Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

As darkness fell, more and more mosquitoes came out, and Li Xiangdong found it increasingly difficult to bear.

He got up and went to light mosquito coils. When he checked in, the guesthouse staff were stingy and only gave him a tray of Zebra brand mosquito coils, which were produced locally in Tianjin.

He lit the mosquito coil and began washing the teacup on the table.

Hou San leaned against the bed and asked, "Brother Dong, where's A Zhe? Didn't we agree to come back for drinks? Where did he go?"

Li Xiangdong, with his hands still busy and without even looking up, said, "Go back inside and get some peanuts."

Hou San asked anxiously, "How long has it been? Does it really take this long to go back to the house?"

"I am not sure as well."

After washing the teacup and placing it on the table, Li Xiangdong opened the lunchbox and set out the chopsticks.

"I'll go look for him."

Li Xiangdong turned to leave, and just as he opened the door, he bumped into A Zhe, who was about to enter the house. "Where have you been? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"I didn't go anywhere. I just went back to my room to get some peanuts and changed my clothes while I was there."

Ah Zhe waved the oil paper package in his hand, his face flushed, and he stumbled over his words.

"Really?"

Li Xiangdong noticed that A Zhe had only changed his pants. He looked him up and down, and seeing that A Zhe didn't want to talk about it, he didn't bother to ask any more questions.

Everyone arrived, and the food and drinks were laid out.

It was Hou San's first time drinking, and he was so excited that he stood up. "Brother Dong, A Zhe, let's have a toast!"

The two men stood up, and Li Xiangdong picked up the teacup that had been filled with two ounces of wine, saying, "Then I wish our friendship will last forever."

Ah Zhe laughed and said, "Let's make a fortune together!"

Hou San chimed in, "Make a fortune!"

'kuang'

The three people's teacups bumped together.

Li Xiangdong saw Hou San tilt his head back and gulp down his drink. "Drink slowly, don't drink so fast!"

"Ouch~ It's so spicy."

After Hou San sat down, he stuck out his tongue and made a 'hissing' sound.

Li Xiangdong and Hou San sat down. Seeing Hou San's expression, Li Xiangdong quickly urged, "Hurry up and eat something to calm your nerves..."

Before he could finish speaking, with a thud, Hou San collapsed onto the bed.

Li Xiangdong and A Zhe's chopsticks, which were halfway out, stopped in mid-air, and the two stared at each other.

After realizing what had happened, Ah Zhe clutched his stomach and burst into laughter. "Hou San is really something else. He dared to down a drink in one gulp on his first try. I've never seen anyone pass out on the bed before even eating any food."

Li Xiangdong laughed for a while, then got up and helped A Zhe to put Hou San down properly, so that his crooked body wouldn't cause him to have a stiff neck the next day.

It was already dark outside, and a night breeze blew into the house. Li Xiangdong was drinking a little wine and eating peanuts, but his mind was on his wife, children, and grandparents.

Ah Zhe took a sip of his tea, then said, "Dongzi, how are we going to get these crickets on the train? What if they start chirping?"

Li Xiangdong snapped out of his daze and replied, "It's nothing, I've thought of an excuse."

A Zhe asked curiously, "How so?"

Li Xiangdong said with a smile, "There are crickets in Chinese medicine. When combined with other medicinal materials, they can nourish the kidneys. If anyone asks, we can just say that your father is weak and you, as his son, want to do your filial duty."

A Zhe retorted angrily, "Dongzi, why don't you say you want to fulfill your filial duty!"

Li Xiangdong glanced at him and said, "There are three brothers in my family, but you are the only son in your family. Think it through before you speak."

"You... damn it!"

What A Zhe wanted to say was immediately cut off.

Li Xiangdong tossed a peanut into his mouth and said, "I'll come up with the idea to make money, but you'll take the blame. Besides, it's not really a blame game."

After swallowing the peanut in his mouth, he continued in colloquial language: "You must know the stories of filial piety, such as lying on ice to catch carp and selling oneself to bury one's father, right?"

Seeing that A Zhe nodded, Li Xiangdong continued, "Now there's you, A Zhe, who traveled all the way to Shandong Province to catch crickets for your father's health! Your deeds are comparable to those virtues of filial piety."

"If word gets out, you'll earn the title of a great filial son. Everyone will give you a thumbs up then!"

After listening to his rambling, A-Zhe got up, walked over, and grabbed him by the neck. "Dongzi, you're really good at talking nonsense. How come you're so wicked now?!"

Li Xiangdong pried A Zhe's hands off, "What's wrong with me? How can you be so ungrateful?"

After the two joked around for a while, A-Zhe sat back down on the long bench. "Can you think of another excuse?"

Li Xiangdong took a sip of his wine and said, "I've given you the chance to become famous throughout Beijing, but you're really useless. I can't think of anything else. If you don't like it, you can think of something yourself."

A Zhe scratched his head and thought for a while, but couldn't come up with any good ideas. Finally, he looked at Hou San, who was fast asleep.

"Dongzi, what do you think about changing the protagonist of the story to Hou San? We could call it 'Hou San Travels a Thousand Miles to Catch Crickets for His Father!'"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "I don't think it's anything good. You dare to make up stories about Hou San's father?"

"Your father is no good, and neither is Hou San's father."

Ah Zhe sighed, "So it seems my dad has to make do."

Li Xiangdong clapped his hands encouragingly, "That's the right way to think. It's all about making money, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"You're just saying that!"

Ah Zhe complained for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Wait a minute, if people ask why we have to go all the way to Shandong Province to catch crickets, and why we have to catch them alive? What are we supposed to say?"

Li Xiangdong thought for a moment and said, "Let's say that this was specifically instructed by the doctor of Tongrentang that the crickets must be alive and must be from Shandong Province. Otherwise, the medicinal effect will be different, and it will not nourish the kidneys, but only promote urination."

Ah Zhe was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

He downed the rest of the wine in his teacup in one gulp. "Dongzi, you're really filthy-hearted~ It's getting late, I'm going back to my room to sleep."

Li Xiangdong retorted unhappily, "What's wrong with my heart? Go back to your room and hide under the covers to secretly enjoy yourself, you filial son!"

After being seen out of the house, Li Xiangdong tidied up briefly, then lay down on the wooden bed and slowly fell asleep listening to the cicadas chirping outside.

‘Dong-dong-dong! ’

A rapid, forceful knocking sounded on the door.

Li Xiangdong woke up with a start, "Who is it? Why are you knocking on the door in the middle of the night?"

"Stop sleeping! The train conductor told me to call a meeting. Get out here now, quick!"

"understood!"

Li Xiangdong responded, complaining that the sheets were unclean. He didn't even take off his clothes before going to bed, and got out of bed to walk to Hou San's bedside.

He grabbed Hou San's arm and glanced at his watch. "Damn it, what kind of meeting is this at three in the morning!"