Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong sat on the bench, silently calculating. He took Hou Jianshe's tea and turned around to return it to Hou Jianshe. His Uncle Hou probably wouldn't recognize it, right?

He thought about it carefully and figured it shouldn't be a big problem, since there were no marks on the tea leaves.

With that thought, Li Xiangdong stopped worrying. The three of them—grandfather, grandmother, and grandson—sat in the yard chatting until Li's father and his family came home from get off work.

"Third Uncle, the braised chicken you brought back smells amazing!"

Li Xiaojiang was gnawing on a chicken wing; as the eldest, he didn't get a turn to eat the chicken leg.

He was holding a chicken wing in one hand and a steamed bun in the other.

Today we're having meat, so Li's mother specially steamed pure white flour buns.

"If you like it, eat more. Uncle has another chicken wing here for you to have too."

Li Xiangdong picked up a chicken wing from his bowl, walked over, and put it in his bowl.

Do you know which part of a chicken is the most delicious?

Seeing that all the children at the small table were looking up at him, he smiled and continued, "Chicken feet, chicken necks and chicken wings, and your third aunt has a chicken foot in her bowl. Who wants it? I'll go get it for you."

Li Xiaobo shook his head repeatedly.

Li Xiaojiang, with a chicken wing in his mouth, didn't say a word. He glanced at his four younger siblings who were gnawing on chicken legs and snorted.

His third uncle came over to fool him again. He's not like his silly younger brother. The chicken leg is clearly the best!

Zhou Yuqin turned her head and said with a smile, "Come and eat, your daughter is waiting for you to feed her."

Li Xiangdong smiled and took his daughter from his wife's arms.

Li Xiaozhu was too young to eat chicken, so her bowl contained steamed egg custard specially made for her by her mother.

Most of the two braised chickens ended up in the children's stomachs; Li Xiangdong didn't eat a single piece. He brought them back so his family could have a treat.

Logically speaking, it would be cheaper to make it yourself, but he brought it back from afar because braised chicken doesn't require coupons, and the braised chicken from Dezhou is really delicious; you can't make it taste like that at home.

The whole family finished dinner in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

Li Xiaojiang and his three mischievous boys ran out to play in the yard, deliberately jumping and hopping around to digest their food so they could eat an extra slice of watermelon later.

Before it got dark, Li's father pulled the watermelons out of the well, and Li's mother cut both watermelons up.

Li Xiaojiang, holding a slice of watermelon, sidled up to Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai and boasted, "It's so much more comfortable to eat something cold. Look, I'm getting goosebumps."

Old Li and his wife, being too old, wouldn't eat the watermelon that had been soaked in the well.

Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai were not allowed to eat because they were too young.

But now that Li Xiaojiang is showing off, Li Xiaohai, who is eating watermelon, is envious. He walks over to Li Xiangdong with a slice of watermelon in both hands and says, "Dad, I want to eat something cold too."

Li Xiangdong refused outright, "No, I can't eat cold food after eating so much meat."

Brother Li walked over while eating watermelon and kicked his eldest son in the butt, saying, "If you dare to cause trouble again, you won't be able to eat anymore."

Li Xiaobo, who had been somewhat restless, became quiet the moment he saw his older brother being beaten and then glanced at his mother who was staring at him.

"Mother...eat..."

Sitting in Zhou Yuqin's lap, Li Xiaozhu reached out to grab the watermelon from her mother's hand.

"You eat this."

Li Xiangdong used a spoon to feed her a sip of the watermelon juice he had just prepared.

"Is it sweet?"

"Um..."

Li Xiaozhu nodded repeatedly, clapping her hands happily, and opened her mouth to drink again, "Ah..."

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Let's have another spoonful, but not more, okay?"

Li Xiaozhu, drooling, nodded, "Okay..."

After she finished another spoonful, Zhou Yuqin also finished her slice of watermelon. "I'm not eating anymore. I'm carrying her back to the room. Otherwise, if she watches you eat, she'll start making a fuss again."

Li Xiangdong nodded. "Kids will be kids. Even if my daughter agreed just now, she'll definitely start crying and making a fuss if things don't go her way."

