Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"His ha~"

After taking a sip of wine, Li Xiaotao felt a burning sensation in his mouth and stomach.

Seeing his younger brother's reckless behavior, Li Xiaojiang, who was squatting to the side, was terrified.

But he was worried about being discovered by his family, so he didn't dare to scold them loudly. He could only ask in a low voice, "Li Xiaotao, don't your butt and ears hurt anymore? Haven't you had enough of being beaten? Who told you to drink alcohol!"

"Hmph~ I'm just curious, what's wrong with me taking a sip?"

Li Xiaotao's expression showed no sign of concern, but he still couldn't help but stick out his tongue and fan himself with one hand.

"It's so spicy, so spicy, it's killing me!"

Li Xiaojiang frowned. Seeing Li Xiaotao's distressed expression, he hurriedly took out the spiced peanuts he had secretly smuggled earlier from his pocket.

"Eat some peanuts to calm your nerves, and don't drink anymore. I'll go get you a glass of water."

Li Xiaojiang stuffed all the peanuts from his pocket into Li Xiaotao's shirt pocket.

He looked at Li Xiaotao, whose eyes were red, shook his head and sighed, then got up and ran into his own house.

After Li Xiaojiang left, Li Xiaotao, who was holding a gourd of wine, began to feel a little drunk. His legs gave way and he sat down on the ground.

"Feeling dizzy and lightheaded feels so good~"

Li Xiaotao shook his head, tried to stand up with one hand on the ground, but failed twice. Finally, he used one hand to support himself on the ground and shuffled to the base of the wall.

"Hehe~ That was awesome!"

Li Xiaotao leaned against the wall and took a handful of peanuts out of his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Brother Xiaotao, is the wine good?"

Li Xiaohai, with one arm around a dog, looked on with a mixture of curiosity and eagerness.

"Delicious, so delicious!"

Li Xiaotao recalled how his older brother Li ate peanuts and drank alcohol at lunchtime, so he imitated him, popping a peanut into his mouth, chewing it twice, swallowing it, and then taking another sip from the gourd of alcohol in his hand.

He hissed and laughed twice, then said, "A peanut and a sip of wine, and life has a bright future!"

Seeing his smug expression, Li Xiaohai let go of the dog and went to his side to plead, "Brother Xiaotao, can I have a sip too?"

"No drinking!"

Li Xiaojiang strode over carrying a teacup. He first shooed Li Xiaohai aside to play with the puppy, then squatted down next to Li Xiaotao. Looking at Li Xiaotao, who was chuckling to himself, he thought to himself, "I'm doomed!"

"Give me the wine gourd right now!"

As Li Xiaojiang spoke, he snatched the gourd and put it on the ground, then pried open Li Xiaotao's mouth, trying to force-feed him water.

But Li Xiaotao, who was already drunk, shook his head left and right and refused to drink water. Finally, he became impatient and slapped the teacup in front of him onto the ground.

Seeing Li Xiaotao acting like a drunkard, Li Xiaojiang felt he couldn't stay at home any longer and had to make a quick getaway!

He didn't even bother to pick up the teacup he'd smashed on the ground. Instead, he picked up the wine gourd from the ground and glanced at Li Xiaotao, who was still squinting and smacking his lips.

"It's over, it's over, it's over!"

Li Xiaojiang muttered "It's over" three times in a row, then nervously put the wine gourd back into Li Xiangdong's room. He then secretly ran back to his own room and took out his schoolbag.

He had already run to the gate, but then he slapped his forehead and turned back into the yard.

At this moment, Li Xiaotao had already fallen asleep in front of the doghouse.

Li Xiaojiang glanced at him, then pulled Li Xiaohai, who was still playing with the puppy, aside.

"Xiaohai, your older brother is going to school. Your brother Xiaotao is drunk. Remember to call my dad after I leave."

Li Xiaohai nodded. "Brother Xiaojiang, I understand."

Li Xiaojiang thought for a moment and then instructed, "Don't tell anyone that I went to get the wine gourd. If you do, I won't play with you anymore, understand?"

Li Xiaohai nodded again, "Yes, I understand."

Li Xiaojiang was still a little worried, and he reluctantly took out a penny from his pocket.

"Xiaohai, did you see this penny? When your older brother comes back this afternoon, he'll buy you candy at the supply and marketing cooperative. You absolutely mustn't tell anyone that I know about your brother Xiaotao drinking. If anyone asks you where I went, just say I went to school a long time ago. You absolutely mustn't get it wrong!"

Li Xiaohai looked at the penny that flashed past his eyes and said, "Brother, I don't want candy, I want candied hawthorn."

Looking at Li Xiaohai making his request, Li Xiaojiang thought to himself, "I still want to eat candied hawthorns!"

But then he thought of the scene when Li Xiaotao was beaten at noon, so he could only try to fool Li Xiaohai.

"You can't buy candied hawthorns with a single penny. How about this, I'll buy you candied hawthorns when you start working and earning money, okay?"

Li Xiaohai swallowed hard, thinking of the sweet and sour candied hawthorn.

"Brother, when are you going to go to work and earn money?"

Li Xiaojiang counted on his fingers, "Five years from now."

Although Li Xiaohai didn't know how long five years was, he knew he was only three years old this year. Compared to that, he immediately became unhappy. "Five more years?"

"It's okay, five years will pass in the blink of an eye. I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I need to hurry up and get to school."

After conning Li Xiaohai, Li Xiaojiang turned around and ran out of the yard in a panic.

Li Xiaohai stood there blinking a few times, then dejectedly scratched his head.

Turning his head to look at Li Xiaotao, who was still fast asleep, he ran to the door of the east wing with his short legs.

With a creak, he pushed open the door, walked to the front of the kang (a heated brick bed), and shook Brother Li's head repeatedly with both hands!

"Uncle, wake up."

Brother Li, who was sleeping soundly, was shaken awake. He raised his hand to grab the two hands that were pressing on his head, looked at Li Xiaohai standing on the kang (a heated brick bed), and sighed.

"You're exactly like your dad when he was a kid. Who shakes their head to wake someone up?"

Li Xiaohai grinned and chuckled twice.

Brother Li let go of his nephew's hand, rolled over and lay face down on the kang (a heated brick bed), pinched his cheek, and asked, "Why didn't you take a nap and came to find me?"

Sister-in-law Li, who was taking a nap, was awakened by the conversation between the two. She opened her eyes and yawned.

"Xiaohai, go back to your room and go to sleep."

Li Xiaohai shook his head, "I'm not sleepy. Uncle, Aunt, Brother Xiaotao is drunk."

"Ok?"

"Xiaohai, what did you say?"

Brother Li and Sister-in-law Li, whose minds were somewhat groggy from sleeping, suddenly became incredibly clear-headed.

"Brother Xiaotao is drunk and sleeping in front of Xiaohei and Xiaohuang's house."

Li Xiaohai repeated it again.

Brother Li and Sister-in-law Li quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on the cloth shoes on the ground, and ran outside while lifting the heels of the shoes.

Li Xiaohai, who had come to deliver the message, ran out of the house after him. He took small steps, and when he reached the doghouse, he saw Brother Li slapping Li Xiaotao across the face.

Seeing this, he shrank back, then pulled up his open-crotch pants with both hands, turned around and ran back into his house.