Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong sipped his freshly brewed tea and noticed Wang Dahai sitting opposite him with dark circles under his eyes, yawning repeatedly.

"Uncle Hai, did you not sleep well last night?"

Wang Dahai wiped away the tears that came out with his yawn, and gulped down two mouthfuls of strong tea. "I just got back from Shandong Province in the middle of the night, and now I'm feeling sleepy."

Li Xiangdong asked, "Then why don't you hurry home and rest?"

Wang Dahai waved his hand and said, "No rush. I'm waiting for Team Leader Liu to come over so we can talk about something. Are you coming with me today?"

Li Xiangdong nodded and said, "We'll go to Tianjin at 10:30."

Wang Dahai said enviously, "Tianjin is a good place, much better than the places I went to. There's nothing good there, the most famous thing is crickets. It's said that they used to be a tribute, but those things are useless, neither edible nor drinkable."

Cricket?

Li Xiangdong said thoughtfully, "Are you referring to Ningyang in Shandong Province?"

"You're right, that's the place."

Wang Dahai sighed as he spoke, "I'm really unlucky; I'll be running around there for the next month."

The two were talking when the door was kicked open with a 'bang'.

"Master, I've brought back the steamed buns you ordered!"

A young man in his early twenties walked in carrying two oil paper packages.

Wang Dahai walked over angrily, took the oil paper package from the young man's hand, and kicked him in the thigh.

Looking at the young man who had fallen to the ground, Wang Dahai angrily said, "Who taught you that? You haven't learned anything else from being around me, but you've learned to kick doors, haven't you?"

The young man stood up with a grin, patted the large footprint on his pants, and said, "Master, don't be angry with me. The buns won't taste good if they get cold."

Wang Dahai glared at his apprentice, then turned to Li Xiangdong and said, "Dongzi, this is my apprentice. He'll be driving with me now. You can call him Erguaizi."

"Hey Erguaizi, this is Li Xiangdong, the new guy in our group."

Li Xiangdong and Erguaizi introduced themselves to each other.

The second kidnapper's name is Zhang Zhi. He was kidnapped twice before he was 8 years old. However, he was lucky. The kidnappers failed to kidnap him both times and ended up getting themselves into trouble.

The second time was when Wang Dahai saved him. Erguaizi's father was grateful and kept pestering him to let his son become Wang Dahai's godfather.

After Erguaizi came of age, he was brought into the passenger transport section by Wang Dahai and went from being a godson to an apprentice.

This is why he greeted Wang Dahai with a smile even when Wang Dahai kicked him.

Erguaizi sat down next to Li Xiangdong, his eyes filled with admiration. He spoke and gestured, "Brother Laba, I heard about what happened yesterday. Everyone says you're the modern-day Zhang Fei. You roared on the Dangyang Bridge and broke the bridge, causing the water to flow backward!"

Li Xiangdong: "..."

"Hey, you eat, bro..."

Li Xiangdong interrupted Erguaizi, "Erguaizi, can you please stop calling me that? It sounds awkward to me."

Erguaizi chuckled and said, "Then I'll call you Brother Dong, okay? Brother Dong, have you had breakfast yet? I just bought some steamed buns, they're still warm."

Erguaizi pushed his portion of steamed buns, wrapped in oil paper, toward Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong smiled and declined, saying, "You eat it, I've already had breakfast."

Seeing that Li Xiangdong wasn't eating, Erguaizi picked up a bun and started eating it in big bites.

He suddenly said abruptly, "Brother Dong, you need to be careful. I heard that because of what happened yesterday, the broadcasting room at the Beijing Railway Station had all its monthly production bonuses deducted."

"Cough cough~"

Li Xiangdong choked on his tea. "What does this have to do with me? Why should I be careful? They're just slow to react, how can they blame me?"

Sitting opposite him, Wang Dahai laughed and said, "Dongzi, you know in your heart whether the broadcasting room being punished has anything to do with you or not. Erguaizi is right, you should be careful that Old Kong from the broadcasting room doesn't come looking for you."

Li Xiangdong asked, "Who is Lao Kong? Is he also from the broadcasting room? What gives him the right to come looking for me?! If he's so capable, he should go directly to the leaders!"

Erguaizi said, "Uncle Kong is the head of the broadcasting room, nicknamed Kong Dynamite. He has a temper that explodes at the slightest provocation, and the key is that he's ruthless. Brother Dong, you must remember to be careful."

Depend on!

Li Xiangdong, after being lectured by the master and apprentice, has lost all interest in drinking tea.

He looked at Wang Dahai, who was eating steamed buns and reading the newspaper, and said, "Uncle Hai, you guys keep eating, I'm going out for a smoke."

Wang Dahai said without looking up, "Go ahead."

Li Xiangdong came out of his office, walked through the corridor to the outside of the building, took out the Daqianmen cigarettes he had brought from home, lit them, and stared blankly at the crowds of people coming and going.

"Dongzi, Dongzi."

"Hmm? You've arrived."

Li Xiangdong looked at A Zhe standing in front of him and asked, "You haven't forgotten what we discussed yesterday, have you?"

A-Zhe asked in return, "What is it?"

Li Xiangdong said speechlessly, "What else could it be? Money. Have you prepared your money?"

"You mean this? I remember it. It's just that I really didn't know how to bring it up when I got home."

Ah Zhe looked embarrassed and spoke haltingly.

If he didn't have a job, he could rightfully ask his father for money.

But now that he's received his salary for the month, he couldn't figure out how to ask for money after going home yesterday.

"Ah~"

Li Xiangdong sighed and patted A Zhe on the shoulder.

A Zhe looked at him and said, "Dongzi, why don't you give me some ideas?"

"No."

Li Xiangdong shook his head. If he could come up with a good way to get money, he would also bring A Zhe and Hou San along.

Ah Zhe followed with a worried expression and said, "What should we do? If all else fails, I'll borrow some from someone else."

Who are you planning to borrow from? Who has money to lend you?

Li Xiangdong glanced at him sideways, feeling that it was still necessary to give A Zhe some psychological preparation.

“Zhe, you’re not like me. I have two older brothers, and you’re your father’s only son. Isn’t his money going to be yours sooner or later? What difference does it make if he gives it to you sooner or later? Don’t think too much about it, just ask for it! Listen to me, you won’t go wrong. Think about whether what I’m saying makes sense.”

After thinking it over carefully, Ah Zhe suddenly realized, "Dongzi, are you trying to fool me like a fool? What am I supposed to tell my dad if he asks me what I need the money for?"

"I don't know. If you want to make money, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

Ah Zhe, that fool, actually didn't fall for it, which really surprised Li Xiangdong. Now all his hopes can be placed on Hou San!

Li Xiangdong ignored A Zhe and turned back to his office.

"Brother Dong!"

"Brother Dong!"

Li Xiangdong was dozing off at his desk, bored, when he suddenly heard someone calling him from the hallway. It was Hou San's voice. He hurriedly ran over and opened the door.

"Brother Dong, come over and help me up."

Hou San limped toward Li Xiangdong after seeing him.

Li Xiangdong quickly stepped forward to help Hou San up, "What happened to you?"