Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

At the entrance of the old house.

After getting up and washing up, Li Erge, with a happy expression, smoked a cigarette and chatted with two neighbors of similar age.

The job of buying groceries for the restaurant is done by whoever is on night watch at the restaurant. Last night it was Brother Li's job, which is why he had the leisure to do it.

Seeing his third brother return from buying breakfast with his little niece, who was clutching a fried dough stick and eating it as they walked, Li Erge asked with a smile, "How many fried dough sticks did you buy? Did you get any for me?"

Li Xiaozhu was embarrassed to answer that she didn't have any, but she didn't want to say that she did either, because she hadn't bought many sugar-coated fried dough cakes.

"Dad, I'm going to go play with my sister."

Li Xiangdong reached into his pocket and offered cigarettes to his neighbor, saying, "Aren't you going home for dinner? Wait until you've had breakfast before you play."

"Wait for me, I'll only play for two minutes."

Li Xiaozhu replied, then ran up the steps and into the courtyard.

Li Xiaozhu, who claimed to be there to play but was actually just looking for an excuse to show off, went into the courtyard and found Li Xiaomei and her sister brushing their teeth at the sink, as well as Li Xiaotao and Li Xiaobo who were queuing to wash their faces.

Li Xiaojiang woke up early and studied in the room. Although Li Xiaozhu liked to be mischievous, she also knew that if she dared to disturb her brother's studies, her mother would definitely beat her with a feather duster when she got home.

She happily ate the sugar-coated fried dough and started circling the pool.

"Mmm, so sweet, so sweet! There's another one after I finish one, Brother Bobo."

"I'm washing my face, we can talk later."

Li Xiaobo scooped up water from the tap and splashed it on his face, then rubbed it vigorously.

Seeing that he was busy, Li Xiaozhu turned her gaze to Li Xiaotao, who was squeezing toothpaste.

"Brother Tao Tao, do you know what one plus one equals?"

Li Xiaotao yawned, "Two."

"Brother is amazing! He actually knew I could eat two fried dough sticks this morning!"

Li Xiaozhu was overjoyed, clutching the unfinished sugar-coated fried dough in one hand and holding up a two-pointer with the other, "It's two!"

Li Xiaotao glanced over and walked away to brush his teeth.

Li Xiaozhu didn't care about his departure; she had already 'used' him anyway.

"Sister Xiaolan, do you know what you get after adding one plus one plus one and then subtracting one?"

"It was two slaps."

Li Xiangdong's voice came from in front of the screen wall, and Li Xiaozhu immediately ran towards the main room.

"Why are you running? Come back! Hurry up and come home with me for dinner, or the tofu pudding will get cold."

"Wait for me for one more minute."

Li Xiaozhu ran into the main house, tore off a piece of the sugar-coated fried dough and stuffed it into her father's hand. Without hesitation, she ran out of the house and obediently followed Li Xiangdong home for breakfast.

"Brother, do you know what one plus one equals?"

"do not know."

Li Xiaohai clearly remembered being woken up that morning and was unwilling to cooperate.

"Brother is so stupid, it equals two, hehehe, Dad bought me two sugar-coated fried pancakes."

"Pshaw, I'm not envious at all. Do you know why I lost two teeth? It's because I ate too much sugar. You eat more, eat as much as you want, and when all your teeth are gone, let's see how you'll eat meat and gnaw on bones then."

Li Xiaohai tried to mislead her, but Li Xiaozhu immediately refuted him.

"No, Dad said that all children lose their teeth."

"You've got it wrong."

"I'm not mistaken."

"You really remembered wrong. If you don't believe me, just keep eating. Anyway, it's not me who will lose all my teeth in the end."

"I...I, brother, I really remembered wrong?"

"Well, really."

Li Xiaohai nodded, suppressing a laugh.

Li Xiaozhu was dumbfounded. Looking at the remaining sugar-coated fried dough in her hand, she wanted to eat it, but dared not continue.

The two children were having a friendly chat in private, unbeknownst to the adults in their family.

