Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Wake up!"

Looking at his son, whose face was flushed and who was still smiling in his sleep despite being drunk, Brother Li raised his hand and gently patted his son's face again.

But seeing that Li Xiaotao had no reaction at all, he couldn't help but curse, "You bastard, you're getting bolder and bolder, you even dare to drink secretly now!"

Sister-in-law Li was also furious. She saw the teacup on the ground, walked over, bent down, and picked it up.

"It's all your fault! You should drink less in front of the children in the future!"

"What does this have to do with me? Out of all the kids in the family, which one of them secretly drank alcohol? If you want to blame someone, blame your stupid son!"

Brother Li retorted to his wife, then picked up Li Xiaotao, who was lying on the ground.

Sister-in-law Li walked to the sink to wash the teacup, then glanced sideways at her husband.

"It's no one else's fault, it's all my fault, okay? It's my fault for not watching the child properly!"

Brother Li, carrying his son, and Sister-in-law Li, holding a teacup, bickered as they went back into the house.

The two men were quite loud, and the people in the house who were taking a nap at noon woke up when they heard the commotion in the yard.

Li Xiangdong groggily opened his eyes, got up and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), squinting as he scanned the surroundings.

Zhou Yuqin got up and first patted her whimpering daughter to lull her back to sleep. Then she asked softly, "Why are you arguing, brother and sister-in-law?"

"I don't know, I'll go check."

Li Xiangdong rolled off the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw Li Xiaohai lying on it. He muttered that Li Xiaohai couldn't even sleep properly, so he reached out and gently helped Li Xiaohai turn over.

He saw Li Xiaohai, who was lying flat and sleeping, twitch his eyelashes and chuckled as he pinched Li Xiaohai's ear.

"Pretending to be asleep, huh? If you keep pretending, I'll slap you."

Upon hearing his words, Li Xiaohai opened his eyes and chuckled twice at him.

Sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) and putting on her shoes, Zhou Yuqin turned to her son and instructed him, "If you're not going to sleep, stay in the room and watch over your sister. She's sleeping, so don't disturb her, understand?"

Li Xiaohai replied, "Mother, I understand."

Li Xiangdong and Zhou Yuqin came out of the house and saw Li's father and mother, as well as Li's second brother and his wife, walking into Li's eldest brother's house.

They closed the door and quickly walked to the other side. When Li Xiangdong was halfway there, he saw Old Man Li and Old Lady Li also coming out of the main house. He turned around and went to help Old Lady Li.

Grandma Li tapped her cane with displeasure. "Your older brother and sister-in-law beat the child before dinner, and then they quarreled after dinner. They can't even have a peaceful life."

Upon hearing this, Old Li said to his wife, "Stop talking about these trivial matters. Just observe the children's affairs; you're too old to get involved."

Old Man Li walked ahead with his hands behind his back, while Li Xiangdong helped Old Woman Li walk behind.

The three entered the house and quickly figured out what had happened.

Old Man Li had just told Old Lady Li to mind her own business, but now he stared at Brother Li and said, "You can't even keep an eye on your own wine, why are you arguing with your wife? Do you think you're so capable?"

Grandma Li sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and touched her great-grandson Li Xiaotao, whose little face was rosy. "I don't know how much this child has secretly drunk. Eldest son, why don't you take him to the clinic to get him checked out? Don't let him get sick from drinking too much."

Before Brother Li and his wife could say anything, Li's father, who was standing to the side, waved his hand.

"Mom, there's no need to go to the clinic. He'll be fine after a nap. Didn't you see he was still smiling even in his sleep?"

Upon hearing his father's words, Li Xiangdong took a closer look at Li Xiaotao, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Goodness, Li Xiaotao was clearly having a great time. I wonder what he was dreaming about, but he looked pretty happy!

Seeing that the child was alright, the people inside left one after another.

