Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Seeing his wife's reaction, Li Xiangdong instantly remembered that this song hadn't yet become popular in mainland China.

"I didn't make this up. You don't know Lan Yingying now, but you'll find out who she is later."

"female?"

"Yes, she's a beauty too."

"Li Xiangdong, you're shameless! You've only been gone a day and you've already hooked up with another woman? A beauty, no less! You even wanted to introduce her to me? Bah!"

"I..."

Li Xiangdong almost choked on his breath. "What are you talking about? Lan Yingying is a singer from Hong Kong!"

"Ah~ she's a singer..." Zhou Yuqin knew she was about to do something awful, and was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground.

She quickly changed the subject, as if talking to herself, "Why isn't Mother back yet? You watch the children, I'm going to cook dinner with my sisters-in-law."

Li Xiangdong saw that his wife hadn't finished speaking when he turned to walk out of the house.

He strode to the doorway, blocking Zhou Yuqin from leaving, and continued humming, "Green willows sprout~ I long for my love's return, but he doesn't; who has he fallen in love with~"

Li Xiangdong blocked the door and teased her, making Zhou Yuqin extremely embarrassed. "Oh dear~ please stop singing!"

She forcefully pushed aside Li Xiangdong, who was blocking the doorway, and quickly walked out.

"Who has Ke Lang fallen in love with?"

Li Xiangdong leaned against the door frame, deliberately dragging out the last syllable, and sang another line to his wife's back.

Seeing Zhou Yuqin walking towards the main house, she quickened her pace.

Li Xiangdong chuckled and turned back into the house. He walked to the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked, "Did you guys think Dad sang well just now?"

"It sounds good."

Li Xiaohai nodded vigorously. Seeing that his younger sister Li Xiaozhu did not respond, he pressed her head down with his hand and helped her nod.

"Dad will play with you for a while."

Li Xiangdong took off his shoes and got onto the kang (heated brick bed).

......

Before we knew it, it was time to get off work.

The alleyway began to liven up.

Li Xiaojiang, who was playing in the yard, saw his father come home from get off work, took out a piece of milk candy from his pocket, ran over and stuffed it into his father's hand.

"Dad, this is White Rabbit milk candy that my third uncle brought back. He also cooked instant noodles for us."

Looking at the milk candy in his hand and listening to his son's words, Brother Li looked surprised. He patted his son's head and smiled, "Really? Your third uncle is so good to you. You should listen to your third uncle more often in the future. Dad won't eat the milk candy. You can keep it for yourself."

Li Xiaotao leaned closer and said, "Dad, if you don't want to eat, give it to me. My third aunt gave my eldest brother a lot, and I only have two."

Li Xiaojiang was displeased upon hearing this. "Why should I give it to you? Even if Dad doesn't eat milk candy, it's still mine."

Brother Li glanced at his two sons, who were about to clash, then simply unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth.

He walked to the pool with his hands behind his back, washed up briefly, and then knocked on the door of the west wing.

Li Xiangdong opened the door and saw his older brother standing there. "Brother, you're off work? Did you need something?"

Brother Li looked his third brother up and down, then looked at his own disheveled appearance, and a hint of envy appeared in his eyes.

"It's nothing, I just came to take a look. Your outfit is really nice."

Li Xiangdong smiled. Alone with his older brother, he really didn't know what to talk about. "Didn't Dad come back with you?"

Brother Li said happily, "They're back. They're pulling our mother along as she walks home."

That word "cool" is used well!

This fully demonstrates Li's mother's struggle and reluctance...

"Big brother, wait a minute."

Li Xiangdong went inside and handed two packets of instant noodles to his eldest brother. "When Mom, Dad, and my second brother come back, ask your sister-in-law to cook these two packets of instant noodles for them. Don't think it's too little."

Brother Li took the instant noodles and said, "It's good enough that you can have two packs of this expensive stuff to try. Other people would love to eat it but can't. If you ask me, you should save it for Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi."

When Li Xiangdong saw his older brother decline, he didn't want to argue endlessly over two packets of instant noodles, so he went back to his room and closed the door.

"That third brother is really..."

Brother Li looked at the instant noodles in his hand with curiosity. "Oh, it's Shanghai-style instant noodles! Everyone says Shanghai is a bustling metropolis. I'm going to have to try it today and see if it has any foreign flavor."

Li Xiangdong heard his elder brother's words through the door, and a smile appeared on his lips.

To be able to connect eating instant noodles with the bustling Shanghai of the 1920s, this guy is quite the genius.

After Brother Li walked away, Li Xiangdong came out of the house with a lunchbox in his hand and walked to the stove in the main room. "Wife, you didn't take the lunchbox."

When Zhou Yuqin saw her husband looking at her with a half-smile, her face flushed slightly. She reached out and took the lunchbox without saying a word, then turned back to her work.

Seeing that the third brother and his wife were not saying anything, Li Ersao looked at them curiously, opened the lunchbox placed to the side, and saw that it was full of braised pork slices and scrambled eggs with tomatoes!

She exclaimed in surprise, and was about to ask Li Xiangdong where the lunchbox came from, when she was interrupted by the arguing at the gate.

Mr. Li pulled Mrs. Li along, and the two of them walked into the yard arguing.

Li's mother shook off Li's father's hand that was grabbing her arm and said angrily, "Why did you pull me back?"

Mr. Li snorted and walked towards the pool. "Why aren't you home cooking at this hour? What are you doing outside nagging? If I don't drag you back, you won't even remember to come home when it gets dark!"

"With three daughters-in-law, do they think they won't have food if I'm not around?"

Li's mother said unhappily, "Besides, what's wrong with me coming home late? I'm happy that Dongzi has a good job. I feel suffocated if I don't tell everyone. I want all the neighbors in the alley to know!"

Hearing the commotion in the yard, Old Man Li and Old Woman Li hurriedly came out of the house. They saw their son and daughter-in-law standing in the yard, both of them shouting louder than the other.

The elderly couple were just about to offer some advice, but after hearing what their daughter-in-law said and thinking about it again, they realized she made sense!

When Dongzi was a child, he was naughty and had a bad reputation in the neighborhood. Now that he finally has a decent job, he naturally wants to promote it widely in the alley.

I wouldn't say every household knows, but at least eight or nine out of ten households should know!

Old Li said, "My daughter-in-law is right!"

Grandma Li nodded in deep agreement. She looked at her son and said, "Why do you have so many things to do every day? Your wife is doing all this so that our Dongzi can have a good reputation. Even if she doesn't come back to cook dinner, I personally wait for her at the door with a flashlight even when it's dark outside."

With someone backing her up, Li's mother became even more assertive. "Listen to what your mother and father are saying! You don't understand anything, and you think I'm embarrassing you in public!"

When Li's father heard his parents and wife all attacking him, he vigorously rubbed his face with the towel in his hand.

He tossed the used towel onto the faucet and said irritably, "You're all so kind! I'm the only one who's ungrateful!"