Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li's mother asked, "Where is your wife?"

"I'm tidying up the house."

Li Xiangdong breathed a sigh of relief. He was sitting on the steps with his daughter in his arms, lost in thought, when he was startled when his mother suddenly called him. He thought his mother was going to find another reason to scold him!

"Since you're holding the baby, have your wife come over and help cook the meal first. You can do the chores in your own room after you finish eating."

Before Li Xiangdong could speak, Zhou Yuqin must have heard it from the west wing, because she quickly came out of the room.

"Mom, I was just tidying up the blankets. Xiaoqi wet the bed again last night. Please wait while I wash my hands, I'll be right there."

At this moment, Li Xiaolan came out of the small kitchen in front of her uncle's house, ran over and stood obediently in front of her mother.

"Grandma, the cornbread is steaming. My mom said it will be ready soon."

After the neighbors moved away, Li Xiangdong's grandfather demolished their illegally built coal sheds and earthquake shelters.

The only thing left was the small kitchen in front of each house, thinking that when the children grew up and moved out, they could save money and wouldn't have to build a new one.

With so many people in their family now, one pot simply isn't enough to keep up with all the cooking.

To save time, he would also cook in the small kitchen in front of his older brother's house.

"Okay, Grandma understands. You and your sister go and set out the bowls and chopsticks. Once the water in the pot boils, Grandma will make you some egg water."

Li's mother treated her granddaughter much better than her grandson; she never had any preference for boys over girls.

Of course, it's also possible that she has too many grandsons and is tired of taking care of them. Compared to her mischievous grandsons, she is more amiable towards her granddaughter.

After washing her hands, Zhou Yuqin came over and asked, "Mother, is there anything I can do?"

Li's mother pointed to the pickling jar next to her, "Take out a piece of pickled vegetable, cut it up, and we'll eat this for breakfast."

"Good girl."

Zhou Yuqin worked quickly and efficiently. After responding, she took a pickled vegetable from the pickling jar, rinsed it briefly with water, placed it on the cutting board, picked up a knife, and began to chop it.

"Mother...hug me..."

Li Xiaozhu was held up by the waist and stood on the ground with her arms outstretched. She took a step forward to find Zhou Yuqin.

Li Xiangdong threatened her, "Your mother is working, so you can't go over and cause her trouble. Your grandmother has a bad temper, so be careful she doesn't get upset and come over to beat you."

"Li Laosan, I heard you this time!"

Li's mother came up behind him and grabbed his ear.

"Giggle...hit...hit..."

When Li Xiaozhu saw his father being beaten, he clapped his hands happily, and drool dripped from his mouth.

"Mom, let go! I was just teasing the child!"

Li Xiangdong sat on the steps, holding his daughter in his arms, unable to escape.

Zhou Yuqin wanted to come over and say a few words of advice, but before she could move, she was glared at by Li's mother.

Li Xiangdong had no choice but to give his older brothers, who were squatting by the sink brushing their teeth, a meaningful look.

Brother Li and Brother Li Er just watched with smiles, neither of them coming over to offer any advice, so he had no choice but to endure it on his own.

"Why are you winking at me? Don't try to play tricks on me."

Li's mother looked at him with hostility and twisted his ear again.

"Li Laosan, what are you even doing? You're not even human! If you were human, would you be gossiping about your own mother behind her back? You worthless piece of trash, all you do is talk behind people's backs!"

Li Xiangdong listened to his mother's incessant muttering about what things were and what things weren't, and it made his ears hurt and his head spin.

His mother's brain is really sharp; no wonder she could still be so sarcastic and unspeakable to him decades later, even while he was using a cane.

Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Li, who had gone out to buy groceries, returned. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw Mrs. Li twisting Li Xiangdong's ear hard.

Grandma Li doted on her grandson, but being old, she couldn't walk fast and could only anxiously call out, "Oh dear! What did Dongzi do to you? Why are you hitting him so hard, his mother!"

When Li's mother saw Li's mother shuffling over, she knew that her youngest son's supporter had returned. She ignored Li's mother, reluctantly let go of her hand, and went back to the stove to continue preparing breakfast.

Grandma Li came over and touched Li Xiangdong's ear, asking with concern, "Your ear is almost purple from being pinched so much, Dongzi, are you alright?"

Li Xiangdong smiled awkwardly, "Grandma, I'm fine. You go back to your room and rest. Dinner will be ready soon."

Following behind Old Lady Li, Old Man Li glanced at his two older brothers, who were still brushing their teeth.

"Are you two busy?"

When Brother Li and Brother Li Er heard their grandfather ask them a question, they quickly rinsed their mouths.

"No rush, Grandpa, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong. I thought you two were busy."

After finishing his sentence, Old Man Li glared at the two brothers, stepped forward to help Old Lady Li, and then called Li Xiangdong to go into the house together.

Brother Li looked at Brother Li Er in confusion. The two exchanged a glance, not understanding what their grandfather was up to. After thinking for a while without figuring it out, they each continued washing up.

When Li's mother saw her in-laws enter the room, she stood in front of the stove and began to mutter, "Keep spoiling him, let's see what good he'll get out of this. Anyone who didn't know better would think that only the third son is their biological child and the others were adopted. What's wrong with me, as his mother, spanking him a couple of times? I'm not his stepmother!"

Seeing that Li's mother was holding an egg and standing still, muttering something unintelligible, Zhou Yuqin said, "Mom, what are you saying? I've chopped the pickled vegetables."

"Oh, it's nothing. Just leave the chopped pickled vegetables there."

Li's mother cracked all the eggs into a small iron basin, stirred them with chopsticks, then scooped a ladle of boiling water from the pot and poured the boiling water into the basin while stirring the egg mixture with chopsticks.

After preparing the boiled eggs, she took out a bottle of sesame oil from the cupboard, dipped the tip of her chopsticks into the sesame oil, and then stirred it into the egg mixture.

I dipped the end of my chopsticks in sesame oil again, mixed the pickled vegetables, and then stirred it into the egg mixture. Not a single drop of sesame oil was wasted!

The boiling water in the big iron pot wasn't wasted either; it was mixed with cornmeal to make a pot of corn porridge.

After finishing her work, she looked up and saw Sister-in-law Li carrying a winnowing basket, followed by Sister-in-law Li Er. "Are the cornbreads ready?"

"Alright, Mother."

Li's mother squeezed it with her hand; it was quite soft.

Whether they're steaming buns or cornbread, they always know how to leaven the dough. The main problem is that Old Man Li and Old Woman Li are getting old and their teeth aren't strong enough to eat hard food.

Two plates of pickled vegetables mixed with sesame oil, a basket of cornbread, a small bowl of boiled eggs, and a large pot of corn porridge—that's Old Li's breakfast.

"Grandpa's ready to eat."

Li Xiaojiang ran to the front gate, shouted at his father who was still chatting with the neighbors outside, and then ran back into the yard and into the main house as if his butt was on fire.

The children sat down at the small dining table, and Li's mother carried over a small iron basin and served each of them a bowl of water with an egg.

The other children didn't cause any trouble and obediently held their bowls and began to sip their drinks.

But Li Xiaotao, that blockhead, wasn't afraid of burning his mouth at all, and gulped down several large mouthfuls.

He himself wasn't very bright and treated Li's mother like a fool. He handed the bowl directly to her and said with a silly smile, "Grandma, you didn't fill my bowl with the egg drop soup."

Li's mother: "..."