Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

'Shh~sh~'

Li Xiangdong whistled, shivered, and contentedly pulled up his shorts before emerging from the public toilet in the alley.

The young body of someone in their twenties is just so good; starting from the same point, he has a 5cm advantage over others.

In addition, the young man was full of yang energy. If he hadn't been quick-witted and taken a step back, that pee would have splashed all over his underwear!

Walking slowly through the alley, everyone was having breakfast at this time, and the alley with its gray brick and tile walls was exceptionally quiet.

The alley where Li Xiangdong's family lives is called Chuanban Hutong. It is located in Dongcheng District and is under the jurisdiction of Jianguomen Subdistrict. It is a proper inner second ring road of Beijing.

The alley is 525 meters long and 7 meters wide. It is said that there used to be a shipyard here, hence the name.

Chuanban Hutong is divided into north and south sections, and the 7-meter-wide hutong acts as a dividing line.

The courtyards in Beichuanban Hutong are well-organized and the alleys are wide. Most of the houses are single-family homes. The residents are mostly former officials and dignitaries who were confiscated during the Cultural Revolution. In the past two years, they have been returning their homes one after another.

Of course, there are also unlucky ones who have their houses rented out by the neighborhood committee and are holding the property deeds but can't get their houses back. They make a scene every few days, and the police and the neighborhood committee have come, but to no avail.

The people are the masters of the country. I've paid the rent, so there's no way you're going to make me move out. What can you do to me?

Li Xiangdong's family lived in Nanchuanban Hutong, where most of the residents were ordinary people. The courtyards were all large, crowded, with as few as six or seven households, and as many as twenty, thirty, or even forty or fifty households living together. The courtyards were filled with illegal structures and were extremely cramped.

His family occupies an entire courtyard, which is unique in Nanchuanban Hutong!

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, a beautiful young woman with a short ponytail walked towards me, carrying a child in her arms.

The person who came was his wife, and the person she was holding in her arms was his little daughter.

Li Xiangdong stood there stunned for a moment, not knowing how to start the conversation.

"Dad...Dad..."

The little boy in the woman's arms waved his tender arms and opened his mouth to reveal a few tiny teeth.

The woman took out a handkerchief from her pocket, wiped the child's drool, and spoke first: "Your mother asked me to come find you. Hurry up and eat, or your mother will start nagging again."

This is his wife, Zhou Yuqin, who is one year younger than him.

After graduating from junior high school, Li Xiangdong failed to get into high school and participated in the Down to the Countryside Movement, where he was assigned to a rural area in Changping, a suburb of Beijing.

He has two older brothers who are more than ten years older than him. His family has no shortage of able-bodied men, so he has never done any heavy work since he was a child.

After being a hands-off manager for too long, he made a fool of himself when he was sent to the countryside. He couldn't do any physical labor well and ended up having to cut pig feed with the women and children in the village.

Fortunately, his situation is quite popular in rural areas.

The villagers knew that his home was in the capital, not far away, and they were not afraid that he would abandon his wife and children in order to return to the city.

When he reached marriageable age, he was introduced by a matchmaker to a girl from the neighboring Zhoujia Village, who became his wife, Zhou Yuqin.

On their first blind date, Zhou Yuqin saw that he was handsome and agreed to the marriage.

When Zhou Yuqin first got married, she was happy every day, but gradually she couldn't be anymore, because in the countryside in those days, face couldn't put food on the table.

Fortunately, both sets of parents contributed money and effort, which prevented the family from starving to death in the countryside. Now they can return to the city and continue to rely on their parents.

Zhou Yuqin has a good temper and never complains when she is wronged; she tends to keep everything to herself.

More than a decade later, Li Xiangdong squandered all the money from selling the courtyard house. Zhou Yuqin only hid in her room and cried for a few days. But after that incident, her health deteriorated.

He served Li Xiangdong diligently his whole life, but he never had a few days of peace before he died before he was even sixty.

Li Xiangdong, who is supported by his wife, is considered a lucky man by others.

At the time, he thought people were mocking him when he heard those words, but now that he thinks about it, they actually make a lot of sense.

If he's not lucky enough to have a second chance?

Feeling guilty, Li Xiangdong stared at his wife for a while, and seeing her stern face, he knew she was angry.

He could understand Zhou Yuqin's attitude; through his memories, he already knew the timeline of his rebirth.

He has been back in the city with his wife and children for over a month, but he spends his days wandering around aimlessly, refusing to do any of the work assigned to him by the neighborhood committee.

He could not care, because Li's father and mother were his own parents.

But his wife was different. She didn't take it for granted. Besides, she and her child were still registered in the countryside and didn't even receive a monthly grain ration.

"My mother has a sharp tongue, but she doesn't mean anything by it. She's just all bark and no bite."

Seeing that Zhou Yuqin didn't seem inclined to reply, Li Xiangdong awkwardly touched his nose and changed the subject, "Where's Xiaohai?"

Li Xiaohai is his eldest son, who is only three years old and not old enough to go to school yet. He follows his older brothers and sisters around all day.

"He's inside."

"Are you free today? How about I take you out for a walk after dinner? There are so many places in Beijing that you haven't been to yet."

"I don't want to go."

Seeing that his wife frowned when she replied, still not really wanting to talk to him, Li Xiangdong was puzzled.

He said ingratiatingly, "You take a break, let me hold your daughter."

He took the child from his wife's arms and kissed his daughter's little face twice as he walked into the yard.

Li Xiangdong teased the little guy in his arms, "Xiao Qi, call me Daddy."

"I'll...I'll hit you..."

The little guy's soft little hand hit Li Xiangdong's arm, but it didn't hurt at all, not even with much force.

His daughter's full name is Li Xiaozhu. She is over one and a half years old and the seventh child in the family. She is at the age where she is learning to speak. It is estimated that after returning to the city, her mother has spoiled her. She is quick to threaten to hit people.

In his past life, his son and daughter treated him well, but his wife, Li Xiaozhu, was the one who was more filial to him. She would call him every day and talk for at least half an hour, which annoyed him whenever he heard the phone ring.

"Next...Next..."

Li Xiaozhu squirmed restlessly in her father's arms, her bottom swaying up and down, not wanting to be held and wanting to get down and walk by herself.

Li Xiangdong pinched his daughter's nose. "You can't even walk steadily, why are you coming down? If you make a fuss again, I'll spank you."

Li Xiaozhu thought her father was playing with her, so she shook her head, dodged her father's hand, and giggled.

"When you grow up, remember to be good to your father. By the time you get married, your father will be old. Remember to call your father every day, for at least an hour each time, understand?"

His response was, "I'll...I'll hit you..."

"Hey, you naughty girl, I can't keep her."

"Stinky...I want..."

Hearing the two's nonsensical conversation, Zhou Yuqin glanced at Li Xiangdong sideways, wondering what such a young child knew.

Besides, what are their family's circumstances?

And you have to make a phone call for an hour every day. Phone calls are so expensive! You can't even afford to make a minute of a call a day!