Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Xiaojiang".

"Li Xiaojiang!"

In crucial moments, we still have to rely on my nephew.

"What's wrong, Third Uncle?"

"Third Uncle, I'm here."

"Third Uncle..."

"father."

I called out to them, and they all came running over.

Their foreheads were covered in sweat, and their faces were blackened.

"Let's keep our voices down, so as not to disturb your great-grandparents' rest."

"Come on, Xiaojiang, come help Uncle San move the table down. You guys stay out of the way, or I might bump into you."

Li Xiaotao, who had run over, said, "Third Uncle, let me do it. You don't need to. You can rest."

"Are you sure you can handle this? This table is quite heavy."

“I can do it, Uncle. I can move it. I’ve moved this table before.”

As Li Xiaotao spoke, he showed off his biceps to him.

Li Xiangdong nodded. "Alright, you and your older brother can carry one side."

Apart from his wife and two children, everyone else in his family has urban residency and receives a fixed monthly food ration, so they never lack food. The children may not eat well, but they have never gone hungry.

Especially his second nephew, Li Xiaotao, who grew up like this, he doesn't know what he ate, he's only eleven years old but looks stronger than him, except that he's not very bright, he's pretty good in every other way.

"Third Uncle, where should we move the table?"

"Move it to the pool first."

When a dining table has been used for a long time, the accumulated grime on it needs to be cleaned. If you use it indoors yourself in the future, you will definitely need to clean it thoroughly.

As for the claim that rosewood cannot be wiped with water, well, we've used it as a dining table for over ten years, so it won't make a difference if we do it this once.

With such a commotion, his mother and sisters-in-law must have heard it, and even his wife came out to take a look.

They didn't say anything after seeing it. It was normal for Li Xiangdong to do such shady things. Let him do whatever he wants. They thought it was a waste of breath to say anything more.

After setting the table down, Li Xiangdong returned to the west wing.

Pushing open the door, I saw Zhou Yuqin sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), gently fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan to swat away mosquitoes from her daughter who was sleeping on the kang.

She saw her husband come into the room and asked, "Why are you wiping that dining table?"

"Clean it up and swap it with the table in our room. I won't go into details now; I'll explain it to you tonight."

Hearing his words, Zhou Yuqin nodded. She wasn't an unreasonable person. Since her man had said he would explain to her that evening, she wouldn't make a fuss.

But then she saw her husband take an egg out of his pocket, crack it open, and start peeling it. She immediately realized that the egg must have been given to her secretly by Old Lady Li; she had seen it many times before.

After peeling the eggs, Li Xiangdong walked to the coal stove used for heating in the house during the winter.

He first put the thermos on the ground, then lifted the iron lid of the coal stove, threw in the peeled eggshells, and finally put everything back in its original place.

Well, now we don't have to throw the eggshells in the alley anymore; it's a perfect way to dispose of the stolen goods and cover up the crime.

He held the white, tender egg in his hand and offered it to his wife's lips, saying, "Eat it, Grandma gave it to me."

"I don't want it, you eat it yourself."

"Then I won't eat it either. Let's save it for our daughter. Remember to soak it in hot water when she wakes up."

Li Xiangdong looked at the enamel mug and, after confirming that there was no water inside, put the eggs in.

Zhou Yuqin was somewhat surprised. In the past, her husband would eat the eggs directly and never said he would save them for their daughter. Could it be that he had changed his ways?

As she was pondering this, she saw Li Xiangdong pull out a wad of cash from another pocket.

She asked in surprise, "Where did you get the money? It wasn't given to you by your grandparents, was it? They really love you."

Worried that her husband would squander the money again, she held out her hand and said, "Give me the money."

Li Xiangdong sighed and said, "I just counted the money. I can give it to you, but can I keep one yuan?"

Zhou Yuqin nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Li Xiangdong counted out his one yuan, and obediently handed over the remaining twenty-nine yuan.

"I'm going out to wipe the table."

Li Xiangdong found two tattered rags, came out of the house, and went to the sink. He turned on the tap, wet the rags, and began to carefully wipe the table.

The children gathered in a circle around him, asking curiously, "Third Uncle, what are you doing?"

"Just wipe the table, can't you see?"

"Third Uncle, why are you wiping the table?"

"Just wipe the table if it's dirty, why ask so many questions?"

After wiping the front, he planned to wipe the back of the table, as well as the dust in the crevices and the openwork carvings at the four corners.

He had just squatted down when he immediately noticed the snot on the back of the table.

He stood up, glared angrily at his nephews, and demanded, "Which of you wiped your nose behind the table?"

The back of the table, wherever his hand could reach, was covered in dried snot, which disgusted him.

"It wasn't me."

"Third Uncle, it wasn't me."

"Not me either."

None of the nephews acknowledged him.

Li Xiangdong first called his two nieces to his side, saying that girls wouldn't do such a disgraceful thing.

Then he kicked his son's butt, shooing Li Xiaohai aside. Li Xiaohai wasn't even as tall as a table leg, so it definitely wasn't him who did it.

Looking at his three nephews standing in front of him, their faces flushed, Li Xiangdong said, "You three go and wipe your snot clean."

"I'm not going, I didn't do it!"

Li Xiaojiang stubbornly refused to admit it, mainly because it was too embarrassing and would damage his image as the eldest brother in the eyes of his younger siblings.

Li Xiaotao betrayed him, saying, "Big brother, it was you who did it. I've seen it several times. How can you deny it?"