As Li Xiangdong was walking behind and about to leave the house, he heard his older brother, who was holding a bottle of liquor, say with a puzzled tone, "This bottle of liquor isn't missing. I clearly remember that's how much it was after I finished drinking at noon."

Sister-in-law Li snorted, "Our teacups are all lying on the floor. If the wine wasn't stolen from you, where else could it have been stolen from?"

Upon hearing his elder brother and sister-in-law's conversation, Li Xiangdong paused, then quickly ran into his room.

Inside the west wing room.

One of the peanuts on the table had clearly been grabbed by the hand, and the bottom of the plate was exposed.

There was also a gourd of wine on the table. Li Xiangdong lifted it and found that although the weight hadn't decreased much, the placement was wrong.

He remembered clearly that when he drank, the gourd was on his right, but now it was on his left.

You damned bastard!

She actually stole his wine!

Li Xiangdong reached out and stirred the peanuts in the plate, pretending he knew nothing about it.

Let Brother Li take the blame for not keeping a close eye on his wine; after all, Li Xiaotao is his son!

Li Xiangdong pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Li Xiaohai on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Xiaohai, who was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) watching his younger sister sleep, saw his father standing in front of the table, staring at him with unfriendly eyes.

This terrified him. He quickly lay down next to Li Xiaozhu, closed his eyes, and rubbed his head against Li Xiaozhu's small pillow.

Upon seeing his reaction, Li Xiangdong knew that his son, who hadn't taken a nap at noon, must know that Li Xiaotao had secretly drunk his wine.

He walked to the head of the kang (a heated brick bed), said nothing, and just stood there motionless, staring at Li Xiaohai, who was pretending to be asleep.

After a long while, Li Xiaohai, who was pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes when he heard no movement in the room. When he saw his father standing in front of the kang (a heated brick bed), he quickly closed his eyes again, shivering, and reached out to pull Li Xiaozhu into his arms.

Li Xiangdong only intended to scare Li Xiaohai; he didn't intend to ask what was going on.

what?

Li Xiangdong knew nothing about it!

Presumably, his older brother had learned the whole story from his son, and he was too embarrassed to tell him anything.

Zhou Yuqin had just helped Old Lady Li back into the house when she lifted the curtain and saw Li Xiangdong standing blankly in front of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"What are you doing?"

"It's nothing, I'm just watching your son and my daughter sleep."

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he walked out of the house.

When Zhou Yuqin heard him say something about "your son" and "my daughter," she muttered something like, "You're crazy."

Li Xiangdong, who came out of the house, saw Li Xiaomei, Li Xiaolan and Li Xiaobo, the three of them standing at the door of the east wing, craning their necks to look into the house.

He discovered that someone was missing from his home: Li Xiaojiang!

Li Xiaojiang's grandson completely inherited his grandmother's, Li's mother's, love of watching the excitement.

Li Xiaotao was drunk, and he didn't even show up for such a fun thing. It seems like there's another person stealing wine!

"You three, stop looking here. Your third uncle has something to ask you."

Li Xiaomei and her sister, along with Li Xiaobo, ran over.

"What's wrong, Third Uncle?"

"Third Uncle, what do you want to ask us?"

Li Xiangdong asked, "Where is your eldest brother, Li Xiaojiang?"

Li Xiaolan shook her head. "Third Uncle, I didn't see my eldest brother."

Li Xiaomei said, "My older brother's schoolbag isn't in the house; he must have gone to school."

What about going to school?

Li Xiangdong was certain that Li Xiaojiang had fled beforehand!

He frowned as he looked at Li Xiaobo, who was standing to the side picking his nose. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

Li Xiaobo replied blankly, "I'm not hungry, Uncle."

Why are you picking your nose if you're not hungry?

"Third Uncle, I would never eat boogers. They're salty and don't taste good at all."

As Li Xiaobo spoke, he flicked his finger, sending the booger off his fingertip.

Li Xiangdong looked down at his trouser leg, and he really wanted to punch Li Xiaobo!

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