Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

After seeing Gao Xinmin off, Li Xiangdong also planned to go home.

"Don't rush off. Come to my study with me. I have something to tell you."

After Hou Jianshe finished speaking, he turned around and walked towards the study.

Li Xiangdong followed him in. "Uncle Hou, is there anything you need to tell me?"

After Hou Jianshe sat down, he pointed to a chair in front of him and said, "You sit down first."

After Li Xiangdong was seated, he asked, "Are you and our third son tinkering with something?"

Li Xiangdong didn't expect him to ask this question. He thought that he was just like Aunt Hou, only worried about Hou San.

However, since Hou Jianshe asked this question, he must have already discovered something.

He guessed that it wasn't Gao Xinmin who snitched, but rather Hou San who gave it away.

"Uncle Hou, we're dealing with crickets."

"Cricket?"

Hou Jianshe was full of questions. "Aren't crickets everywhere? Why would you go all the way to Shandong Province to trade them?"

Different circles lead to different experiences, especially in industries like railways, oil, and tobacco, which are all closed little kingdoms. From birth to death, you don't need to have any contact with anything outside the industry; the company takes care of everything.

Li Xiangdong briefly explained the situation to Hou Jianshe, who nodded after listening.

"Oh, I see. So this thing can indeed make money."

"Yes, you can make some money."

Li Xiangdong only said he could earn some money, but he wouldn't say how much. Money is a sensitive topic, so if Hou Jianshe wanted to know, he should ask Hou San himself.

"Looks like you've made quite a bit of money."

Even if Li Xiangdong didn't say it, Hou Jianshe could tell from the fact that their third son had been spending money extravagantly lately.

However, he didn't intend to get involved in this matter. Dealing with crickets wasn't a life-threatening thing, and no one cared about those who dealt with televisions.

This current trend is probably known not only within the passenger transport section, but also to the leaders of the ministry.

If those big leaders don't care, why should a mere head of the labor and personnel department worry about this?

As long as people are safe and nothing goes wrong, that's fine.

He took out a cigarette, lit it, took two puffs, and instructed, "When you go out to handle crickets, be sure to be careful."

"Uncle Hou, don't worry, we will be careful."

"Okay, that's all I have to ask. You should take Taozi and hurry home so your family won't worry."

"Understood, Uncle Hou."

Li Xiangdong came out of Hou Jianshe's study and went to Hou San's room to call Li Xiaotao and then go home.

Hou San, who had been drunk, sobered up at this point. He rubbed his eyes, sat on the bed, and asked, "Brother Dong, are you going home?"

"It's already 3 p.m., if we delay any longer we'll have to eat lunch."

This is also why Li Xiangdong wanted to go back as soon as possible; he couldn't possibly freeload two meals at Hou San's house.

He slung a cloth bag over his shoulder, while Li Xiaotao held the two bottles of soda that Aunt Hou had given him. The two stood at the door and said goodbye to Uncle Hou and Aunt Hou.

"Uncle Hou, Aunt Hou, we're going back."

"Goodbye, Grandpa Master, Grandma Master, Master."

Hou San watched the two go downstairs, then turned to his father and said, "My precious apprentice has been staying at our house for a day, and I'm a little reluctant to let him go. Dad, how about I go stay at Brother Dong's house for a day?"

"Are you reluctant to let me go? I think you just want to go out and have fun! You're not allowed to go."

Hou Jianshe glared at him, then turned and went back into the house.

Hou San complained, "Mother, look at the attitude my father has."

Aunt Hou snorted, "Don't go looking for a beating, go back inside and stay there."

...

...

"Go home."

Li Xiaotao straddled the back of the bicycle, swinging his legs back and forth.

"Sit still and don't move."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

Li Xiangdong and Li Xiaotao sped home together.

Before the bicycle had even come to a complete stop, Li Xiaotao jumped off.

When Li Xiangdong pushed his bicycle into the yard, Li Xiaotao, who had run into the main room, had already used his teeth to open the caps of two soda bottles.

"This bottle is for Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandma, and Grandma to drink, and the rest is for my younger siblings and me."

Grandma Li laughed and said, "You can all take it and drink it, we won't drink it."

"You guys drink, you guys drink."

Li Xiaotao put the soda on the table and then led his younger siblings to the yard.

After Li Xiangdong stepped into the main room, he took out the clothes from his satchel and told his mother that they were given to him by Aunt Hou. His mother was overjoyed and, together with his sisters-in-law, began to look through the clothes.

He picked up the soda Li Xiaotao had placed on the table and poured some into several tea mugs nearby.

"Grandpa and Grandma, please try this. Xiaotao brought it for you specially."

Old Man Li and Old Woman Li picked up their teacups and took a sip.

Grandma Li smiled and said, "It's sweet and quite delicious."

"If it didn't taste good, would the kids like it so much?"

Old Li finished the little bit of soda left in his teacup in one gulp. He looked at his mother and the other two and said, "Don't look at the clothes anymore. Drink the soda that Taozi brought back first. It's rare for a child to know how to think of people."

Li Xiaozhu was carried into the house by Zhou Yuqin. Upon seeing Li Xiangdong, she happily exclaimed, "Daddy...hug me..."

"Come here, let Daddy give you a hug."

Li Xiangdong took his daughter and saw that her eyes were fixed on her mother, who was drinking soda. He quickly carried her outside.

The bottle of soda that Li Xiaotao was holding had long been finished by the group of them, each taking a sip.

The empty bottle was in Li Xiaohai's hand, and he was sticking out his tongue to lick the mouth of the soda bottle.

Where is your eldest brother?

Li Xiangdong didn't see his nephew Li Xiaojiang, and he felt something was wrong. Li Xiaojiang should have been very eager to drink soda.

Li Xiaobo replied, "Third Uncle, Big Brother went to take a dump."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Didn't any of you think about leaving a bite for your eldest brother?"

As soon as he said that, his nephews and nieces were stunned. They had been so focused on drinking their soda that they had completely forgotten about their older brother.

"Brother Xiaotao, we forgot to leave some soda for our eldest brother."

"Brother Xiaotao, do you still have any soda?"

"Nothing."

Li Xiaotao rubbed his nose, ran into the main room and looked around, and found that the bottle of soda he had given to his great-grandparents was also finished.

After he came out of the house, he squatted down by the door and thought for a moment, then ran to Li Xiaohai and said, "Xiaohai, stop licking it, give me the bottle now."

"for you."

Li Xiaohai reluctantly handed the bottle to Li Xiaotao.

Li Xiaotao took the bottle and ran to the tap, filled it with tap water, and shook it vigorously while pressing down on the bottle opening.

He felt it was about time, so he took a sip himself and smacked his lips. "Xiaobo, come and try it."

Li Xiaobo walked over and took a sip. "Brother Xiaotao, the water is sweet."

Li Xiaotao nodded and said, "It should be sweet."

Li Xiaohai swayed over and said, "Brother Xiaotao, let me have a sip too."

"You're only allowed to take a sip; the rest is for our eldest brother."

"Well, I see."

Li Xiangdong stood at the doorway, holding his daughter. After watching the whole thing, he really wanted to say thank you on behalf of his nephew.