Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

The next day.

Sunny day.

Li Xiangdong got up feeling refreshed. Remembering that everyone was cooking their own meals, he washed his face and went to the small kitchen to start a fire.

When Zhou Yuqin saw her husband come out of the house, she quickly helped the two children get dressed and then hurried to the small kitchen.

"I'll cook, you go and keep an eye on our daughter."

Li Xiangdong turned to Zhou Yuqin and smiled, "Today is the first time our little family has cooked. I'll cook, you go back inside and rest."

"I said I don't need it, so get out!"

Zhou Yuqin didn't give him a chance to show off and pushed him out of the small kitchen.

Li Xiangdong stood at the door for a moment and then realized why he wasn't allowed to cook. He guessed that Zhou Yuqin was very worried about his cooking skills when he was at his father-in-law's house.

Li Xiaohai remembered the peanuts from last night after taking a nap, and pestered Li Xiangdong to put them all in his pocket before happily running off to play with his brothers.

Li Xiangdong took his daughter to the main room for a look. His mother was cooking, and the food was alright: white flour steamed buns and red date and millet porridge.

The rice, flour, and oil he brought home earlier were divided among the various families yesterday when the family was divided. He estimated that the remaining amount would only be enough for his parents and grandparents to eat for about a week.

He kept all these things in mind, and he would make up for any deficiencies in a timely manner.

Now, Li's mother only has to cook for four people, which is much easier than when she had to serve the whole family. Although her daughters-in-law used to come and help with cooking, she had to worry about a lot more.

She smiled and pinched her granddaughter's cheek. "Is your wife cooking?"

"Ah."

Li Xiangdong nodded. "Don't skimp on the food when you cook. Make more good food. My grandparents are getting old and should eat more nutritious food to nourish themselves. If they need anything, just tell me. If I'm not home, I'll go find your daughter-in-law."

"Okay, I see."

Li's mother smiled and agreed, then turned back to continue cooking.

Li Xiangdong carried his daughter into the house and chatted with his grandparents who were sitting in the living room for a while. After Zhou Yuqin finished cooking, he carried his daughter back into the house to eat.

Li Xiaohai sat on a stool, swinging his legs, and asked, "Mom, why don't we go to Grandpa and Grandma's room for dinner?"

Zhou Yuqin peeled the boiled egg in her hand, and after peeling it, she stuffed it into Li Xiaohai's hand.

"Okay, let's not go. Your older brother and sister didn't go either, right? We'll eat in our own room from now on."

"Oh."

Li Xiaohai took the egg and started eating.

Li Xiangdong held his daughter and fed her first. Only after feeding his daughter did he start eating himself.

The first time the family of four cooked after returning to the city passed uneventfully.

Li's father, eldest brother Li, and second brother Li went to work today. After eating and resting for a while, they went out to work.

Li Xiaojiang and a few others who were going to school were also walking out with him. Li Xiaotao, who was walking at the back, saw his third uncle come out of the house, and walked over with a dejected look on his face, carrying a cloth schoolbag.

"Third Uncle, do you have any candy?"

Li Xiangdong was helping Li Xiaozhu learn to walk when he heard Li Xiaotao's words. He looked up and smiled, "Greedy? Coming here so early in the morning to ask me for candy?"

"No, Third Uncle."

Li Xiaotao shook his head. "I didn't finish my homework, so the teacher will definitely hit my hand. Our teacher, Ms. Liu, hits really hard. I want to eat a piece of candy after I get hit."

That's so pitiful...

Li Xiangdong, the third uncle, couldn't help his second nephew much, so he could only go back to the house to get him a piece of candy to sweeten his mouth after he had been beaten.

"These are four pieces. Don't eat them all yourself. Remember to give one piece to your older brother, Xiaomei, and Xiaolan."

"Third Uncle, my eldest brother has finished his homework, so he doesn't need to eat candy."

Li Xiaotao took the candy, patted Li Xiaozhu's head, and when he heard Li Xiaojiang calling him from outside the gate, he quickly ran out.

Li Xiangdong smiled as he watched his second nephew run out of the hospital, and continued teaching his daughter to walk.

"Dad, I want to go to school."

Li Xiaohai watched his older siblings leave with their schoolbags, filled with envy.

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "When your brother Xiaotao comes back at noon, you won't want to go to school anymore."

"Why? Going to school is so much fun!"

Li Xiaohai couldn't understand it. He thought going to school was great because he could play with lots of people.

Li Xiaobo, who is not yet of school age, walked over and said, "Xiaohai, school is no fun at all. You have to do homework when you get back, and if you don't finish it, the teacher will hit your palm. My mother said that Xiaotao cried last night because he didn't finish his homework."

Upon hearing that he still had homework to do and would be beaten if he didn't finish it, Li Xiaohai immediately gave up on going to school.

"Then I won't go. Brother Xiaobo, let's go poke at the ant nest and play."

“Okay, I’ll go get a bowl of water. Poking around isn’t fun. We can pour water into the ant hole.”

"Good good!"

Hearing the conversation between the two little people, Li Xiangdong lost all interest in teaching his daughter to walk.

He hurried back into the house, brought out a chair, and sat down at the doorway, teaching his daughter to count while waiting to watch the show.

Sure enough, before Li Xiaozhu could even count to five, Li Ersao rushed out of the house in a flurry.

She strode to the jujube tree, squatted down, snatched the bowl from Li Xiaobo's hand, and dragged him back into the house by twisting his ear.

Li Xiaobo was dragged into the house by his sister-in-law Li Ersao while crying all the way, and then his louder crying came from the east wing.

Li Xiangdong shouted loudly towards the east wing, "Second sister-in-law, Xiaobo is still young, please be gentle with him."

Seeing his brother being beaten, Li Xiaohai shrank back and walked to Li Xiangdong's side, tugging at his clothes and asking, "Dad, why did Second Aunt hit Brother Xiaobo?"

"Because he stole the bowls from home to play with water. If you dared to do that, your mother would beat you even harder!"

Li Xiangdong smiled and explained to his son why Li Xiaobo had been beaten.

Zhou Yuqin came out of the house, took her daughter from his arms, and glared at him, saying, "Just wait and see!"

Li Xiangdong carried a chair and followed his wife back into the house. "With Xiaobo's personality, what good would it do if I said a few words? He listened to me this time, but he'll do it secretly again next time. It's better to let my second sister-in-law give him a beating so he'll remember it. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to prepare lunch today."

Zhou Yuqin said speechlessly, "We just finished breakfast, what are you preparing for lunch?!"

"Stewed pork with glass noodles".

"you..."

"What's wrong? Don't you want to eat?"

Li Xiangdong looked down at Li Xiaohai at his feet and asked, "Do you want to eat meat?"

Upon hearing about meat, Li Xiaohai immediately shouted, "Dad, I want to eat! My sister wants to eat too!"

"You're quite the smooth talker, and you even managed to drag your sister into this."

Under Zhou Yuqin's direct gaze, Li Xiangdong pushed away Li Xiaohai, who had been pestering him ever since he heard about eating meat, took out the quail eggs Qian Bin had given him from the drawer, turned around, went out of the room, and went into the small kitchen to start preparing in advance.

Although they were all at odds, it didn't stop this third uncle from continuing to dote on his nephews and nieces.

Besides, his two nephews got beaten up today, so as their uncle, he has to make sure they get some good nutrition!