Zhou Yuqin carried Li Xiaozhu back into the house.

Sitting to the side, Li's father said, "Third son, you're off tomorrow, right? Remember to go to Xiaotao's master's house and pick Xiaotao up while you're at it."

Li Xiaotao's father and his two companions learned about his visit to Hou San's house during dinner earlier.

Li Xiangdong agreed, "I'll go tomorrow morning."

Brother Li put down the half-eaten watermelon he was holding, went back into the house to get some money and tickets.

"Dongzi, logically your sister-in-law and I should go, but we'll have to trouble you to make the trip. Take this money and these tickets; use them to buy gifts when you go tomorrow."

Li Xiangdong didn't take it. "No need to give it to me. Didn't someone give Xiaotao ten yuan last time? I have that money. It's enough for me."

"It's different. Just take it. You need a ticket to buy things, right?"

Without saying a word, Brother Li stuffed it directly into his pocket.

Li Ersao, who was eating watermelon nearby, said, "Brother, do you have enough tickets? My Weimin still has two wine tickets."

Brother Li asked, "Boss, do you need this? If so, I'll go get it for you."

Brother Li didn't speak; he looked at Li Xiangdong beside him.

Li Xiangdong took out the money and tickets that his elder brother had just stuffed into his pocket and looked at them. "No need, Second Brother. There are two wine tickets in the tickets that my elder brother gave me. That should be enough."

He then returned some money to Brother Li, saying, "I don't need this much. I still have some cigarette coupons in my room. When I go tomorrow, I'll bring two cartons of cigarettes, two bottles of wine, and some candy."

Old Man Li said, "Listen to Dongzi, there are quite a few of these things."

These things are indeed quite a lot, but the tickets are hard to come by. Nowadays, many organizations have a mentorship system where apprentices receive two bottles of wine as a gift when they become apprentices, which makes the master very happy.

After finishing their business, there were only a few pieces of watermelon left on the table. Just as Li Xiangdong reached for a piece, Li Xiaohai walked over.

"Dad, I want more to eat."

"Are you still eating?"

Li Xiangdong patted his son's bulging belly, then turned to Li Xiaojiang and asked, "Xiaojiang, how many pieces did he eat just now?"

Li Xiaojiang replied, "Third Uncle, Xiaohai ate two pieces."

Goodness, when Li's mother cut the watermelon, she cut the pieces quite large. Li Xiaohai is only three years old, and two pieces are already quite a lot for him, especially since he had just finished dinner not long ago.

"You're not allowed to eat anymore."

When Li Xiaohai heard that he was not allowed to eat, he immediately sat down on the ground and started acting like a spoiled child, shouting, "No way, I want to eat!"

Li Xiangdong frowned and said, "Get up right now, or I'll beat you up if you keep causing trouble."

Seeing his father's stern face, Li Xiaohai quickly got up from the ground. Still unwilling to give up, he said, "Big brother ate three pieces, so I want to eat three pieces too."

Li Xiangdong was so exasperated by his son that he laughed. "Your older brother is ten years older than you, and he can eat three cornbread buns in one meal. Why don't you eat them?"

Li Xiaohai lowered his head and remained silent, then turned and walked out of the house.

After Li Xiangdong saw him leave, he ignored him.

Li Xiaohai walked to the jujube tree, squatted down in front of Li Xiaobo who was eating watermelon, and said, "Brother Xiaobo, my dad won't let me have any. Can you let me have a bite?"

Li Xiaobo handed over the watermelon in his hand, saying, "You take a bite first, and then I'll have another bite."

The two squatted together, head to head, and ate, taking turns eating.

"Hey Xiaohai, why didn't you say anything when you were peeing!"

"I...I can't hold it in anymore."

Li Xiaobo got up and ran into the house, shouting, "Third Uncle, Third Uncle, look, Xiaohai peed on me!"

Li Xiangdong hurried out of the house and saw Li Xiaohai, wearing open-crotch pants, squatting under the jujube tree, burying his head in a watermelon rind while urinating continuously.

Wow! This is amazing! It allows you to do both without any problems...