Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"It's time to eat, the children are all hungry."

When Old Mrs. Li spoke, Old Mr. Li concealed the dagger in his eyes, and Mr. Li sat down at the table with a puzzled look on his face.

These days, it's considered a luxury for a large family of over ten people to have breakfast together, with all the food provided.

The Li family was already considered well-off, but even so, they used to buy breakfast mainly for their children, and on average, they ate it less than twice a month a year.

So no one spoke during the meal, and Li Xiaojiang and the others didn't even look up.

Li Xiaohai gulped down the soy milk with sugar in his bowl, while the little orange cat circled around his feet, ignoring his constant meowing.

"Go away, go away, stop surrounding me."

Suddenly, voices came from outside. Old Man Li said, "Dongzi, go and see whose kid is here?"

During this period, Li Xiangdong's childhood friends would come to visit him every morning and evening.

If there's anything around the house that needs moving or lifting, they'll do it for you.

Of course, not everyone came. Everyone has a job and their own life. They came in shifts, one person per day, and whoever's turn it was to pay more attention.

Li Xiangdong, who had put down his bowl and chopsticks and was about to get up and walk outside as instructed, almost bumped into someone who was also about to enter the house when he lifted the curtain.

"Dongzi, you're back."

The person who came was Xiang Lin. He wasn't called yesterday or the day before. Qian Bin came the day before yesterday, and Zhang Sen came yesterday. Neither of them told him that Li Xiangdong's family would be back today.

"I just got home. It's cold outside, so let's not talk through the curtain. Come in quickly."

Li Xiangdong smiled and invited them inside, but Xiang Lin had already seen everyone eating inside and felt embarrassed to go in.

"It's good that you're back. I won't go inside. Uncle Li and Aunt Li, please continue eating. I'll head back now."

As Xiang Lin turned to leave, Li Xiangdong grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house.

"Sit down and eat with us. You're already out here, eat your fill before you go home."

Li Xiangdong helped Xiang Lin sit down in his seat, then took a chair from the side and sat down next to him.

Zhou Yuqin handed Li Xiaozhu, whom she was holding, to her mother and then got up to get bowls and chopsticks for Xiang Lin from the cupboard in front of the stove outside.

"Xiao Linzi, you eat this first."

Li's mother smiled and pushed the winnowing basket on the table toward Xiang Lin.

Seeing that Xiang Lin was about to speak, Old Man Li said first, "Take this and eat. We're all family. If you're being polite, you'll be being a stranger."

Old Li's family was so hospitable that Xiang Lin couldn't refuse any longer, so he blushed and picked up a fried dough stick to eat.

Zhou Yuqin returned with the bowls and chopsticks, and Li's father got up and poured soy milk into the bowls from the thermos.

He poured it out while pondering it; it felt quite easy to do...

A full bowl of soy milk was poured. Li's father was standing, and Xiang Lin couldn't sit down to receive it, so he hurriedly got up and took the bowl from Li's father before sitting down again.

"Xiao Linzi, add some sugar."

"Oh, thank you, brother."

Xiang Lin took a spoon from the sugar jar on the table in front of him and scooped some sugar into his bowl.

Seeing this, Li Xiangdong put down his bowl, scooped up a full spoonful of white sugar, and poured it all into his bowl.

"Dongzi, there's way too much!"

"You're too late."

Li Xiangdong smiled, picked up his bowl, and continued eating.

More of what?

These days, with so little sugar and oil, adding more sugar won't make anyone feel sick of it.

Unlike later generations when people go out for breakfast and buy a cup of soy milk, there are no sugar-free, low-sugar, or high-sugar options.

Now it's just a matter of whether you're willing to give it up or not...

"Don't just drink soy milk, Xiao Linzi, hurry up and grab some fried dough sticks to eat."

"Okay, Aunt Li."

Xiang Lin was enjoying his sweet soy milk when he heard Li's mother call out to him. Without further ado, he took a fried dough stick from the basket.

The children at the after-school care table ate their fill first, and after they were full, they played. At this time, they all remembered the two little orange cats.

Li Xiaohai, holding the little orange cat sitting under the table, its head tilted back and staring at him, followed Li Xiaojiang and the others into the east room.

"I'm full~ Let's go play~"

Sitting in Zhou Yuqin's lap, Li Xiaozhu, who had drunk a bellyful of soy milk, clamored to get down from the ground.

Zhou Yuqin reached into Li Xiaozhu's clothes and touched her. After feeling a round belly, she called out to stop Li Xiaomei and her sister, who were walking towards the east room.

"Xiaomei, Xiaolan, come over and hold your sister. She just finished eating, don't let her fall again."

Li Xiaomei walked over and reached out to take Li Xiaozhu's hand. Li Xiaozhu still remembered that Li Xiaomei had pulled her ear before dinner, so she pouted and pretended not to see the hand that was being offered to her.

"Sister~"

Li Xiaozhu walked to Li Xiaolan's side and obediently extended her hand.

Li Xiaomei walked over with a smile, then gently pinched him, which made Li Xiaozhu so angry that she raised her hand and swung it back.

"I'll hit you! I'll hit you!"

With her arms too short, Li Xiaozhu missed and could only watch helplessly as her sister, Li Xiaomei, went into the house with a smile.

Just as Li Xiaozhu was about to complain to Li Xiaolan, who was holding her hand, Zhou Yuqin's voice came over.

"What are you doing? Do you want to get beaten up?!"

Hearing the sound, Li Xiaozhu turned around and glanced at Zhou Yuqin sitting at the table. She then pulled her sister Li Xiaolan and ran towards the east room.

Having finished eating, Old Man Li put down his bowl and looked at Li Xiangdong, asking, "Dongzi, how long have you been on leave? When are you going back to work?"

Li Xiangdong replied, "I'll go to work the day after tomorrow."

Li Xiangdong nodded, "Okay, let's set a time. You can set up a table at home in the next couple of days and invite Xiao Linzi and the others over. You've troubled them quite a bit while you were visiting your relatives."

"No need, no need. We didn't do anything. Besides, it's what we should do. When my family built our house, Dongzi and my aunt went to help. This is nothing."

He politely declined, saying he could make the decision for Qian Bin and the others.

When Li's mother remembered that the Xiang family was building a house, she insisted that her youngest son had saved the Xiang family, and at that time she made Li Xiangdong eat a bowl of meat.

She laughed and said, "You should invite me, Xiao Linzi. When your family was building your house, we went over to help and had a feast, didn't we? You should come, or your aunt will be angry with you."

"That's right. During this period, Xiao Linzi and the others have been cleaning up the coal briquettes in the house, the water in the water tank, and the garbage in the house. I, the old lady, have seen it all."

After Old Lady Li finished speaking, Li's father and elder brother also said a few words.

Xiang Lin could only nod in agreement and promised that he would definitely come to the dinner party hosted by Li Xiangdong.

As they were talking, everyone at the table finished eating, and Li's mother took her daughter-in-law to wash the dishes.

Sitting at the table, Brother Li Er saw that there were still a few fried dough sticks left in the winnowing basket, and thought he would eat one more to fill the gap.

'Snapped! '

Father Li slapped his second brother's outstretched hand, then smiled and wrapped the fried dough sticks in the oil paper lining the winnowing basket.

"Xiao Linzi, don't be disgusted. Take it home for the kids later."