Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiaojiang and the others were chased out of the chicken coop by their grandmother, but they didn't go far and just waited outside.

Li's mother looked at Li Xiangdong suspiciously and asked, "Why are you up so early today? Didn't you eat enough last night?"

"Look at what you're saying, I've already corrected it."

To change others' attitudes toward him, he had to start with small things, so Li Xiangdong decided to begin by not sleeping in late.

Li's mother was somewhat skeptical of his words. "I hope you can hold on for a few more days. If you have nothing else to do, go out. Why are you bringing the baby here? It smells terrible."

“Your granddaughter wants to see the old hen, so I’ll bring her in to take a look.”

Li Xiangdong held his daughter's little hand and pointed to the old hen on the ground, saying, "This is an old hen. Xiaoqi, do you want to eat it? If you do, ask your grandma to kill it and make chicken soup for you."

"Chirp chirp..."

Li Xiaozhu watched curiously as several hens walked around on the ground, chirping, "Eat...cheep cheep..."

Hearing this, Li's mother walked over with a smile and pinched her cheek. "Don't listen to your father's nonsense. Our old hen can't be eaten; we need to keep it to lay eggs."

Li Xiaozhu persisted, saying, "Eat...chirp..."

"You little brat, you're even more greedy than your brothers. They're eyeing the eggs, but you're eyeing Grandma's old hen too."

Li's mother took an egg from the bowl, held it in her hand and let her granddaughter touch it, saying, "This is an egg. If you eat the old hen, you won't have any eggs to eat, understand?"

Li Xiaozhu nodded and reached for the egg in her mother's hand, "Egg...eat..."

Li's mother dodged her little hand and said cheerfully, "I can't give you any now. Grandma will make you some egg drop soup later."

"eat..."

Li Xiaozhu pouted, about to cry.

"Don't cry, Xiaoqi. Daddy will get you an egg to play with, okay?"

Seeing tears welling up in his daughter's eyes, Li Xiangdong took the egg from his mother's hand and held out his hand to his daughter so she could touch and play with it.

Li's mother stood by and watched. When her granddaughter stopped crying, she wanted to ask for the eggs back, but she was afraid that she would cry again, so she instructed, "Third child, you must hold the eggs well and don't drop them."

"Mother, please don't worry."

He's such a big guy, how could he not hold an egg properly?

Seeing his mother tidying up the chicken coop, Li Xiangdong flattered her, saying, "You've taken such good care of these five old hens. We have eggs to eat every day, and that's all thanks to you."

The chicken coop wasn't very dirty even though it was cleaned every day. Li's mother simply swept it with a broom, fed the chickens, and then had time to deal with him.

"Your mother got lucky today! I guess your grandma forgot about her own grandson, otherwise I wouldn't have found so many eggs."

Li Xiangdong was speechless. He had said so many nice things to please his mother, but she didn't give him any face at all and started to insult him indirectly.

“I already talked to Grandma yesterday, and she promised that she will no longer steal your eggs and will save them all for you from now on.”

Li's mother walked out with the bowl of eggs, showing no appreciation whatsoever. "Who knows? I get to handle a few eggs every day. Unless you two, grandmother and grandson, give the word, our old hen's opinion doesn't count!"

Li Xiangdong blushed instantly upon hearing his mother's words!

He followed behind Li's mother, carrying his daughter as they came out of the chicken coop, complaining, "Mom, can you at least give me some face in front of my daughter? Don't say whatever comes to mind."

"So you know how to be ashamed now? I never saw you embarrassed when you were sneaking around eating."

Li's mother glanced back at him, then walked without stopping to the stove under the eaves of the main house and put the bowl in the cupboard next to it.

Li Xiaojiang, along with his three younger brothers, followed them like shadows, from the yard to the chicken coop, and then from the chicken coop to the stove.

"The egg drop soup is too sour, can you add some sugar?"

"Grandma, I want to eat sweet boiled eggs."

"Grandma's sugar makes it taste better."

Li's mother was surrounded by her four grandsons, and the noise made her head buzz.

"Shut up, all of you! Go outside and ask around, whose child gets to eat eggs every day? You're so ungrateful, adding sugar too! Does sugar cost nothing?"

"Grandma, let's not have candy then. Let's have boiled eggs today."

"Yes, Grandma, there are five eggs today, we all saw them."

"Grandma eats boiled eggs."

Li's mother directly refused, saying, "No, it's just five eggs. If I boil them, you'll all start fighting. Everyone stay away. If you keep making a fuss, we won't even have any boiled eggs today. I'll fry the eggs for your grandfather to have with his drinks."

Seeing that their grandmother was getting angry, Li Xiaojiang and the other three knew that arguing would be useless, so they stopped bothering Li's mother.

Li's mother shooed her grandsons away, picked up a water ladle, scooped a few scoops of water from the water vat next to her, and poured them into the large iron pot on the stove.

"Xiaomei, add some more firewood. Once the water boils, don't add so much firewood anymore, okay?"

"Got it, grandma."

After instructing her eldest granddaughter, Li Xiaomei, who was squatting in front of the stove tending the fire, Li's mother turned to look at Li Xiangdong, who was standing under the eaves at the door.

"Just coax the child a little, how can you let her keep playing with the eggs? You should put the eggs in the cupboard right away."

Li Xiangdong thought his mother was right; eggs were still very precious these days.

No one would let their child play with eggs as toys, so he coaxed his daughter into putting the eggs in the cupboard.

"want..."

Li Xiaozhu grabbed his hair and pointed at Li Xiaomei, who was squatting in front of the stove tending the fire.

"Want to play with your older sister?"

"Play..."

Li Xiaozhu nodded.

But when Li's mother saw him carrying his daughter toward the stove, she immediately started cursing, "Li Laosan, when I gave birth to you, did the doctor cut your heart out with the belly button? Your daughter is so young, why are you carrying her toward the fire!"

What the hell!

Li Xiangdong was stunned when he heard his mother's eloquent words.

"What are you still standing there for? Did you drink too much alcohol last night and damage your brain? Are you alright? If not, stay away and don't get in my way!"

Li Xiangdong looked at his mother speechlessly and muttered, "Xiao Qi is imitating adults' speech. Aren't you afraid of leading her astray?"

After saying that, he hugged his daughter and quickly hid far away.

Li Xiaozhu has already learned to hit people from his mother; let's hope he doesn't learn to swear too.

The main problem is that his mother says too many hurtful things; anyone who spends a lot of time with her will learn a lot!

"Li Laosan, what are you muttering about?"

"Mother, you must have misheard me. I didn't say anything."

Li Xiangdong, unable to afford to offend them, decided to avoid them. He carried his daughter to the side, sat on the stone steps, and watched the four mischievous boys playing in the yard.

"Xiaolan, go to the small kitchen and see if the steamed cornbread is ready."

"The eldest son's wife and the second son's wife are always dawdling, you have to urge them to do anything!"

"Li Laosan".

"Oh! What is it now, Mother?"