Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong felt terrible right now. These were all the stupid things he did in his past life, which he had long forgotten.

He could only force a smile and return the money to Brother Li, urging him to quickly cover up his lie so that the couple wouldn't have any more arguments over such a small amount of money.

The three brothers had nothing more to say. It was decided that the whole family would go to see their grandmother, no matter how much it cost.

Their grandfather is right; their maternal grandmother should see the children in the family.

Of course, Li Xiangdong paid the lion's share of the money, since he's rich now.

Li Xiangdong brought up the issue and found a way to resolve a taboo matter in the family, and now the atmosphere in the Li family feels noticeably different.

Li Xiaojiang was playing train with his two younger brothers in the yard.

He walked ahead and shouted, "Little train, choo-choo, go!"

Li Xiaobo, who was tugging at his clothes from behind, and Li Xiaohai, who was at the very back, echoed, "Waaaaah~"

"Play...play..."

Seeing her brothers having so much fun, Li Xiaozhu wanted to get down and join them.

She saw Li Xiangdong come out of the east wing and called out to him, "Dad... play..."

"Okay, Daddy will hold you and play with you."

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

"You three walk slowly, let your little sister follow behind you and play."

He carried his daughter to the middle of the yard, bent down to support Li Xiaozhu's body, and let her slowly follow behind Li Xiaohai.

Li Xiaohai turned around and said, "Little sister, quickly grab my clothes."

Li Xiaozhu blinked, unsure of what to do. Li Xiaohai grabbed her hand, helped her hold her clothes, and then called out to Li Xiaojiang at the front, "Big brother, you can drive now."

"The little train is going, choo-choo!"

"Woooooo~"

Li Xiaozhu, a beat behind, called out, "Five, five, five~"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "It's still 666!"

Li Xiaojiang turned around and said, "Third Uncle, don't cause trouble, or you can get out of the car."

"Third Uncle, we're riding a train."

"Dad, you're so mean."

"Okay, okay, I shut up."

Looking at the serious expressions on the faces of Li Xiaojiang and his two mischievous lads, Li Xiangdong felt that he would be letting them down if he didn't go and carry a tin kettle.

At this moment, Li's mother also came out of the house. She stood at the door and watched the children playing in the yard with a smile.

As darkness fell, Li Xiaojiang and his two companions, though still not done playing, decided to obediently go back to their room to sleep, knowing their parents might come and beat them up at any moment.

Li Xiangdong and Zhou Yuqin held down the two children, cleaned them up, and then put them on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Xiaohai squatted down next to his younger sister, grabbing her pigtails, and chanted, "The little train is going hoo-hoo."

Li Xiaozhu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), drooling, muttering "Waaah~"

"Stop playing."

Zhou Yuqin came over and patted their bottoms, saying, "Go to sleep now."

...

...

The next day.

After breakfast.

Li Xiangdong took a walk to A Zhe's house to borrow a bicycle. He was going to Hou San's house today and needed to buy a lot of things. Taking the bus would not only be troublesome but also time-consuming.

"Dongzi, aren't you tired? Why did you come to see me so early?"

Ah Zhe opened the door with a yawn and then invited Li Xiangdong into the courtyard.

"You still have the nerve to ask, did you bring Hou San to my house?"

Li Xiangdong rolled his eyes at him. If A Zhe hadn't gone to Hou San's house with him yesterday, Li Xiaotao definitely wouldn't have been taken away by Hou San.

If someone suddenly appeared and said, "I'm your child's mentor, and I want to take him home for the night," no one would agree.

Even though Li Xiaojiang and his group had met Hou San, Li's mother and the others would still have some doubts.

Of course, things are different when A Zhe is by Hou San's side.

Ah Zhe laughed and said, "Don't be angry. Hou San is just worried about getting beaten up when he gets home. I'm just helping him."

Li Xiangdong said speechlessly, "You should stay away from doing this kind of thing with Hou San in the future. I know he's worried about being punished by his father when he goes back, otherwise I would have gone to pick up Li Xiaotao yesterday afternoon."

