Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

After Li's mother saw that her eldest and second sons had each filled a bowl, the noodles in the large basin were almost gone.

She picked up the large basin and said, "Don't say anything yet, let me cook the noodles first."

She was very curious and couldn't wait to hear the details for herself.

When Li's mother returned to the house with another bowl of noodles, Li's father had finished his bowl of noodles. He wiped his mouth and took out a letter of introduction from his pocket.

Li Xiangdong took the letter of introduction, and seeing his wife's head leaning closer, he opened it and moved closer to her.

Zhou Yuqin asked, "What is the job of a water supplier?"

Li Xiangdong was also completely confused. He felt a little disappointed, as he thought he would be assigned to be a train attendant. He wanted to work in the railway system because he wanted to be on a train.

While serving noodles, Li's father replied, "It seems to be for adding water to trains. Deputy Director Zhang didn't explain the specifics, but it's a good job. Deputy Director Zhang specifically called his classmate who works in the railway system to ask for it."

"Before leaving, Deputy Director Zhang specifically instructed me to tell Dongzi to be careful when traveling to other places in the future."

Li Xiangdong didn't hear anything else, but he heard his father's last words: "Dad, did you mean that Deputy Director Zhang specifically told me to be careful when I go to another place in the car?"

Looking at his startled son, Mr. Li nodded and said, "Yes, that's what they say. What's wrong?"

Li Xiangdong's mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down so much he almost fainted.

He said excitedly, "I'm fine, it's just that the noodles my mom made today were so delicious, I have to have another bowl!"

"You rascal, when have you ever missed a meal?"

Li's mother rolled her eyes at her third son, but she couldn't stop smiling.

Now her third son has a proper job, a really good one at that, much better than working at the coal mine. How could she, as his mother, not be happy?

"No wonder he's a leader, he's really efficient! His dad just went to inquire about some information, and he's already arranged a job for Dongzi!"

Old Li nodded and said, "What my daughter-in-law said is right. The favor I did back then was used to get Dongzi such a good job. If you really think about it, our family is actually indebted to them."

Li's mother suggested, "Father, what do you think? Why don't we buy some good cigarettes and wine, and have Dongzi take them to their door to express our gratitude?"

Old Li shook his head. "No, we just finished our business. If we deliver something to their door, they'll definitely be superstitious."

"How about this, when Dongzi gets his salary, pick an auspicious day and don't buy anything expensive, just some eggs and fruit. This will show our goodwill without putting them in a difficult position. No matter what they do, we'll treat them like family and visit them during holidays."

"It's up to you."

Mr. Li thought his father's words made a lot of sense.

Whether or not they become relatives is another matter, but since the family has finally managed to get in touch with a leader, they definitely want to maintain good relations with him.

After the family finished their noisy lunch and cleaned up the dishes, they all went back to their rooms to rest.

Li's father and brothers all need to take a nap at noon, as they still have to go to work in the afternoon.

The children in the family also know that they cannot make noise at this time, otherwise they will really be beaten.

Li Xiangdong paced back and forth in his room, unable to calm down; he was still incredibly excited!

He wanted to live a good life with his wife and children, and also wanted to take good care of his parents and grandparents, but all of this depended on him earning money.

If someone else were reborn, they might be able to make a name for themselves, overcome all obstacles, carve out their own path, and make a fortune.

But he dared not. It had only been a year since the reform and opening up began, and policies were shifting between left and right, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.

If he dares to do anything reckless, he might be struck by lightning one day!

Besides, even if he combined his two lifetimes, he would barely have overcome the hurdle of illiteracy, and he doesn't know how to do business!

In his past life, he refused to believe in fate and squandered his family's fortunes. In this life, he doesn't want to be someone else's stepping stone again.

Besides, if you have money, why not just buy a house? Why bother with business?

After his lunch break, before going to work, Li's father woke up, washed his face, and then knocked on the door of the west wing.

"Dongzi, Third Brother's wife, come out here for a moment."

"What's wrong dad?"

Upon hearing the noise, Li Xiangdong and Zhou Yuqin immediately came out of the house. Neither of them had rested at all. Their daughter had slept enough in the morning and was full of energy, clamoring for them to play with her. In addition, their eldest son was also making a fuss, so the two of them couldn't even take a break.

When Li's father saw his third son and his wife come out, he rubbed his sleepy face a couple of times.

"When we were eating, you were so happy about your work that I forgot about something else. Deputy Director Zhang knows that your wife and child's household registration is still in the countryside. He asked you to take your wife back to get a household registration certificate, and he will help you change the registration from rural to urban when you come back."

Zhou Yuqin was so excited by her father-in-law's words that she couldn't speak!

Changing her household registration to become a city dweller and receiving access to commodity-supplied grain was not only her aspiration, but also the aspiration of all rural people in this era.

The household registration management policy is a formidable barrier, and not everyone can obtain a quota for changing from agricultural to non-agricultural status, especially for those with commodity grain household registration in Beijing, which is even more difficult to obtain!

She never imagined that such a good thing could happen to her. When she returned to the city with her husband, her household registration couldn't be transferred, which meant that she and her child had to buy grain from the family at a negotiated price.

"Father, is there any rush in this matter?"

Li Xiangdong suddenly remembered the foolish things he had done in his past life, and he felt a little uneasy.

Mr. Li looked at him suspiciously and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Li Xiangdong hesitated and said, "I have to report for duty the day after tomorrow, and I'm not sure when I'll have time. How about we talk about it later?"

Seeing his expression, Li's father knew in his heart that his youngest son was definitely not telling the truth.

"Don't you dare try to fool me! Do you think I'm senile?"

His shout woke up everyone who was resting inside.

Old Man Li and Old Woman Li asked him what happened, and Father Li told him the truth.

Li's mother went over to ask, but when she saw that her youngest son wouldn't speak, she got angry and pointed at Li Xiangdong's nose and started yelling, "Li Laosan, do you not have a mouth? I'm asking you a question, so speak up!"

Li Erge said, "Dongzi, did you get into trouble in the countryside, so you're afraid to go to your father-in-law's house?"