"Li Xiaotao, do you want to get beaten up?!"

Li Xiaojiang was furious. If Li Xiangdong hadn't been standing there, he probably would have attacked him.

"You can't beat me anyway, so I'm not afraid of you."

Li Xiaotao clenched his fist, not afraid of his older brother's threat at all. It's not like they haven't fought before; who knows who will beat whom?

He was afraid Li Xiangdong wouldn't believe him, so he wanted to find a witness. "Xiaobo, do you think that snot was wiped on by my older brother?"

Li Xiaobo kept his head down and didn't speak. Among the four boys in the family, he was the youngest besides Li Xiaohai, and he was also the one who got beaten the most. He could only be a fence-sitter and no one dared to provoke him.

Besides, he also wiped his snot on the table.

Li Xiaojiang was furious with his younger brother, Li Xiaotao, yelling, "Li Xiaotao, you idiot, shut up!"

"I'm not stupid. My mother says I'm just honest and kind-hearted."

"Third Uncle, my mother also said that my eldest brother is very cunning. You must believe me, it was my eldest brother who did it!"

Li Xiaotao kept talking nonstop, not noticing that his older brother, Li Xiaojiang, was already red-eyed with anger.

Li Xiangdong said impatiently, "Alright, stop arguing. No matter who did it, go and clean it up for me right now."

Li Xiaojiang stood still, panting heavily with anger, like a toad.

Seeing that his older brother didn't move, Li Xiaotao stood there with his arms crossed, staring blankly.

Li Xiaobo lifted his leg and then put it down again. His older brothers didn't move, and he didn't dare to move either, for fear of being ganged up on and beaten when no one was around.

"You think I can't control you guys?"

This is outrageous! He won't even listen to his third uncle. Li Xiangdong started wielding his money stick.

"Xiaomei and Xiaolan, you two go help your third uncle wipe the table. Your third uncle will buy you ice cream later, the cream kind!"

"Okay, Third Uncle."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan were overjoyed; they never expected such a windfall to fall into their laps.

The two sisters usually help with chores around the house. Although this job is a bit dirty, it's not tiring. Besides, their third uncle promised to buy them cream ice cream.

The two sisters were full of energy. The best thing they had ever eaten in their lives was a cream popsicle; they had never eaten cream ice cream because it was too expensive and the adults in their family couldn't afford it.

Upon hearing that there would be creamy ice cream, Li Xiaobo was the first to give in, saying, "Third Uncle, I will never wipe my snot on the table again."

"Ah."

Li Xiangdong nodded perfunctorily.

Seeing that he had not achieved his goal, Li Xiaobo took two steps forward, walked up to Li Xiangdong, and said with a wronged look, "Third Uncle, I also want to eat cream ice cream. I've never had it before."

Li Xiangdong looked at his nephew, the little boy looking pitiful.

"Alright, you can have one, but you only get popsicles. Only children who listen to their third uncle can eat cream ice cream. If you want some, you'd better behave yourself in the future."

Those who work and those who don't can't be treated the same, otherwise the team would be hard to manage.

Hearing that there would only be popsicles to eat, Li Xiaobo was very satisfied. On a hot day, being able to eat a popsicle would be very refreshing, and he wouldn't even be afraid of getting beaten up!

He exclaimed happily, "Thank you, Third Uncle! Third Uncle is the best!"

"Hehe, Uncle, I want to eat too."

Li Xiaotao grinned foolishly, scratching his greasy head as he leaned closer.

Li Xiangdong shoved him away in disgust, "You want to eat my ass? Get away from me. Aren't you disgusted? Can't you wash your hair? It's so oily you could fry vegetables in it."

"Uncle, how could you say that to me? I was the one who helped you move the table just now; it was very heavy!"

Li Xiaotao's face was full of disbelief, feeling that his third uncle had been unfair to him.

"Uh..."

Li Xiangdong could not refute what his nephew said.

"Then count you in too. Although you helped your third uncle with the work, your behavior just now made him very unhappy. As punishment, you have to be downgraded by one level. How about a cream popsicle?"

Upon hearing that there would be cream popsicles, Li Xiaotao grinned and said, "Uncle, I'm not picky. I just love cream popsicles."

Looking at his younger brother Li Xiaotao, Li Xiaojiang almost blurted out the word "idiot."

Seeing his third uncle looking at him with amusement, Li Xiaojiang hesitated several times, but ultimately didn't speak, displaying the demeanor of an older brother!

Seeing that his nephew was quite stubborn, Li Xiangdong ignored him, knowing that trying to force a deal was not going to work.

"father."

Li Xiaohai walked over, hugged his leg, and looked up at him, saying, "Dad, I'm still here."

Li Xiangdong chuckled and said, "And what about you? You want to eat farts too? Then stand behind Daddy's butt, and Daddy will give you one."

Li Xiaohai is more sensible now. Hearing his older siblings laughing, he knew they were making fun of him. In addition, he wanted to eat cream ice cream, but his father wouldn't buy it for him.

Her lips twitched, her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face.

When Li Xiangdong saw that he was about to cry, he quickly covered his mouth to prevent his mother and wife Zhou Yuqin from being brought over.

"Are you impersonating your father? Crying on cue? Fine, I'll buy it for you."

"hey-hey."

When Li Xiaohai heard that he had been promised to buy him a creamy ice cream, he stopped crying and started sniffling. He gave a sullen smile, and suddenly snot sprayed out, yellow snot all over Li Xiangdong's hand.

"Holy shit..."