"I'm glad you're not angry. I'll go get your bicycle."

After saying that, A Zhe turned around and walked into the back room.

Hearing the noise in the yard, A-Zhe's father came out of the house. He was holding half a steamed bun in his hand. Standing at the door of the main room, he asked, "Dongzi, have you had breakfast yet?"

"Uncle, are you home? I've already had breakfast."

Li Xiangdong noticed that A Zhe's father was in much better spirits, it seemed that he was in a good mood these past few days since he returned to work at the school.

Ah Zhe's father laughed and said, "Whenever you're free, just let Ah Zhe know in advance, and your uncle will prepare a good meal for you, and invite Binzi and the others, so that the rest of us can have a good time."

Li Xiangdong walked over and handed a cigarette to A Zhe's father. "I'm available anytime. You can have A Zhe contact Binzi and the others. We'll have a good drink with you, Uncle."

Ah Zhe's father nodded and said, "Okay, let Ah Zhe handle this. Is there something you need so early?"

"Dad, Dongzi came to borrow a bicycle."

Ah Zhe pushed his bicycle out of the back room.

"About this, Dongzi, you don't need to rush to return the bicycle since you've taken it. No one rides it anyway."

Ah Zhe's father smiled. His son's workplace was very close by, so he didn't need it.

His workplace is quite far away, and he hasn't fully recovered from his illness yet, so he doesn't ride it. His bicycle just sits there collecting dust.

Li Xiangdong quickly thanked A Zhe's father for his kindness, "I won't be long, I'll bring it back to you before dark."

"Not in a hurry."

Ah Zhe's father waved his hand, then suddenly stopped, "Dongzi, don't go yet."

He walked straight into the east wing. Li Xiangdong took the bicycle from A Zhe and stood in the courtyard waiting.

"Take this."

A Zhe's father came out of the house and shoved a ticket into his hand.

Li Xiangdong glanced at the ticket in his hand. Good heavens, it was a ticket for a Flying Pigeon brand bicycle with a large chain box!

"I can't accept this!"

A Zhe's father held Li Xiangdong's hand and said, "Take it. You know my family's situation. This bicycle is just sitting at home and no one rides it. I have no use for this ticket. It just so happens that your family doesn't have a bicycle. You can take it and buy one."

"No, if that's the case, I won't lend you the bicycle. I'll take the bus."

Li Xiangdong parked his bicycle and then shoved the bicycle ticket into A Zhe's hand.

He's not a child, how could a bicycle ticket be useless?

This stuff is money now, okay!

"Dongzi, just take what my father gave you."

A Zhe stopped Li Xiangdong, who was about to leave, and looked at his father, saying, "Dad, why don't you go back to your room and eat first? I'll talk to Dongzi."

Ah Zhe's father laughed and said, "Alright, you two brothers chat. Dongzi, I'm going to eat. Don't be shy with your uncle."

"Okay, Uncle, go ahead and eat."

After Li Xiangdong and A Zhe's father entered the house, he said to A Zhe, "Let go of me quickly, and say what you have to say."

Upon hearing this, A Zhe let go of his hand. "Don't be embarrassed. My dad is giving this to you sincerely. Didn't you advise my dad to go back to school first and then try to transfer to a government department?"

“This thing seems like it can really work out. You have no idea how much my dad has changed these past few days. He’s in much better spirits. Besides, we’re like brothers, and you’ve been helping me make money. You can just take this bicycle ticket with peace of mind.”

"So you and your son aren't planning to go abroad?"

Forget about tickets, this is what Li Xiangdong cares about most right now.

Ah Zhe nodded and said, "From what I can tell, my dad's desire to go abroad has faded a lot. I guess it's because my dad's old boss said something to him. Anyway, he's changed a lot recently."

Li Xiangdong nodded upon hearing this. It seemed that A Zhe and his son would never go abroad again in their lives, so he could consider this a good deed.

He didn't refuse this time. He had already helped Ah Zhe and his son change their difficult fate, so he felt at ease accepting a bicycle ticket.