Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Making money!"

Li Xiaozhu counted the money and came out from under the table with a happy smile.

Holding a small coin in her hand, she smugly circled around the room, telling everyone that she had earned five cents.

Feeling unsatisfied after finishing, she went outside and found Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaobo huddled together whispering.

"Brother, look what this is!"

Li Xiaozhu flaunted the money she had successfully recovered, counting it in front of the two men, "One cent, two cents..."

Li Xiaobo was unfazed by his sister's boasting, since the money had nothing to do with him.

Li Xiaohai, standing to the side, was both angry and anxious!

He had asked Li Xiaotao for the money several times, but each time to no avail. Yet, the debt that had been transferred to Li Xiaozhu was resolved in less than ten minutes.

"Isn't Brother Tao short of money?"

Li Xiaozhu folded the small bills in her hand and stuffed them into her pocket. She then patted Li Xiaohai's arm and said, "Brother, don't worry, the money was given to me by Dad."

Li Xiaohai asked in confusion, "Dad paid back the money for Xiaotao?"

"Yes."

Li Xiaozhu nodded with a smile, but her smile seemed to be piercing Li Xiaohai's heart.

"Could you please stop laughing?"

"it is good."

Li Xiaozhu lifted her leg and walked towards the east wing, preparing to put the money into her piggy bank. After taking two steps, she paused, turned around, and looked back.

"Thank you, brother, for letting me make money."

"..."

Li Xiaohai took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You're welcome."

"Then, brother, do you still have any IOUs? I want to earn more."

"It's gone."

"Well, that's a pity."

Li Xiaozhu stood with her hands behind her back and her chin tilted back.

"Upon seeing the princess steal the command token, I was overjoyed and stood at the palace gate, calling out to the servant."

Accompanied by a Beijing-style singing tune, Li Xiaozhu entered the east wing room. Li Xiaobo withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Xiaohai standing to the side.

"My little sister is so happy."

"Xiaobo, let's forget about pooling money to buy a small cannon."

"Hey, don't go! I'm a smart aleck, let's talk some more."

...

...

"Taozi, come here, I need to ask you something."

Li Xiangdong beckoned Li Xiaotao into the inner room, closed the door, and sat down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Third Uncle, what do you want to ask me?"

Li Xiaotao's face was full of doubt, thinking about how his third uncle had helped him pay back the money earlier.

"I don't have any money right now, Uncle. I'll pay you back the 50 cents once I've saved up enough."

Li Xiangdong waved his hand, "I'm not asking you for money. I already said I'd pay it back for you this time. I just want to know what your mindset was when you invited Chunyan to the movies?"

"It has nothing to do with mindset. It's just that Chunyan often brings snacks from home for Xiaolan and me, and I reciprocate by treating her to them."

Li Xiaotao was simple-minded and had no ulterior motives. He never imagined that he was being tested to see if he was in a relationship.

Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Xiangdong observed his nephew's facial expressions and, based on his tone of voice, concluded that his nephew was indeed not yet enlightened in some aspects.

"Taozi, you need to have a sense of propriety in your heart. For example, when you reciprocate Chunyan's invitation, wouldn't it sound bad to borrow money to treat someone to a movie? Only do what you can afford. If you don't have enough money, find another way. Don't try to impress others by being rich when you're not in a relationship."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

Li Xiaotao blushed, somewhat embarrassed. "When Xiaolan heard that I was treating everyone to a movie, she insisted on coming along. If she hadn't gone, I wouldn't have needed to borrow money."

After hearing this, Li Xiangdong's expression changed and he laughed, "So you only planned to cover the expenses for you and Chunyan to go to the movies from the beginning?"

"Yes, I'm returning the favor to Chunyan, so of course I'll prepare something for both of us."

Li Xiaotao said this in a matter-of-fact tone.

Li Xiangdong said speechlessly, "Don't you understand the difference between men and women? What's the meaning of you inviting Chunyan to the movies alone?"

"what?"

Even the slow-witted Li Xiaotao finally realized what was happening. "Third Uncle, you don't think Chunyan and I did that kind of thing, do you?"

Li Xiangdong smiled and asked in return, "Then what is it?"

Li Xiaotao blushed with embarrassment. "Third Uncle, do you know what I'm talking about? Absolutely not! We're just good friends!"

Li Xiangdong stood up and walked over to Li Xiaotao, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't get excited. Your third uncle is just reminding you to be careful. Good friends are good, childhood sweethearts."

Li Xiaotao felt that his third uncle was acting strangely, and he wasn't sure if the other man was warning or educating him, or encouraging him.

"Silly boy."

Li Xiangdong came out of the inner room with a smile and saw that his father and mother had already come over. "Father, Mother."

Where is Taozi?

Li's mother already knows about Li Xiaotao borrowing money.

"I'm here."

Li Xiaotao came out of the inner room right after him.

"come over."

Li's mother was about to give him a talking-to, and Li Xiaotao knew he was about to be lectured, so he said "Oh" and obediently went over.

Li Xiangdong listened with amusement as his mother scolded Li Xiaotao for a while. When he heard the same few sentences over and over again, he decided not to listen anymore and went to see what Zhou Yuqin was busy with after washing the dishes.

He walked to the doorway, lifted the curtain, and saw Li Xiaozhu standing at the bottom of the steps, holding a notebook and a pen, harassing Li Xiaomei.

Li Xiangdong immediately withdrew his leg, stood at the doorway, and eavesdropped on the two sisters' conversation.

"Sister, please hurry up and write it, okay? I'll give you five cents of the money my dad gave me."

"Li Xiaoqi, do you want to get beaten up? I won't write it, and you can't go find anyone else, or I'll tell Third Aunt and have her beat you with a feather duster."

Li Xiaomei not only refused righteously, but also dragged Zhou Yuqin out to threaten her.

Having already tasted success, Li Xiaozhu wanted to try again, "How about I give you a dime?"

"Oh no, how old are you? How come you have so many cunning schemes?"

Enraged, Li Xiaomei grabbed the other person's ear.

"pain."

Li Xiaozhu reached out and pulled, "Sister, please let go of me."

"It's supposed to hurt."

Li Xiaomei let go and pinched her face in a different spot.

"It's good that you know it hurts. If your third aunt knew, she would definitely beat you more severely than you are now."

Li Xiaozhu retorted, "If my sister doesn't tell, my mother won't know."

"is it?"

Li Xiangdong's voice came from inside. Li Xiaozhu turned her head to look at the doorway and saw her father standing in the main room, lifting the curtain and looking at her with an unfriendly gaze.

This scene terrified Li Xiaozhu. Realizing that something had happened, she turned and ran!

Li Xiaohai, who was watching the spectacle from a short distance away, immediately took a step to the side and stretched out his arms to stop the person.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Li Xiaozhu was frantic and lowered her head, preparing to charge.

With quick reflexes, Li Xiaohai stepped forward and grabbed his struggling sister, holding her tightly in his arms.

"Hahaha, you still want to run away? You can't escape now, can you? Dad, come quick! My little sister is using a notebook and pen to pester Sister Xiaomei, trying to get her to write an IOU so she can ask you for money."