something to herself, climbed up the kang (heated brick bed) to Li Xiangdong's pillow, and slapped him across the face.

'Snapped'

Li Xiangdong, who was sleeping soundly, was slapped and suddenly opened his eyes. He then sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed) to come to his senses.

He rubbed his slightly sore left cheek, turned around and saw Li Xiaozhu grinning, asking incredulously, "Did you just hit me?"

"You're bad... I'll hit you..."

Li Xiaozhu giggled as she slapped him again.

"Damn, are you that vengeful?"

Li Xiangdong was so angry he laughed. He checked the time and realized that his daughter had only slept for a little over an hour. She still remembered that he had rubbed her head before she went to sleep.

Awakened by the noise, Zhou Yuqin opened her eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Your daughter just slapped me."

Li Xiangdong pointed to his left cheek and showed it to her. "Is it red?"

"It is somewhat red."

Zhou Yuqin turned to look at her daughter, who was still giggling, and asked, "Why did you hit her so hard?"

Seeing her mother's serious expression, Li Xiaozhu's smile faded, and she frowned, saying, "Dad...you're bad..."

Zhou Yuqin asked, "Which hand did you use to hit me? Show me your hand."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaozhu turned around and crawled to the innermost corner of the kang (heated brick bed). As she turned to look at Zhou Yuqin, she put her hands behind her back.

"You know how to hide, now come over here obediently."

Zhou Yuqin decided to correct her daughter's bad habit. She was so young and already knew how to hit people while the adults were sleeping. If she got any older, she would become completely lawless.

Li Xiaozhu knew her mother wanted to discipline her, and she immediately forgot about slapping her father earlier. "Dad..."

Li Xiangdong laughed, "It's no use calling me now. Your mother is angry. Go over there and let her spank you to calm you down."

"Do not..."

Li Xiaozhu shrank back.

"You're not coming, are you?"

Zhou Yuqin crawled over, grabbed Li Xiaozhu, pressed her onto her lap, and spanked her a few times. To teach her a lesson, she used a lot of force, which made Li Xiaozhu cry.

"If you dare to hit someone again, I'll whip you with a feather duster next time, you hear me?"

Li Xiaozhu wiped away her tears and cried, "Father..."

Li Xiangdong thought his wife was just bluffing, but she actually hit him. Seeing his daughter crying with snot running down her face, he quickly took her from his wife's arms.

"Stop crying."

He looked at his sobbing daughter, shook his head and smiled, "Take it easy next time you hit her. She's only a little over a year old. You can save it up and hit her hard when she's older."

Zhou Yuqin glared at him. "You're quite the talker. You're still saving it up? She's already so arrogant now. If I don't teach her a lesson, do you want to wait until she's hitting you with a stick later?"

Li Xiangdong thought about it and realized that his wife made a good point.

Hitting him with a stick is a minor issue; what if he can still be saved later, and your daughter immediately pulls out the oxygen tube?