Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

When Li Xiangdong saw Hou San's head pop out, he winked at A Zhe, and the two of them went over and lifted Hou San up.

Hou San, puzzled, asked, "Brother Dong, what are you two doing?"

"You'll find out soon."

"You two, let me go, I'll leave."

"It's okay, we'll help you walk faster."

Li Xiangdong and A Zhe carried Hou San back to the resting cubicle, threw Hou San onto the bed, and covered him with a quilt.

Ah Zhe pressed Hou San down, "Dongzi, you go first."

"it is good."

Li Xiangdong gave Hou San a good beating, and then it was A Zhe's turn to beat him.

After venting their anger, the two sat on the bed, panting heavily.

Hou San threw off the blanket and asked with a grin, "Dong-ge, A-Zhe, you two aren't angry anymore, are you? I really didn't know the pistol wasn't on safety."

"roll!"

"Hey, are you thirsty? Let me pour you some water."

Hou San let Li Xiangdong and A Zhe beat him up through the blanket, but he wasn't angry, mainly because it didn't hurt. The combined blows weren't even as hard as the kick Gao Xinmin had given him earlier.

He very attentively poured a cup of hot water for the two of them.

As dawn broke, A Zhe went to relieve his shift, and Li Xiangdong and Hou San also began their work for the day.

The morning passed peacefully until Li Xiangdong and Hou San went to the dining car for lunch, when Gao Xinmin came over with a lunchbox.

"You want to run?"

Gao Xinmin pressed Hou San, who was trying to slip away, back into his seat. "Hou Laosan, won't you have a drink?"

Hou San handed Gao Xinmin a cigarette, "Uncle Gao, we still have work to do after we finish eating."

Gao Xinmin lit a cigarette and took a puff. "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and bring me the wine and food."

"I'll go right away."

Hou San was about to get up when Gao Xinmin pressed him down again.

"You sit still, Dongzi, you go."

Li Xiangdong gave Hou San a look that said "good luck," and then got up and left.

Gao Xinmin sat down opposite Hou San, picked up his lunchbox and quickly finished his meal before putting it down and looking at Hou San, who was eating cautiously.

He suddenly called out, "Hou Laosan."

"Hey."

Hou San, who was eating, paused with his chopsticks and quickly looked up to respond.

Gao Xinmin laughed and said, "You remember when you were a kid, you would throw firecrackers into the toilet, sneak into the canteen to sprinkle salt on the food, go to the water room to pee into other people's thermos bottles, and stay up all night to take a rubber band and smash other people's windows."

"You were young then, but now? You're about to get married, and all you do is fool around all day?"

As he spoke, his expression turned serious. "Putting aside drinking during work hours, is it okay to just play with a handgun? What if it goes off accidentally? Shi Zhengzhe is an only child! His parents raised him with great difficulty..."

As Hou San listened to Gao Xinmin's rambling, he looked up and saw Li Xiangdong standing behind Gao Xinmin with a smile on his face.

When Li Xiangdong overheard his embarrassing childhood story, he blushed and whispered, "Brother Dong."

Gao Xinmin was scolding Hou San when he heard Hou San call out "Brother Dong," and he changed the subject.

“What’s wrong with Dongzi? Even though he has two brothers and children, if the gun had gone off accidentally last night and you had killed him, what does it matter if he has descendants? What does it matter if his parents have someone to take care of them? If you kill him, you will still have to pay with your life.”

Li Xiangdong was watching Hou San get scolded with a smile when he heard Gao Xinmin's words, and his smile vanished instantly!

What do you mean he has descendants? He was beaten to death by Hou San, and his parents will have someone to take care of them. Is this even human language?

When Hou San saw Li Xiangdong's expression, his eyelids twitched. "Uncle Gao, stop talking. My brother Dong is back."

"Ah~"

Gao Xinmin turned around and saw Li Xiangdong standing behind him with a dark face. He coughed twice and said, "Hey Dongzi, what I just said didn't mean anything by it."

Li Xiangdong forced a smile. "I understand, Uncle Gao. You're just trying to teach Hou San a lesson. I didn't take it to heart."

Gao Xinmin said awkwardly, "That's exactly what I meant. How can you point a gun at someone? I definitely have to teach him a lesson, otherwise this silly boy won't understand the seriousness of the matter at all. Dongzi, please sit down and eat."

After Li Xiangdong sat down, he changed the subject, saying, "Oh~ fried peanuts, a great snack to go with drinks."

Hou San wasn't a good drinker; he barely drank any of the wine. However, the three of them finished the pig's head meat, leaving only half a bag of peanuts and half a bag of fried dough twists.

"Good wine."

Gao Xinmin opened his military water bottle, smelled it, and then put the lid back on. But as a connoisseur of wine, he could naturally tell whether it was good or not. He confiscated the bottle of good wine along with the peanuts.

Hou San was heartbroken!

The Fenjiu liquor in his military water bottle was something he had worked hard for, and even got a beating in return.

He hadn't drunk much, but now it's all gone!

Hou San felt he had to retaliate. "Uncle Gao, would you like some tea? I'll get you some."

"Plain water is fine, go and pour it for me."

Gao Xinmin smiled and handed the teacup to Hou San, saying, "Don't make the water too hot."

Hou Sanle said, "Uncle Gao, I understand."

Gao Xinmin smiled as he watched Hou San walk out of the carriage. "Dongzi, do you think the water Hou San poured for me is drinkable?"

"Ok?"

Li Xiangdong's mind raced, and he instantly understood why Hou San, who had suffered a loss, would still offer to pour water for Gao Xinmin.

Gao Xinmin looked at Li Xiangdong meaningfully and asked, "Don't just 'uh-huh,' tell me if it's okay to drink it?"

Li Xiangdong thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Can you drink it?"

Gao Xinmin snorted and ignored Li Xiangdong.

Neither of them spoke again until Hou San returned with a teacup.

"Uncle Gao, the water isn't too hot, please drink it."

Hou San felt he was about to succeed in his revenge, his mind filled with the memory of being kicked that morning and the empty military water bottle.

He didn't even notice Li Xiangdong giving him a wink, and shoved the teacup in his hand right up to Gao Xinmin's mouth.

"I don't need you to feed me, I can drink it myself."

Gao Xinmin took the teacup from Hou San and casually placed it on the dining table.

Hou San noticed that Gao Xinmin didn't seem to want to drink, so he urged, "Uncle Gao, have some water."

"Isn't there water over there? Why did you go out to get water?"

Gao Xinmin pointed to the thermos under the food serving window and then laughed, "I suddenly remembered something. When you were little, you used to like spitting into other people's teacups. Now I'm a little hesitant to drink the water you fill up. What should I do? Why don't you take a sip first?"

Looking at Gao Xinmin, who had a half-smile on his face, Hou San stammered, "Ah? This...this..."

"Don't say 'this' or 'that,' Uncle will feed you himself!"