After the breakfast he bought was served, Li Xiangdong sat down at the table and pointed to the half-eaten fried dough stick on the table. He looked at his daughter, who was drinking tofu pudding and eating fried dough sticks, and asked her a question out of curiosity.

"Li Xiaozhu, aren't you going to eat the fried dough sticks?"

Li Xiaozhu raised her head and swayed it from side to side, "I'm not eating anymore."

Her unusual behavior was obvious to everyone at the table except for Li Xiaohai, who was fully aware of it; Li Xiangdong and the others were completely unaware.

Grandma Li asked, "Don't you love sugar-coated fried dough sticks the most?"

Li Xiaozhu swallowed the tofu pudding in her mouth. "Dad told me the story of Kong Rong giving away pears. I call this Xiaozhu giving away sugar-coated fried dough."

Old Li chuckled, "What a good kid."

"Yes, yes, I'm a good boy."

After Li Xiaozhu finished speaking, she chuckled.

She felt incredibly clever, not only saving her teeth so she could continue eating meat and gnawing on bones, but also reinforcing her image as a good girl.

"Great-Grandma, do you think I'm a good child?"

Grandma Li smiled and nodded, "Yes."

Li Xiaozhu felt her "good girl" persona solidified by +1...

"Mother, am I a good child?"

Although Zhou Yuqin felt strange, she didn't hold back her praise for her daughter's initiative to study hard, saying, "Good girl."

"Hehehe, Dad..."

Durability +1 +1 +1

Li Xiaozhu was overjoyed, thinking she had gotten the better deal, and laughed so hard she almost choked on her tofu pudding.

Zhou Yuqin frowned. "Eat properly."

"Oh."

Li Xiaozhu sat obediently, taking small bites of her rice with concentration, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile indicating that she was in a particularly good mood.

After breakfast, Li Xiangdong helped his wife wash the dishes and chopsticks, then took the seashells with holes drilled the night before to the east wing room, where he and his wife strung the seashells together with red silk.

The two children gathered around to watch the fun and helped pass the seashells to each other.

Grandma Li took the seashell from her great-granddaughter and said, "Go get a stool and sit down to work."

"it is good."

Li Xiaozhu moved a small stool over and sat down next to Old Lady Li.

The seashells were quickly strung together, and Li Xiangdong put them back into the cloth bag. "I'll take them to the restaurant now."

He was saying this to Old Lady Li, but Li Xiaozhu, who was sitting next to him, immediately stood up after hearing it.

"I also need to go."

"Stay home and behave yourself. I'll be back in a bit."

"Dad, I haven't been there in so long, please take me with you."

"Miaomiao's coming right now, aren't you going to play with your sister?"

"Didn't you say you'd be back in a little while?"

"It might be a little late, I misspoke."

"It's okay, let your brother stay home and play with your sister."

Li Xiaozhu insisted on sticking to him no matter what, so Li Xiangdong pulled out two large white rabbit rabbits from his pocket.

"Want some? If you do, take some. When Miaomiao comes over, you two can each have a piece."

Li Xiaozhu shook her head, "Give it to my brother, I don't like eating candy starting today."

"why?"

Li Xiangdong noticed that his daughter was acting strangely this morning. She ate half of a sugar-coated fried dough and then refused to eat any more, and she wouldn't even take a White Rabbit milk candy offered to her.

"My brother said so."

Li Xiaozhu had barely begun to speak when Li Xiaohai, who was standing nearby, ran out of the house like a greased grease, shouting, "Brother, don't run away!"

Li Xiangdong grabbed Li Xiaozhu, who was about to chase after him, and asked, "What did your brother say to you?"

"My brother said..."

Li Xiaozhu recounted Li Xiaohai's words of deception.

Li Xiangdong couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You've been fooled, he's just trying to trick you. Didn't he tell you before that kids all lose their baby teeth when they get to that age?"

These words were like a bolt from the blue, causing Li Xiaozhu's anger to flare up instantly.

She looked aggrieved and on the verge of tears, but she remained stubborn.

"I didn't fall for it. I'm very smart. I knew my brother was lying to me. I was just playing along with him."