Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Don't eat it."

Li Xiangdong stood at the door waiting for his son to finish urinating before going over and snatching the watermelon rind from his hand.

He saw that his son's pants were covered in mud splattered from when he peed on the ground, and said, "Go back inside quickly and have your mother change your clothes."

"Oh~"

With his round belly sticking out, Li Xiaohai went to find his mother.

Xiaohai, don't go yet!

Li Xiaojiang ran over quickly.

Li Xiaohai let out a burp. "Big brother, my dad wants me to go change my clothes."

"Oh, let me touch it first."

Li Xiaojiang chuckled and reached out to touch his stomach, patting it gently.

"Xiaohai, your watermelon is almost ripe, hahaha."

Sister-in-law Li walked over and pinched Li Xiaojiang's ear, "Don't you have anything important to do? Go and collect the watermelon rinds in the house and wash them by the sink."

"I know, Mother, please let go."

Li Xiaojiang broke free from his mother and ran to help his two younger sisters clean up the watermelon rinds.

Li Xiaobo, who had been urinated on by Li Xiaohai, was also dragged by Li Ersao to wash himself and change his clothes.

Li Xiangdong didn't rush back into the house; instead, he helped clean up the watermelon rinds on the table.

Leftover watermelon rinds aren't dirty. You can wash them and use them in stir-fries, or you can pickle them and dry them in the sun. They have quite a unique flavor.

Li's mother told Li's sister-in-law to go back to her room to do her work, while she wiped the table herself.

"Dongzi, take the pork you brought back with you when you go to Xiaotao's master's house tomorrow."

"Grandma, let's keep these and eat them, okay? Don't let Uncle give them away. I want to eat dumplings."

Before Li Xiangdong could even speak, Li Xiaojiang objected, asking, "When have we ever had so much pork at home, except for Chinese New Year?"

He was even thinking about having meat dumplings tomorrow.

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Keep it, Mother. We'll make dumplings for the kids tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he carried a basket full of watermelon rinds in both hands and walked to the pond in the yard to start rinsing them.

Li's mother came over with a rag and a kitchen knife.

"Third brother, it's never a bad thing to be polite. It's okay if we eat less, but taking more things will show that our family values ​​Xiaotao's apprenticeship."

Li Xiaojiang looked dejected after hearing his grandmother's words, and Xiaomei and Xiaolan, the two sisters, also kept their heads down and continued working.

Li Xiangdong smiled when he saw his nephew and niece's expressions. "Okay, I'll take them over tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, he picked up a towel and wiped his hands, then went back into the room to ask Zhou Yuqin for two more meat tickets.

"Take these two meat coupons, you can buy meat to make dumplings tomorrow."

Li Xiangdong stuffed the meat ticket into the pocket of his mother, who was peeling a watermelon.

"Third Uncle, you're so kind!"

Li Xiaojiang grinned happily when he heard what his third uncle said.

Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan's moods have also improved significantly.

Kids, none of them are immune to cravings. They hadn't had meat dumplings in six months, so of course they were very happy.

Li's mother stopped what she was doing, looked at her youngest son and said, "You child, you have meat coupons but you don't know how to save them. It's almost the Mid-Autumn Festival, why don't you buy more meat and send it to your father-in-law's family then?"

"Alright, Mother, don't worry about it. I've got it all planned out."

After Li Xiangdong finished speaking, he frowned and thought for a moment, then leaned close to his mother's ear and asked, "Were those tickets that my older brother gave me just now also for him to give as gifts to his father-in-law's family on the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

Seeing his mother nod, he continued, "I knew he was wondering where he got so many tickets, both for wine and candy."

After shooing her three children away, Li's mother said softly, "Don't worry about this. This is a matter for your eldest brother and his wife. You've already done them a great favor by helping them resolve this worry. If they run out of tickets, I'll give them some more."

Li Xiangdong laughed and asked, "Do you have any tickets at home?"

Li's mother said, "I've saved up all of your father's tickets."

"So you're not sending anything to my grandma anymore?"

Li Xiangdong's maternal grandfather has passed away, but his maternal grandmother is still alive.

More than a decade ago, the country began to support the construction of the Third Front. His two uncles were among those who participated, and his maternal grandparents went to other places with them.

The previous generation of Li Xiangdong did indeed contribute a lot to the prosperity of the country. Some moved their entire families away from their hometowns, while others struggled to balance loyalty to the country and filial piety.

In short, it's all a complicated matter. Between the greater good and the individual family, most people chose the greater good, which has led to many joys and sorrows in the world.

"Send less this time, I'll make up the difference during the Chinese New Year."

Li's mother sighed, feeling very bitter. Her parents had gone to another place with her two brothers, and she hadn't even seen her father when he left.

So many years have passed, and she's worried that she might not be able to see her mother, who is still alive, one last time.

Seeing that his mother was in a bad mood, Li Xiangdong put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her, saying, "I will prepare the holiday gift for Grandma this year. You can rest assured. I will also help you relieve your worries. When the children in the family are on holiday before the New Year, our whole family will go to see Grandma."

“I work at the train station now, so tickets are easy to get. We can get a letter of introduction from Deputy Director Zhang. I’ll cover all the expenses for our family’s round trip.”

"My grandparents are still in relatively good health. I'll have Qian Bin and the others come and check on them every day. What do you think of this arrangement? It should solve all your problems, right?"

"I didn't even want this to happen, but you've managed to seduce me into this. Don't try to fool me."

Li's mother had red eyes, and her lips were trembling as she spoke.

She knew that her youngest son was making a lot of money by reselling things, so when she heard these words, her heart was filled with hope.

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "How could I possibly lie to you about something like this? Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You just need to remember to count the days on your fingers. If you can't figure it out, just draw a line on the wall."

"Who are you laughing at? Do you think I can't even keep track of the days?"

Li's mother laughed when she heard this, but her hand trembled slightly as she held the kitchen knife to peel the watermelon rind.

"You should stop working now and go back inside to rest. I can cut watermelon strips too."

Li Xiangdong was worried that his mother might cut her hand again in a fit of emotion, so he took the kitchen knife and chased her back into the house.

Li Xiaomei leaned closer and asked, "Third Uncle, why is Grandma crying?"

Seeing his three nephews and nieces looking at him curiously, Li Xiangdong explained, "Your grandma misses her own mother, um, your great-grandmother."

Li Xiaojiang asked in confusion, "We still have a great-grandmother?"

When Li Xiangdong's uncles were supporting the Third Front construction, Li Xiaojiang wasn't even born yet. Later, no one in the family mentioned it, so the children didn't know.

The main problem is that mentioning it is useless; we can't see her anyway, and it only makes Li's mother feel bad for no reason.

"Yes, she's out of town. When you have your holiday before the Lunar New Year, your third uncle will take you by train to visit your great-grandmother."