Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Hearing what Grandma Li said, Li Xiangdong couldn't help but smile and then advised, "Please don't do that again. What if you bump into something in the dark at night?"

Grandma Li said, "It's alright, your grandpa is with you, don't worry, Grandma won't fall."

Li Xiangdong was speechless. There was even a gang involved in stealing eggs.

"Then you can't keep doing that. I'm all grown up now, I can't compete with the children in the family for food."

"Okay, okay, Grandma will listen to you."

Grandma Li nodded in agreement. She would listen to whatever Li Xiangdong said, because in her heart, none of her grandsons and great-grandsons combined were as important as Li Xiangdong.

Old Mrs. Li experienced the chaos of war. She originally had several children, including sons and daughters, but in the end, she only managed to support her husband.

After Li's mother married into the family, she gave birth to two sons in succession, namely Li Xiangdong's eldest and second eldest brothers, but Li's mother still felt uneasy.

In addition, at that time the country was vigorously promoting having more children, and Grandma Li often talked to her mother about how good the country's policies were.

But Li's mother couldn't conceive, which worried her terribly. She stopped talking about national policies and often secretly prayed to gods and Buddhas behind people's backs.

Old Mrs. Li was very stubborn. She prayed to gods and Buddhas for more than ten years before Li Xiangdong was born.

Therefore, every favoritism has a reason...

Li Xiangdong lifted the cloth bag in his hand. "Grandma, you bought a lot! This meat must weigh about two pounds, right?"

Grandma Li thought he was also craving meat, and sighed, "I couldn't buy any, I only managed to buy a piece of tofu. Grandma is old and her legs aren't strong enough, I got up early but still couldn't make it."

Hearing what Grandma Li said, Li Xiangdong was worried that his grandmother would be unhappy. "Tofu is also a good thing, just like meat. A few years ago, we couldn't even afford to eat it."

After he finished speaking, he hummed a line, "Having eaten pickled vegetables and tofu, even the emperor can't compare to me."

Grandma Li laughed when she heard this, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about, child? You can't just say things like that."

"It's alright, nobody cares about these things now. When the weather gets a bit cooler, I'll take you to the Forbidden City for a tour and see what the emperors used to live like."

The grandmother and grandson were cuddling and kissing.

Old Li stepped over the threshold and came in. Seeing the two of them smiling, he laughed and said, "Dongzi, it's so good to see you back. Your grandma hasn't been this happy in a long time."

Although the old man's hair was also white, he spoke with a strong voice and looked much more robust than Old Lady Li. It's just a mystery why he didn't outlive Old Lady Li.

"What are you thinking, you little brat?"

Old Li could tell from his grandson's darting eyes that he was up to no good.

"It's nothing, Grandpa and Grandma, let's go back inside quickly, you haven't had breakfast yet."

Li Xiangdong helped the old lady, deliberately slowing his pace as he walked, saying, "It's not that I'm criticizing you two as a junior, but you can't do this again next time. There were so many people queuing to buy meat; I was so worried just now..."

Looking at his grandson and grandmother who had already entered the courtyard, listening to his grandson's heartwarming words, and then looking at his eldest grandson Li Weiguo standing there dumbfounded, Old Man Li felt a surge of anger.

She's over thirty years old and has absolutely no sense of propriety!

Don't blame the old couple for favoring their grandson. Li Xiangdong has been sweet-talking and good at reading people's expressions since he was a child. He always finds ways to make the old couple happy.

As for the other two grandsons, they are nothing.

Old Li snorted and went into the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Li Weiguo was an honest and kind man, and he didn't think much of Old Man Li's attitude towards him.

His father said that his grandfather had always been like this since his third brother could speak, and there was no need to worry about it.

After entering the house, Li Xiangdong helped Grandma Li to sit down at the large dining table.

Seeing his mother bring over the food, Li Xiangdong said, "Mom, this is tofu that Grandma bought."

Li's mother reached out and took the cloth bag, then turned and walked out of the house.

When Li Xiangdong saw Old Man Li enter the house, he quickly set up a stool for him.

Li's father, who was sitting to the side, waited until his parents were seated before speaking, "Father, there's something I need your advice on."

He roughly recounted what Li Xiangdong had just said.

Old Li nodded after hearing this. "I understand what you mean. You want to find someone knowledgeable to ask around. But in the future, just say what you want to say directly and don't try to play tricks on me."

“I’ll figure out Dongzi’s job. You can keep your favor to yourself. You’re over fifty years old, and I can’t be bothered to talk to you.”

"Then I'll follow your arrangements."

When Li's father's little scheme was exposed, he was neither ashamed nor angry, and calmly continued smoking.

They're all grandfathers, so they naturally show affection to their grandchildren; each takes care of their own grandchildren.

Seven things to open the door, firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.

In the capital, firewood is the same as coal.

A coal shop supplies coal for the daily use of residents throughout the street.

Coal coupons were issued to each household, one coupon per household per month, which could buy 120 pieces of coal, and doubled to 240 pieces in winter.

But if you have a good relationship with the coal shop staff, you can get an extra 10 or 20 yuan each time.

People who worked in coal shops in this era had extensive social networks and acquaintances in various industries.

Li's father, who had worked in the coal shop his whole life, had his own social connections, but he felt that his youngest son was unreliable.

Moreover, his youngest son failed the high school entrance exam and was too old to stay in the city for work, so he had to go to the countryside to work. He had already used a lot of his connections to arrange a good place for him, and he planned to save the rest of those connections for his grandsons.

Old Li originally didn't plan to get involved in his grandson's job; he wanted to wait until his grandson was more mature and stable before making a decision.

But after listening to what Li's father said, he felt that his grandson had his own ideas about work and knew how to make progress.

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Li's father and said, "Take some time when you're at work to go to the subdistrict office and ask Deputy Director Zhang. If it's really true, see if he can give you some advice."

No one expected that Old Man Li knew the deputy director of the neighborhood office; he was keeping it a secret for a long time.

In Beijing, a deputy director of a subdistrict office may not sound like a high-ranking official, but his position is actually quite prestigious. In a county town, he would be equivalent to a deputy county head.

Li's mother exclaimed, "Dad, you've managed to get connections with the leaders at the neighborhood committee? You're really hiding your true abilities!"

Old Li chewed on a soft steamed bun made from two kinds of dough, and while eating pickled radishes, he began to reminisce about the past.

"The year they started rationing coal, he was just a clerk. His wife was in confinement after giving birth when it snowed heavily. The rationed coal they had wasn't enough to keep them warm. The house was as cold as an icebox. He was a college graduate from out of town who had come to Beijing, and he couldn't rely on his family. In the end, he managed to borrow a coal ration coupon, but then he lost it."

“A grown man was almost brought to tears. I happened to find out about it, but the coal shop was busy when it snowed. There was a shortage of coal everywhere, and everyone was working non-stop. It was only because I, an old man, was kind-hearted that I worked overtime and stayed up all night to make coal briquettes for him. I made a full 200 jin (100 kg) of coal. Back then, our family even provided the coal coupons.”

Old Man Li pointed his chopsticks at Li Xiangdong and asked, "Dongzi, did you notice anything about what Grandpa did?"

"When dealing with people, if they are in trouble, we should lend a helping hand if we can. Who knows what might happen next? That's why we ended up asking them for help with your job."

Li Xiangdong nodded to indicate that he understood; his grandfather was using this incident to teach him principles of conduct.

He was just a little worried that, after so much time had passed, Deputy Director Zhang might still acknowledge the favor his grandfather had done for him.