Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"Don't just stand there, come and eat."

After dinner was ready and Li Xiaohai's punishment of standing in the corner ended, he climbed onto a stool, picked up a boiled egg from the table, tapped it on the table, and began to peel the egg.

Sitting next to him, Li Xiaozhu followed suit, but Li Xiaozhu didn't know how to peel the eggs; she just smashed them on the table.

"Give me the egg, let's switch."

Li Xiangdong took the peeled egg from his daughter's hand and smashed it several times.

"Third Uncle, Third Aunt, my grandfather has turned on the TV."

Li Xiaobo was carrying a bowl with a steamed bun stuck in his chopsticks. After greeting everyone, he quickly walked over to Li Xiaohai.

"Come on, Xiaohai, let's go to the main room and watch TV together."

Li Xiaohai became excited when he heard that there was a TV to watch, "Dad, Mom, I want to watch TV!"

"If you want to go, then go. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Zhou Yuqin picked up the dishes on the table and put some into her own bowl and Li Xiaohai's bowl.

She stuffed two steamed buns and two pairs of chopsticks into Li Xiaohai's hands, picked up her and Li Xiaohai's bowls, stood up and said, "Hurry up and let's go, weren't you going to watch TV?"

"Oh."

Li Xiaohai looked at the even number of steamed buns and chopsticks in his hand, and realized that his mother also wanted to go. He jumped off the stool.

"and many more."

The three people who were about to leave the house stopped in their tracks. Li Xiangdong looked at Zhou Yuqin and smiled, "I didn't call you, I called Xiaobo."

Hearing that it wasn't her being called, Zhou Yuqin beckoned Li Xiaohai to hurry out of the house.

Li Xiaobo walked up to Li Xiangdong and asked, "Third Uncle, why did you call me?"

"fine."

Li Xiangdong put the peeled eggs in his hand into Li Xiaobo's bowl.

"Let's go watch TV."

"Hehe, thanks, Uncle Three."

Having gotten an egg for free, Li Xiaobo was overjoyed and went to the main room.

Because Li's father turned on the TV, the family of four, who were perfectly fine, were suddenly reduced to just Li Xiangdong and his daughter Li Xiaozhu in the room.

"What are you doing? You'd better eat your food properly."

Seeing that Li Xiaozhu had already gotten halfway off the stool, Li Xiangdong reached out and lifted her back onto the stool.

He can still sit still on the stool and lift Li Xiaozhu, who is twisting and struggling, with one hand. The tin kettle on the train played a crucial role in this!

If he and Ah Zhe had switched places and he had become a flight attendant, managing his chubby daughter would definitely not have been so easy.

"Find it~ Find it~"

Li Xiaozhu, who had sat back down on the bench, was restless and kept throbbing, wanting to get down again.

"Sit down."

Li Xiangdong pointed with his chopsticks, and Li Xiaozhu pouted and sat down on the stool.

"Hurry up and eat, then go play with your brother."

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he handed over the egg that Li Xiaozhu had half-eaten.

He didn't let Li Xiaozhu go to the main room because he was worried that Li Xiaozhu wouldn't eat obediently if she saw the TV on.

Li Xiangdong just wanted some peace and quiet and didn't want to cause trouble for himself. He wouldn't let Li Xiaozhu leave the house until she finished her meal.

"Third brother, the evening news has started. Why don't you go check it out?"

Li Erge, who was carrying a bowl and preparing to go to the main house for dinner, saw Li Xiangdong sitting at the table with the door open, still in his own house. He stood in the middle of the yard and raised his chin towards the main house.

"Second brother, you go first. I'll go over after I finish eating."

Li Xiangdong didn't explain much, and Li Erge didn't think much of it either.

Li Erge was anxious to go to the main room to watch the news for two reasons. Another reason was that parents today have different ideas than parents in later generations.

These days, if a child doesn't eat, parents won't chase after them to feed them. If they don't eat, it means they're not hungry, and they'll eat on their own when they're hungry.

Li Xiangdong wasn't the type to chase after a child to feed her, but if he didn't let Li Xiaozhu eat her fill now, he'd have to heat up her food again when she complained of being hungry later. He was just trying to save himself and Zhou Yuqin some trouble.

"I'm full~"

After drinking a small bowl of porridge, eating an egg and half a steamed bun, Li Xiaozhu patted the table to remind Li Xiangdong that she wanted to go play with her brother.

Li Xiangdong tapped Li Xiaozhu's hand with his chopsticks. After finishing the rest of his porridge, he lifted Li Xiaozhu off the stool.

"Walk slowly, don't run."

Li Xiaozhu walked in front, with Li Xiangdong following behind with his hands behind his back.

Hearing the sound of the television coming from inside the main house, Li Xiaozhu ignored the two dogs, Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang, who were lying at the door of the main house.

"Hey, you two are watching TV too? Can you even understand what it's about?"

Li Xiangdong stopped at the entrance of the main house and reached out to rub the heads of the two dogs.

Normally, when Li Xiangdong teases the two dogs, Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang cooperate well. But now, they are intently watching the TV in the room, and they don't react at all when Li Xiangdong rubs their heads.

Seeing that he could no longer play the 'bad guy', Li Xiangdong clapped his hands and stepped into the main room.

As soon as he entered the house, he thought to himself, "Wow!"

The whole family, from the oldest to the youngest, were all watching TV quietly. Even Li Xiaozhu, who came in later, was obediently squatting next to Li Xiaohai, tilting her head back and staring intently.

The bowls left by Li's father and others after their meal were left unwashed and simply piled up on the table in the room.

Actually, this wasn't the first time this had happened. Back during the Spring Festival, when Ah Zhe bought a black and white TV and brought it to Lao Li's house for Li Xiaotao and the others to watch, Lao Li's family looked exactly the same as they do now.

He was away in Fujian province with the car and wasn't home at the time, so I didn't see him.

"Third brother, come and sit down."

When Brother Li saw Li Xiangdong standing at the door, he moved the stool under his bottom to make room for him.

"No need, brother, you guys can see for yourselves."

Li Xiangdong stepped forward, took the bowls and chopsticks from the table, and turned to leave the house.

"Third brother, the news is on right now. You can wash the dishes later. What's the rush?"

"Big brother, I have something to do later, I need to go out..."

Before Li Xiangdong could finish speaking, Li's father, who had been interrupted, spoke up.

"Why don't you two go outside to talk? You can wash all the dishes on the table while you're at it!"

After being rebuked, Brother Li rubbed his nose and shut up, refusing to respond. Li Xiangdong also pretended not to hear anything and quickly walked out of the house.

As Li Xiangdong washed the dishes at the sink, he couldn't help but marvel at how attractive televisions were these days!

There's a TV to watch, but no one cleans up the dishes after the meal.

Li's mother and Zhou Yuqin, the three sisters-in-law, are all hardworking people. Especially Li's mother, who has a quick temper. In the past, when the whole family ate together, he would eat slowly and chew carefully, and Li's mother would keep urging him to eat.

If you can't urge him, just sit opposite him and watch him eat...

It's nothing like it is now; Li's mother's own bowl is still on the table...