Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Going to the Jinsha River to catch fish and swim was something Ge Youfu and Li Xiaojiang had agreed to when they first met.

Li Xiaojiang and the others had been thinking about this for a long time; they had wanted to go for a while.

They were too tired after getting off the train, and with the unfamiliar environment and people, none of them dared to speak up.

But today is already the fourth day of visiting relatives, and Li Xiaojiang and the others have already become familiar with Lao Ge's family, and they don't have anything scheduled for today.

After quickly finishing their breakfast, the brothers Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao called Ge Youfu out of the house.

Li Xiaojiang asked with a smile, "Brother Youfu, are you busy today?"

Ge Youfu shook his head and asked, "I'm fine, what's wrong? Is something wrong with you two?"

Li Xiaotao peeked into the house, then whispered in Ge Youfu's ear, "Didn't you promise us to go fishing and swimming? Youfu, have you forgotten?"

"Oh, so that's what happened. You two could have just told me. You scared me."

Upon hearing this, Ge Youfu rolled his eyes. After three days of getting to know Li Xiaotao, he had come to understand him somewhat and thought Li Xiaotao was up to something.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao had secretly called him out, only wanting him to take them fishing and swimming. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This is also one of the differences between the North and the South. The South has more waterways, so it's inevitable that children will play in the water.

Even though some parents are strict and may physically punish their children afterward, the difference compared to the North is still significant.

Because most parents in the north beat their children terribly after they find out their children are playing in the water!

"Brother Youfu, you won't go back on your word, will you?"

Li Xiaotao crossed his arms and frowned.

Seeing this, Ge Youfu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't worry, I always keep my word, but we'll have to wait until after lunch."

Why do we have to wait until after lunch?

“The river water is already cold this time of year, and it’s even colder early in the morning. I don’t dare to go into the water by myself, let alone take you across.”

After explaining the reason, Ge Youfu sent the two brothers off to play.

He has nothing to do today, so he needs to go and study. He can only repay his uncle's kindness by working harder!

After finishing breakfast inside, everyone came out of the house one after another.

The women went to wash the dishes, while Uncle Ge and Brother Ge went to work together.

Li Xiangdong's family came to visit relatives. Brother Ge took three days off, and Uncle Ge took two days off in advance, for a total of five days off.

They should both go to work today. They can't just take a few days off every time Li Xiangdong's family stays. Li's parents wouldn't agree to that.

The dishes and chopsticks have been washed.

Li's mother and her eldest aunt went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy cloth. Li's mother planned to take advantage of the free time these two days, along with her three sisters-in-law, Zhou Yuqin, and the other two, to make two quilts for the old lady with new cotton.

Li's father, along with his eldest and second eldest brothers, saw a pile of broken coal briquettes in the corner of the yard. After finishing breakfast, the three of them, like cats drawn by the smell of fish, went over to restore them to their original state...

With nothing to do and boredom running out, Li Xiangdong took over from Ge Youfu as the leader of the children.

They kept a close eye on Li Xiaozhu, who was wandering around the yard, and Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai, who were chasing each other with wooden guns.

"Run slowly!"

"Don't cry, stand up yourself."

"You two, don't stick your guns at each other's faces! What if you poke someone in the eye?"

In one morning, the three children, who disliked dogs and were too old to play with, drove Li Xiangdong to the brink of ecstasy.

Just as he finished lunch and was about to go to Ge Youfu's house next door to lie down and take a nap, Zhou Yuqin quickly walked up to him.

"Youfu is going to take Li Xiaojiang and the others swimming later."

Li Xiangdong asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

“Taozi was showing off to Xiaobo outside in the yard, and I overheard it.”

"Okay, you don't need to worry about this."

Zhou Yuqin nodded and left to coax Li Xiaozhu, who was sleepy after eating.

Li Xiangdong found Li Xiaotao, grabbed him by the ear, and called Li Xiaojiang and a few others to go to Ge Youfu's house next door.

"Third Uncle, let go of me, my ear hurts."

Li Xiangdong ignored Li Xiaotao and asked directly, "Are you guys going to play in the water later?"

Upon hearing their third uncle's question, the four Li brothers all looked at Ge Youfu.

Ge Youfu scratched his head sheepishly, "Uncle, this is what I promised before."

"None of them can swim. Are you sure you can keep an eye on them?"

"Isn't it you, Uncle? The two of us should be able to take care of the four of them."

"Your uncle is a landlubber!"

"Forehead..."

Ge Youfu was now in a dilemma. He looked at Li Xiaojiang and the others, and said awkwardly, "How about we just forget about it?"

“Brother Youfu, you can’t do that. A real man keeps his word. A man’s word is his bond.”

Li Xiaotao didn't want to give up this opportunity; once he returned to Beijing, the only place to enjoy water activities was a public bathhouse...

"Brother Youfu, you only need to teach me and Taozi. Third Uncle, let Xiaobo and Xiaohai go into the water, and you can watch them from the shore. Is that okay?"

Li Xiaojiang proposed an arrangement that he thought was feasible.

But Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai disagreed!

Finally, Li Xiaobo received a promise from Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao that after returning home, the two brothers would each give Li Xiaobo one cent, and Li Xiaobo had no objections.

Li Xiaohai smoothed things over on the spot, the price being that Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao each had to give up two pieces of candy...

Seeing how enthusiastic the two brothers were, Li Xiangdong thought it over carefully and decided that it was better to guide than to suppress.

If he refuses now, it will only temporarily suppress their feelings.

The capital city doesn't have many waterways, but it does have several rivers.

Why not just satisfy their curiosity and explain the reasons later? That way, their family won't have to worry so much when they return to Beijing.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

Li Xiangdong nodded in agreement and looked at Ge Youfu.

Do you have any thin hemp rope at home?

"Have."

Ge Youfu knew what Li Xiangdong wanted the hemp rope for, so he quickly left and returned with a bundle of thin hemp rope.

Li Xiangdong inspected it carefully and found that the hemp rope was quite sturdy.

When are you going?

"Going right now."

The 501 Power Plant is located on the south bank of the Jinsha River. There is an old suspension bridge nearby that leads to the north bank of the river. This is the place that Ge Youfu brought them to.

"Uncle, don't worry, the water here is shallow and the current isn't strong. There's sand underneath, so nothing will happen."

Li Xiangdong neither confirmed nor denied this. In any case, he didn't care how deep the water was; he was definitely going to tie hemp ropes around Li Xiaojiang and Li Xiaotao later.

He told Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai to stay far away from the water, then walked to the water's edge himself and put his hand into the water.

"Good luck, the water is very cold. Are you sure you can go in this water temperature?"

"It's alright, Uncle."

Ge Youfu stretched his arms and legs on the spot, and after warming up, he took off his coat, leaving only his shorts, and jumped into the water in front of Li Xiangdong and the others.

The difference between this water temperature and taking a cold shower is that one is rinsing and the other is soaking...

Li Xiangdong, standing on the shore, watched Ge Youfu's swaying swimming posture in the water and secretly gave a thumbs up. "This young man is sleeping on a cold kang (heated brick bed) because he has a strong temper!"

P.S.: Here's the third update! Please urge me to update more and support me with your love!