Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong helped Hou San up from his knees and patted the dirt off his knees with a smile.

"You've been sitting in the donkey cart for so long, my legs are about to give way. Don't you know how to be more careful? Are you alright?"

Hou San steadied the donkey cart for a moment, then slowly lifted his leg to stretch. "It's alright, Brother Dong."

Li Xiangdong nodded and said, "It's good that you're alright."

"Hmm, Dong..."

Just as Hou San was about to say something, he saw A Zhe, who had gotten off the donkey cart, take out a dollar from his pocket.

He stepped forward and stood in front of A Zhe. "Do you want to practice with me?"

"It's inexplicable."

A Zhe frowned, trying to avoid Hou San.

Hou San spread his arms to block him, saying, "If you dare to give me this one yuan as New Year's money, I'll never forgive you today!"

"Go aside!"

A Zhe pushed Hou San aside and walked up to Uncle Zheng. "Uncle Zheng, here's the fare."

Uncle Zheng chuckled as he took the money and put it in his pocket.

A Zhe turned to Hou San and asked, "What did you just say? You want to spar with me? I'd like to stretch my muscles too."

"Haha~"

Hou San realized he had misunderstood and shook his head awkwardly.

No, you misheard.

"You two stop fooling around. Aren't you afraid Uncle Zheng will laugh at you?"

Li Xiangdong said something to them and started unloading things from the donkey cart, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and get to work, don't delay Uncle Zheng from going home for dinner."

"I'm not in a hurry."

Uncle Zheng smiled and helped them put the things off the donkey cart on the ground.

After turning the donkey cart around, Uncle Zheng got on and cracked his whip, saying, "Next time you need a ride, remember to come find me in advance."

"Uncle Zheng, please drive carefully on your way home."

"Take care, Uncle Zheng."

Just as Li Xiangdong was about to bend down to carry the sack, he slapped his forehead, straightened up, and shouted, "Uncle Zheng, wait for me!"

He quickly ran to the donkey cart that was parked not far away, saying, "I almost forgot, you can take this home for the children to eat."

Fearing that Uncle Zheng would refuse, he took out an oil paper package from his satchel and threw it onto the donkey cart, then turned around and walked back quickly.

Uncle Zheng watched Li Xiangdong's retreating figure, raised his hand as if to call him back, but ultimately sighed and remained silent.

He turned around, picked up the oil paper package from the donkey cart, opened it, and saw that it contained fried peanuts.

"What a nice thing!" He weighed it in his hand, estimating it to be about a pound, and felt a warm current flowing through his heart.

...

Ah Zhe, carrying a sack, asked, "Dongzi, what's going on?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head. "It's nothing. I just remembered that we brought some peanuts with us and didn't eat them. I just took them to Uncle Zheng."

"Oh."

Hou San and A Zhe had no objection to this. They got along well with Uncle Zheng and knew that he was an honest man, so they were willing to spend a bag of peanuts on him.

The three of them put their things in the rest compartment. Li Xiangdong lay down on the bed and said to Hou San and the other man, "You two should go back to the guesthouse for dinner."

Hou San took out two steamed buns from his satchel. "Brother Dong, do you want to have something to eat?"

"I won't eat the steamed buns because they're too dry. Remember to get me some food later."

"Don't worry, Brother Dong."

Hou San put the steamed bun back into his satchel and saw that Li Xiangdong, who was lying on the bed, had already closed his eyes. He took the lunchbox from the small dining table and followed A Zhe out of the car to return to the guesthouse.

Take a lunchbox from the train to the guesthouse to get food, so you don't have to pay a deposit for the lunchbox to the canteen.

The three of them took turns looking at things on the train during this period, and they ate like this all the time.

After Hou San and the other man left, Li Xiangdong, preoccupied with his own thoughts, couldn't sleep soundly. He lay on the bed, half-asleep and half-awake, for more than an hour.

"Dong-ge, get up and eat."

Hou San woke Li Xiangdong up and went to get him some hot water.

"Dong-ge, eat slowly, no need to rush."

Li Xiangdong took a sip of water, nodded, and said, "You go ahead and get back to work. I'll come find you after I finish eating."

Hou San laughed and said, "It's okay, I'll do it myself first. If you're tired, Dong Ge, you can take a nap. A Zhe and I can't help much with collecting crickets, so it's fine if I do more."

Li Xiangdong swallowed the food in his mouth. "Don't say that. This whole thing can't get done without any one of the three of us. You should go and get busy."

"Hehe, Dong-ge, I'm going to get to work."

"Go."

After Hou San left, Li Xiangdong began to concentrate on eating. Halfway through his meal, he suddenly heard a series of disordered footsteps and looked up at the door of the cubicle.

Four colleagues carrying sacks passed by the door of his resting cubicle. Wang Chenghao, who was walking at the back, turned his head and stopped when he saw him.

He put down the sack on his shoulder and asked with a smile, "Having lunch so soon?"

Li Xiangdong nodded. He couldn't refuse a smiling face, so he asked with a grin, "Have you eaten?"

Wang Chenghao seemed ready to continue the conversation, so he leaned against the carriage and replied, "I've already eaten."

Li Xiangdong pointed with his chopsticks at the sacks on the ground, "Looks like you've had quite a haul."

Wang Chenghao laughed and said, "It's alright."

There was a hint of pride in his words. It was their first time collecting crickets, and none of them had expected things to go so smoothly.

This was a successful first battle, and he was naturally overjoyed.

Li Xiangdong thought for a moment and asked, "Did you buy these crickets at the market in the county?"

Wang Chenghao didn't intend to hide it and readily nodded in admission.

After answering Li Xiangdong's question, he turned to ask, "Why are you putting these crickets here too? Weren't they always kept in the train conductor's office car?"

Li Xiangdong rolled his eyes at him. "What do you think?"

"Hehe, so you're saying this is my fault?"

"Who else is to blame if not you? Enough with the nonsense, I have a question for you."

"You said."

"Won't it cause public outrage if we put so many crickets in the rest area?"

"It's alright. We're all just out here doing this. Sooner or later, we'll all need to help each other out. Nobody else will say anything."

"That's good. I wish you all good fortune in advance. You should go and put your things away quickly, so as not to delay your work."

"Then you should eat quickly. Don't eat like a young lady, chewing your food so slowly. It's tiring to watch."

After Wang Chenghao finished speaking, he picked up the sack and left.

Li Xiangdong looked at the empty doorway of the cubicle and clicked his tongue twice, saying, "What do you know, you bastard!"

Chewing your food slowly and thoroughly is good for your health!

After finishing his meal, Li Xiangdong packed up his lunchbox, picked up his tin kettle, and went to find Hou San.

They were busy until the train departed, and then they finally caught their breath and arrived at Dezhou Station without any problems.

The three of them used the same trick again, and with great effort, they snatched two braised chickens.

One was for Gao Xinmin to keep accounts, and the other was bought by Hou San himself for his second grandfather.

Li Xiangdong and A Zhe don't plan to buy any more; they've eaten quite a bit at home lately.

After the train departed again, Hou San took out a braised chicken from his satchel.

"Brother Dong, could you take this braised chicken to Uncle Gao?"

Li Xiangdong didn't answer. He laughed and said, "Go by yourself. While you're at it, say a few nice words to Uncle Gao, and your dad will beat you less often in the future."

Hou San said awkwardly, "I would like to deliver it, but I'm afraid he won't dare to eat it."