Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

'dong dong'

"Who?"

"I'll get dressed and go to your grandfather's room. We have something to tell you."

"I know dad."

Li Xiangdong pulled the light cord and picked up the watch next to his pillow to check the time.

Ten p.m.

The knocking woke Zhou Yuqin, who was already asleep. She covered her eyes with her hand and asked groggily, "Why is Dad looking for you so late?"

"I do not know either."

Li Xiangdong got dressed, rolled off the kang (a heated brick bed), and said, "You go back to sleep, I'll go check on things."

As soon as he tiptoed out of the house and turned around to close the door, the lights in the house went out.

There is no moon tonight, and the quiet courtyard is pitch black.

Only in the room where Old Man Li lived could one see a little light through the window.

Li Xiangdong groped his way into the main room, pushed open the door to his grandparents' room, and saw a half-burnt candle on a table near the east wall.

Old Man Li and Old Woman Li sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), while Father Li and Mother Li sat on either side of the table.

The dim candlelight, coupled with the motionless presence of his grandparents and parents, made Li Xiangdong suddenly feel a chill in the air!

"Why don't you turn on the light?"

No one answered his question.

Grandma Li patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), "Dongzi, come and sit here."

Li Xiangdong obediently sat down, yawned, and then asked again, "Didn't you say you had something to say? Why didn't my eldest and second brothers come?"

"I didn't go to call them."

Mr. Li took out half a pack of cigarettes, pulled out two, and then threw the pack on the table.

He held two cigarettes between his fingers, took a couple of puffs over the small flame of the burning candle, lit one, and handed it to Old Man Li.

Old Li took the cigarette his son offered, took a puff, and looked at his grandson beside him. "You must have made a lot of money trading crickets lately, right?"

"I made quite a bit of money, probably..."

The people sitting in the room were all his close relatives, so Li Xiangdong had nothing to hide and was about to tell them the truth about how much money he had made from trading crickets recently.

But he was interrupted by Old Man Li halfway through his sentence.

"You don't need to tell us how much money you made. We just know you made money. We called you over because there's something else we wanted to tell you in advance."

"Oh, Grandpa, please go ahead, I'm listening."

Li Xiangdong fell silent, mainly because he couldn't figure out what they wanted to say when they called him over.

In his memory, nothing major had happened at home during this period.

Old Li took two puffs of his cigarette, coughed a few times, and said, "Some time ago, your parents and I discussed it and decided to divide our family property."

"Separate?"

Li Xiangdong was greatly surprised to hear what his grandfather said!

What's going on here?

In their previous life, the Li family divided their property after Old Man Li and Old Woman Li had passed away.

"Why did you have to split up the family when everything was going so well?"

Faced with his grandson's question, Old Man Li remained silent. Although he had brought up the matter of dividing the family property, there were some things that he, as the grandfather, couldn't say.

The room fell into a tense silence as Li's mother grew impatient.

She said directly, "Third brother, you've brought a lot of things home these past few days. Our family has had meat every day for the past month. You've done a good job. You've become much more sensible now."

Hearing his mother's praise, Li Xiangdong was flattered and nodded repeatedly, saying, "It's my pleasure, it's my pleasure."

But his joy was short-lived, as Li's mother abruptly changed the subject, scolding, "Should be my ass! You..."

Old Mrs. Li interrupted her daughter-in-law, saying, "Why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk this out."

"Oh, I understand, mother."

The humble and submissive manner of Li's mother struck Li Xiangdong, who was watching from the side, as very strange!

how to say?

He had never seen it in either of his lives!

Does his mother have a split personality?

Before he could think further, Li's mother continued, "Your eldest and second brothers only give the family five yuan a month, but how much does the food you bring back this month cost?"

"Third brother, you need to understand this: this can't go on like this in the long run. Do you plan to support our whole family forever?"

After Li's mother finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became even more tense. Although some of her words made sense, once they were pointed out and spoken out, they became very unpleasant to hear.

Father Li, Mother Li, Old Man Li, and Old Woman Li were not reincarnated.

They were simply relying on their own life experience and, from the perspective of elders, worried that Li Xiangdong's behavior would eventually become taken for granted.

