Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong first soaked the sweet potato noodles. No doubt, the ingredients are 100% pure sweet potato.

After soaking the vermicelli, he went back inside and told Zhou Yuqin, then took the money and tickets and rode his bicycle to the market.

I went to two different farmers' markets before I could buy three pounds of pork, eight pig trotters, and one pig ear.

We arrived a bit late and bought three catties of pork, mostly lean with little fat. That's why we're eating it separately now; otherwise, I'd definitely get a lecture from Li's mother when I got home.

Pig trotters and pig ears were relatively easier to buy. Although they also required meat coupons, ordinary people didn't care for these "unpalatable" and "difficult-to-obtain" items. They preferred to eat fragrant, tender, fatty pork.

Back home, Li Xiangdong first lit the stove, added two ladles of water to the pot to blanch the pig's trotters later, squatted down, and used fire tongs to singe off the pig's hair.

Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaobo followed him closely ever since he returned home, even though they knew they couldn't eat it right now, they still kept their eyes on it.

After tidying up the house, Li's mother saw her youngest son brushing pig's trotters with a shoe brush by the sink. She walked over and slapped him.

"Why are you using a shoe brush? Don't you mind getting dirty?"

Li Xiangdong explained with a smile, "The shoe brush is brand new, I haven't used it even once, it's not dirty."

Li's mother frowned and reached into the basin to count the pig's trotters.

"You're wasting the meat coupons. It would be much better to exchange them for fatty pork."

"You are what you eat."

Li Xiangdong weighed the pig's trotter in his hand. "Our Xiaotao is back at noon, he needs to be properly nourished."

Hearing his explanation, and glancing at Li Xiaobo's bright red ears, Li's mother couldn't help but laugh and said, "So, according to you, these pig ears were bought for Xiaobo?"

"Yes, as their third uncle, I feel very sorry for them."

Li Xiangdong boasted for a moment, then looked at Li Xiaobo standing to the side and asked, "Does your ear still hurt? When your third uncle finishes cooking the pig ears for lunch, you can eat more."

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Uncle. Thank you, Uncle."

Li Xiaobo was overjoyed. His mother pinched his ear, and his third uncle gave him pig's ear to eat. His third uncle was so kind!

But then he thought, it would be even better if his mother didn't twist his ears, but instead spanked him!

Li's mother, who had gone away, returned and took a kitchen knife from the stove in the main room to help her youngest son clean the pig's trotters.

Now that the family has separated and started cooking, she no longer has to worry about what the whole family eats every day. It's also good that she's getting older, so she can finally take a good rest.

"Mom, don't cook lunch today. Just cook a pot of rice for me. I made a lot of dishes, so let's eat together."

Li Xiangdong's small kitchen at his doorstep only has two stoves, which isn't enough, so he has to ask his mother for help.

"Okay."

With Li's mother's help, the pig's trotters were quickly cleaned.

Li Xiangdong placed the pig's trotters on the cutting board, cut them in half, and then blanched them in a pot of hot water.

Seeing that it was already around ten o'clock, I prepared to start cooking.

One dish was stewed pork with vermicelli and cabbage, and the other was braised pork trotters with soybeans. They also had ten quail eggs and seven chicken eggs in the dish.

His small kitchen was fully stocked with seasonings; whatever the state-run restaurant where Qian Bin worked had, he had it too.

The aroma of the meat filled the entire courtyard, enticing the grandparents and sisters-in-law to come and take a look.

After seeing it, they all sighed inwardly, "The third brother really knows how to eat!"

When asked why he knew how to cook, Li Xiangdong explained that Qian Bin taught him. He said, "You see, having a childhood friend who's a chef makes it much easier to fool people."

As for Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai, Li Xiangdong found them both annoying and had them stand at the entrance of the small kitchen as door gods.

After the meat stewed in the pot, Li Xiangdong checked the time, went back into the house and said to Zhou Yuqin, "Wife, you keep an eye on the fire, I'll go check at the door."

As he spoke, he picked up his daughter, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) playing by herself, and started to walk out.

Zhou Yuqin said helplessly, "You, as the third uncle, are always either watching this nephew's misfortune or enjoying that nephew's amusement. Can't you do something serious?"

"Look at what you're saying."

Li Xiangdong wasn't in a hurry to leave; he had to have a serious talk with Zhou Yuqin.

"Now I have both a son and a daughter, the elders in my family are in good health, my own job is lucrative, and with the Li family as a whole, whether it's the extended family or the smaller family, we have no worries about food and drink."

"You know, I have absolutely no worries about life now. If I don't find some fun and excitement to watch, what am I supposed to do staying at home all day? I'd be so bored!"

Zhou Yuqin discovered that her husband could always come up with some fallacies, but upon closer reflection, they seemed to make sense.

She laughed and said, "I can see you really have nothing better to do. Alright, I wouldn't dare keep you from having fun. Don't stand there in the sun with your daughter. I'll go to the kitchen and watch the fire."

"I'm not stupid, I won't expose our daughter to the sun."

Li Xiangdong, carrying his daughter, walked happily to the front gate, waiting to see the first glimpse of the excitement.

Li's father and elder brother returned first. When they saw Li Xiangdong sitting on the threshold with his daughter in his arms, they each asked him questions.

"Third brother, what are you doing sitting at the door in the middle of the day?"

"Dongzi, you're really free! Don't you know how to help your younger siblings with the cooking?"

Li Xiangdong shifted his position on the threshold to the side. "The food is ready. I'll play with my daughter here for a while. Dad, Big Brother, you two come in quickly."

Mr. Li glanced at him sideways, reached out and patted his little granddaughter's head, then stepped over the threshold into the yard. Mr. Li's older brother didn't say anything more and followed his father inside.

"Third Uncle~!"

"Uncle Three."

It’s finally back!

Li Xiangdong looked at his nephews and nieces standing beside him and asked, "Where is Li Xiaotao?"

Li Xiaojiang chuckled and said, "Then, on our way back, we ran into my second uncle, who was lecturing him."

"Oh, you guys go put your schoolbags inside. Uncle made some good food. Take the bowls and come find me in a bit. I'll wait for Xiaotao a little longer."

Li Xiangdong stood up and told Li Xiaojiang and the others to go home first. His daughter was also taken back by his niece, Li Xiaomei.

Li Xiaozhu hadn't seen her sister all morning, and she missed her terribly. She clung to Li Xiaomei tightly, rubbing her head against her neck.

The way the two sisters were so affectionate made even their father, him, a little envious.

After Li Xiaojiang and the others entered the courtyard, Li Xiaotao, head drooping, followed behind Li Erge and returned as well.

Li Xiangdong urged, "Xiaotao, quickly stretch out your hand so your third uncle can take a look."

Seeing his impatient look, Li Erge assumed he was worried about Li Xiaotao and explained, "Dongzi, don't worry, Xiaotao's hand is fine, it'll be better in a couple of days."

"Well, it's okay."

Li Xiangdong laughed and grabbed Li Xiaotao's left hand. "Tsk tsk tsk, after all these years, Teacher Liu is still so ruthless. Look at what she did to our Xiaotao, his hand looks like a pig's trotter, hahahaha."