Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Hou San nodded, feigning embarrassment, "Mm."

Ah Zhe seamlessly transitioned into a curse, "Ugh, you son of a bitch!"

Hou San seemed not to hear him and continued talking, "Ah Zhe, how about we switch places?"

"No way! Why didn't you say so earlier? I've already warmed up the bed and now you come to tell me this? Do you think I'm stupid?"

If A Zhe agrees, he'll truly be a fool. Hou San clearly doesn't want to warm the bed himself; he's come here to torment him instead.

"I just remembered, Zhe. It's better to believe in these things than not. Just consider it a favor to me."

"Stop talking nonsense and don't disturb my sleep, you hear me? If you push me too far, I'll just drag the bed to the south and make way for you. Oh, by the way, didn't you want to sleep in the northeast? If you don't mind, you can sleep on the floor under my bed."

After Ah Zhe finished speaking, he covered his head and went to sleep.

Hou San muttered something about feeling weak, stood up, and looked at Li Xiangdong.

"Brother Dong, the fortune teller said the northeast direction won't work, but your location will be fine."

"Hou San, listen carefully."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"Get lost!"

"Da Bao, Bao'er?"

The sound of snoring started...

Having failed to achieve his goal, Hou San could only return to his bed, grit his teeth, take off his coat, and crawl into bed.

"My goodness, it's so cold! They didn't even provide a glass bottle. Dong, Zhe, and Dabao, remember to remind me to bring our own next time we come!"

It's painful to crawl into bed before sleep.

When they wake up and get out of bed, they are just as eager to get out.

The only warm place in the whole house was under the covers; even peeking out while sleeping felt freezing to the nose and face.

Li Xiangdong opened his eyes, gritted his teeth after waking up, and suddenly crawled out of bed to start putting on his clothes.

"Whoa~ Hiss~ Holy crap!"

The cotton-padded jacket and woolen trousers were ice-cold, and Li Xiangdong shivered as he put on his clothes.

Finally, after putting on equally cold shoes and jumping in place for a while, he felt better.

Shivering, Li Xiangdong poured himself a glass of water, sat down in a chair next to the table, warmed his hands with the teacup, and tapped his toes on the ground.

Zhang Dabao then spoke up, "Brother Dong, it's sunny and warm outside."

Li Xiangdong smiled and waved his hand, "I know, no rush, I'll wait for the three of you to get dressed."

Zhang Dabao: "..."

The three of them understood that Li Xiangdong was planning to watch the show, but they were all awake and their stomachs were growling with hunger, so they knew they couldn't escape this time.

Before long, hissing and laughing sounds, along with stomping, echoed from inside the room.

After coming out of the house, Li Xiangdong and the other three squatted in the sun, carrying teacups.

Gao Xinmin, who had already eaten breakfast, went out for a walk nearby and saw this scene when he came back. He started laughing when the two were still seven or eight meters apart.

"What are you four doing?"

Li Xiangdong and the other three spoke up one after another: "Let's bask in the sun for a while."

"It's too cold inside, let's warm up in the sun."

Gao Xinmin, who was walking towards them, smiled and advised, "Winter in Shanghai is like this. Next time you come, remember to ask the apartment staff for a glass bottle, fill it with hot water to warm the bed in advance, and don't rush when you get up in the morning. Tuck your thermal underwear and cotton-padded coat into the blankets to warm them up first..."

Hou San glared with his slanted, triangular eyes and raised his hand to interrupt, "No, Uncle Gao, wait a minute, does the apartment provide glass bottles?"

"We'll provide it. This is Shanghai, after all. How could we possibly be short a few glass bottles?"

At this point, Gao Xinmin understood, "You four weren't useless last night, were you?"

Hou San frowned. "We don't know."

Gao Xinmin laughed and said, "It's not too late to know now. Have you guys had breakfast yet?"

"No."

Li Xiangdong and the other three shook their heads.

"It's already past eight o'clock. Hurry up and go to the cafeteria for breakfast. After you've eaten, go back to your room and pack your things. Don't delay the preparations for the morning's departure."

"Understood, Uncle Gao."

"We'll go right now."

"Don't worry, it won't cause any delays."

...

...

Fuliji Town, Suzhou City, Anhui Province, is where the Beijing-Shanghai Railway passes through and trains stop.

"Brother Dong, the Fuliji Station is just ahead, it's your turn to treat us."

Hou San grinned and came closer, "I already found out the price when we passed by last time. It's three yuan apiece without a ticket."

“Two for each of the three of us, one for Uncle Gao and one for Da Bao, plus one for your second grandfather, and one for Uncle Sun and your two brothers-in-law, that's thirty-six yuan, right?”

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he reached into his pocket and began counting the money.

Hou San shook his head, "I'll buy my own for my second grandfather and my two brothers-in-law. Dong Ge, you pay thirty yuan, and we can try the extra one first. I heard that the roast chicken from Fuliji was served at a state banquet in 59. Everyone who has eaten it says it's delicious and its aroma travels far and wide!"

"Row."

"Also, you have to get off the bus with me to buy it. I'll have a hard time squeezing in by myself."

"to make."

Li Xiangdong recalled the scene he had seen through the car window last time he passed by, where people were crowding the platform to buy roast chicken, and nodded in agreement.

Fuliji roast chicken, Dezhou braised chicken, Daokou roast chicken, and Goubangzi smoked chicken were already known as the "Four Famous Chickens" among the people and in the industry in the late 1950s, and will be officially recognized by the government next September.

It's very famous, and since no tickets are required, it's normal that many people buy it.

As soon as the train pulled into the station and the doors opened, Li Xiangdong and Hou San, who had arrived at the exit in advance, were the first to rush onto the platform.

The money was handed over, and a specially set-out bag was filled with it.

The oil paper clinging to the roast chicken was soaked until it was translucent, hot, and exuded the aroma of oil mixed with cinnamon and star anise, making Li Xiangdong and Hou San unconsciously swallow their saliva.

Back in the train attendant's rest compartment, the two of them huddled together at the small dining table and devoured one; the taste was indeed superb.

Li Xiangdong and Hou San kept their respective roast chickens safe in the bag. Because there were too many passengers on the bus, they only gave A Zhe's two chickens and Zhang Dabao's one chicken to them when they were off duty.

As for Gao Xinmin's, Li Xiangdong only went over and stuffed it into Gao Xinmin's hand after the train pulled into Beijing Station and all the passengers got off.

Instead of staying to wait for A Zhe, Li Xiangdong and Hou San went to the office area to report to Liu Erdan about delivering the gift. They then returned to the platform, carrying A Zhe's belongings from Shanghai. After two trips, they carried the gifts to the platform square, flagged down a pedicab, and went home.

The tricycle stopped in front of Hou San's house first. After Hou San carried his share off the tricycle, Li Xiangdong directed the tricycle driver to his front door.

Li Xiangdong's voice caused the three dogs in the house to bark incessantly, and soon Li Xiaozhu came running out of the house on her short legs.

"father!"

"Hey, slow down."

With the help of the tricycle driver, the cargo in the back of the vehicle was quickly unloaded. Li Xiangdong paid the fare and saw the driver off. He then shooed away the coal balls that were circling around his feet and reached out to push away Li Xiaozhu, who was sniffing him.

"What are you doing?"

Zhou Yuqin's voice came from behind.

Li Xiaozhu knew this question was directed at her. She didn't mention that she smelled the aroma of meat. She straightened up, forced a smile, and turned to look at her mother who was walking towards her.

"Mom, I'm checking for you. My dad is very well-behaved; he doesn't smell of smoke on him."