Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Give."

Li Xiaotao was the first to hand out the leftover bowl, followed closely by Li Xiaobo.

"And mine."

One, two, three...

Seeing the empty bowls handed to her by her older siblings, Li Xiaozhu's expression, which had initially seemed like she was about to get a great deal, gradually turned into a furrowed brow.

"You ate so cleanly."

Of course, they ate it all cleanly. It was a rare treat to have cream cake, so not only did Li Xiaojiang and his four siblings eat it, but even Li's parents wiped away every last bit of cream stuck to the bottom and sides of the bowls.

"then."

Li Xiaojiang smiled and handed the bowl forward again.

Li Xiaozhu was extremely unhappy and turned to leave, saying, "Why are you giving it to me? Don't give it to me!"

Li Xiaolan pressed further, "Aren't you going to help your third aunt with the chores anymore?"

"I'm the younger sister, so my older brothers and sisters can do the work first. In a few years, when I become the older sister, I'll take the place of you."

Li Xiaozhu replied, then climbed onto the little wooden horse and started rocking back and forth.

"give it to me."

Li Xiaojiang took the initiative to get up and collect the bowls.

Zhou Yuqin stepped forward and said, "You don't need to worry about it."

"It's alright, Third Aunt, I'll take it to the water room for you. I need to go back to the old house to read."

Li Xiaojiang carried a stack of bowls, and Zhou Yuqin told him to study hard, but also to remember to rest. The two of them went out of the house together.

"Third Uncle, why are you staring at me like that?"

Li Xiaotao felt uncomfortable being stared at, and Li Xiangdong, who was staring at him, retorted, "What do you think? Can't you learn from your older brother and spend more time reading books? Otherwise, you might not even be able to get into high school."

"Don't worry, Uncle, I'll definitely try my best!"

Li Xiaotao made promises verbally, but his buttocks remained completely still while sitting on the bench.

Li Xiangdong gave his nephew, who was trying to make an effort with his mouth, a brief comment and then stopped talking.

Some things are better left unsaid, and this saying is particularly 'appropriate' when it comes to Li Xiaotao's studies. Otherwise, all of Brother Li's years of lecturing and even getting his hair turned white from worry would have been effective.

Fortunately, two college students have been staying at his home for the past two years, and they occasionally give Li Xiaotao a nudge to his stubborn head.

Society is changing, and ordinary people can only go with the flow because of their limited knowledge and thinking. College students, on the other hand, are the ones riding the wave of the times. Their knowledge and understanding far exceed that of everyone in Li's working-class family, plus the butterfly effect of Li Xiangdong.

Under the influence of various parties, Li Xiaotao was instilled with many things he had never known or thought about before.

Although his studies are still far behind his other siblings, compared to three years ago, he no longer seems silly, dull, or slow to understand.

That easy-to-scam-you-see-on-first-meeting attitude is long gone; he has transformed into a 'normal' child.

This change was obvious to everyone around them. Brother Li and Sister-in-law Li attributed all the credit for their mentally challenged son's "becoming smarter" to Ge Youfu.

Every Sunday when Ge Youfu came back from school, although he still ate all three meals at Li Xiangdong's house, Li and his wife would often stuff fruit, canned food, snacks, and other treats into Ge Youfu's mouth.

Even Uncle Ge, who lives far away in Dukou City, wrote a letter, saying that his grandson had gained a lot of weight and asking how much grain Li's mother had secretly given him so that he could make up for it in his next letter.

"Third Uncle, when will this female guppy give birth?"

Taking the opportunity, Li Xiaobo asked about the things he had been most concerned about these past few days.

"Soon, in about ten days."

After answering his nephew's question, Li Xiangdong looked at his son beside him.

"Li Xiaohai, when the mother fish sinks to the bottom of the mud basin and stops eating and moving, pay close attention to this. Once you see this, she will give birth to fry in a few hours or at most a day. Those little mud basins you made will come in handy then. Remember to separate the fry from the mother fish."

"Why separate?"

Li Xiaohai was puzzled, and Li Xiaozhu, who was riding a little wooden horse, shouted, "We can't be separated! The tadpole is already looking for its mother, so we can't let the little fish go looking for her too!"

Li Xiangdong smiled and glanced at his chubby daughter, then explained to his son, nephews, and nieces, "Have you heard the saying 'big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp'?"

The children had heard the saying, but they never took it seriously, simply thinking it was a rhyme.

Seeing that Li Xiangdong was serious, Li Xiaobo asked in surprise, "Third Uncle, do you mean that after the baby fish are born, the mother fish will eat them?"

"kindness."

Li Xiangdong nodded, "If you don't believe me, you can observe the fry after they are born. The number of fry will gradually decrease until only a few remain."

"Need not."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaohai hurriedly shook his head, and Li Xiaobo immediately chimed in.

"Yes, no need to observe."

They were hoping to make money from the fry, but the cost of observation was too high. If they weren't careful and the mother fish ate all the fry, they would suffer a huge loss.

Especially Li Xiaohai, who is now heavily in debt!

"Xiaohai, when the mother fish that Uncle San mentioned sinks to the bottom of the mud basin, not eating or moving, remember to carry the mud basin to the east wing."

Li Xiaotao was also waiting to make money. Unlike Li Xiaobo, who was saving money to go to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors, Li Xiaotao was doing it to repay He Chunyan's favor.

He often gets snacks from other people, so he felt bad not reciprocating.

"Alright, you've eaten the cake, come back with me now."

Li's mother got up and urged Li Xiaotao and the other three to go back to the old house. They had to go to school in the afternoon, and even if they didn't take a nap or study, they needed to rest and recharge.

"Goodbye, Grandpa and Grandma."

Li Xiaozhu waved from her small wooden horse.

When only she and the elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Li, were left in the house, Mrs. Li asked, "Are you still playing? Why don't you go back inside and rest for a while, and play again in the afternoon?"

Li Xiaozhu was full of energy. "I'm not tired."

"Then play by yourself, but be careful not to fall off. Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma, go back to the kang (heated brick bed) in the house and lie down for a while."

"Understood, Great-Grandpa."

Li Xiaozhu watched the old couple go back into the house, continuing to rock the little wooden horse with a "giddy-up" sound.

"Come back to the house with me."

Zhou Yuqin finished washing the dishes and came over to call for help.

Li Xiaozhu looked at her mother standing at the doorway and said, "I don't want to sleep."

"Even if you're not going to sleep, come back to the east wing with me. Don't disturb your great-grandfather and great-grandmother's rest. Come here now."

Seeing Zhou Yuqin waving at her, Li Xiaozhu chuckled and said, "I won't make a fuss, I'll be very well-behaved."

Zhou Yuqin stopped talking. Li Xiaozhu met her gaze for less than three seconds, then sighed in defeat, slid off the ground, and walked towards the door, hands behind her back, muttering to herself.

"There's really nothing I can do against you."