He was also afraid that his children would develop the same idea that it was their right to eat and drink whatever their third uncle provided.

Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Li Xiangdong now understood why Hao Hao had called him over alone to discuss dividing the family property.

Now it's even clearer why we didn't call Brother Li and Brother Li Er over. If those two brothers heard what Mother Li said earlier, they would be so ashamed!

He wanted to say something, but didn't know how.

The main issue is that his rebirth will inevitably trigger a butterfly effect. With him as a variable, no one can predict what will happen in the future.

Besides, even if he said that Brother Li and Brother Li Er wouldn't have any other thoughts in the future, Li Xiaojiang and the others wouldn't go astray; they would all be filial and good children in the future.

But that's a story for later. If we say it now, will his grandparents and parents listen?

Stop talking nonsense. In terms of the timeline of a lifetime, he went to the countryside after graduating from junior high school and has only been back in the city for a little over two months. He is the adult in the Li family who has the least say, besides Zhou Yuqin.

However, he does have a solution...

Old Li stared at his grandson for a long time.

"You good-for-nothing, have you already planned to move out? Once you move out, all these things will be fine?"

Aiya, I go!

This was the first time in all of Li Xiangdong's life that Old Man Li had called him a good-for-nothing grandson.

Most importantly, Old Man Li actually guessed his little scheme; that was indeed what he planned.

"Hehe, Grandpa, don't worry. Even if I move out, I will definitely take you and Grandma with me."

Hearing Li Xiangdong's words, Old Man Li and Old Woman Li smiled with satisfaction.

But Li's father and mother, who were sitting at the table, felt uncomfortable. Why did they leave them out of the conversation?

Mr. Li tapped the table. “Get serious. Don’t you know we’re talking about serious matters? Whether you move out or not is a matter for the future. You’re still living in this house now, aren’t you? Right now, we still have to go through with the division of the family property.”

Li's mother said with a hidden meaning, "Once the family is separated, you'll have a more legitimate reason to move out."

Li Xiangdong said awkwardly, "I'll listen to you, okay? Please stop talking about me moving out. I haven't saved enough money to buy a house yet."

"Alright, there's nothing more to say. You two go back to your rooms and rest."

Old Li helped his grandson out of the predicament, saying, "Dongzi, don't go yet, I still have something to tell you."

Li's mother tugged at Li's father, who was sitting still, and said, "Father, Mother, let's go back inside first."

Mr. Li picked up the half-pack of cigarettes on the table, stuffed it into his pocket, said goodbye, and then went out.

After his parents left, Li Xiangdong asked, "Grandpa, what do you want to tell me? How do you plan to tell my two older brothers? Are you going to lay it all out on the table?"

Old Man Li waved his hand. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk about. The matter of dividing the family property can't be discussed openly. Your two older brothers have always been stubborn; they won't agree to a division."

"To be frank, there are only two outcomes: either your two brothers will compensate you for whatever you bring home, or they'll be unwilling to pay but also embarrassed to take advantage of you, in which case neither of them will eat a single bite of what you bring back."

Grandma Li patted Li Xiangdong's hand, "Your grandfather is right. What if, after the family fortune isn't divided, the two families sit at the same table eating cornbread and pickled vegetables while we sit at the same table eating meat and steamed buns?"

Li Xiangdong imagined the scene and laughed, "Look at what you're saying."

Old Li shook his head and said, "Don't think your grandma is joking. You know your two older brothers' personalities very well."

Li Xiangdong was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then sighed and remained silent. The things Old Lady Li mentioned, Li's eldest brother and second brother were really capable of doing.

His two older brothers always felt that as long as the elders in the family were still alive, the family should not be divided.

In the 90s, the Li family still ate together. The eldest and second eldest brothers of the Li family often said that their parents were still alive and that they couldn't separate from the family.

When Brother Li said this, his own grandson was already in elementary school...

"Dongzi."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

“Go back to your room and rest. Tomorrow your father and your two older brothers will be off work. We will handle the division of the family property. It won’t hurt the relationship between you three brothers.”

After saying that, Grandma Li smiled and continued, "Just remember not to cause trouble tomorrow."

make trouble?

After Li Xiangdong came out of his grandparents' house, he stood in the yard, completely bewildered.