Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

As the sun rises, the temperature increases, and waves of heat fill the air.

In his past life, when Li Xiangdong was old, he was used to spending time with the elderly men and women in his neighborhood, basking in the sun together in the dead of winter.

His ingrained habitual thinking led him to sit on the stone steps at the doorway until he felt uneasy from the sun before he realized what was happening.

He cursed himself inwardly for being stupid. He was already a grown man, why would he want to sunbathe? Besides, the summer sun was so strong, wasn't he crazy?

He must maintain a youthful mindset from now on; he's not an old man anymore!

"Third Uncle, the table is wiped clean."

"My sister and I wiped it very carefully; we even wiped the snot off the back of the table."

The two nieces, their faces flushed from working in the sun for a while, walked up to him and started boasting, afraid that their third uncle would be dissatisfied, as they were still waiting to eat cream ice cream.

"is it?"

Li Xiangdong went over and checked it; it was indeed wiped quite clean.

"Uncle will go to the supply and marketing cooperative later to buy you two cream ice cream."

"Okay, Uncle."

The two sisters, Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan, were overjoyed to get the answer they wanted!

Li Xiaotao and his two younger brothers were enjoying the shade under a jujube tree, squatting together and chattering about playing around with ant nests. When they heard Li Xiangdong say that he was going to the supply and marketing cooperative, they all turned their heads towards him.

Only Li Xiaojiang was squatting under the pomegranate tree opposite, still sulking.

When Li Xiangdong saw his second nephew staring at him with his big, innocent eyes, he said to him, "Xiaotao, come inside with me."

"Third Uncle is here."

Li Xiaotao quickly got up and followed him into the west wing with a cheerful smile.

Upon entering the house, Li Xiangdong saw his daughter lying sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed), still fast asleep.

"Why is she still sleeping? Should we wake her up? She sleeps so long during the day, she'll be up all night and keep us awake."

Zhou Yuqin rolled her eyes at him. Her man was all talk and no action. They already had two children, and she had long seen through his true colors.

When the child is obedient and playful, I go over and play with them for a while. But when the child throws a tantrum and cries, I run away faster than anyone else, wishing I could stay far away.

My daughter is sleeping soundly right now. If I wake her up, she'll definitely cry, and I'll have to soothe her myself in the end.

Zhou Yuqin ignored him and looked at her nephew who had followed her into the house. She was worried that her nephew would not learn good habits while staying by her husband's side, and she would not be able to explain it to her elder brother and sister-in-law.

"Xiaotao, don't always hang around your third uncle. Even during your vacation at home, you should study more. Only by studying hard can you be capable when you grow up."

"It's alright, Auntie. I like playing with Uncle. He's so good to us. He even promised to buy me a cream popsicle. And Auntie, I don't like studying. I get sleepy as soon as I look at a book, and I can never remember what the teacher teaches. My mother says I'm just destined to be a laborer, born to deliver coal briquettes."

Li Xiaotao was so naive and carefree that he even blurted out what his mother had said, showing no sense of caution towards others.

And that was indeed the case. Li Xiaotao struggled through junior high school, and his father used his connections to get him a job at a coal shop. However, he was a bit slow-witted and couldn't do delicate work, so he could only work as a coal deliveryman.

Although Li Xiaotao earned a living by working hard in the coal shop for several years, the coal shop eventually closed down, and he, who had no other skills, could only work as a laborer on construction sites.

Brother Li and his wife were worried that he would ruin his health at such a young age, so they asked him to go south with his older brother, Li Xiaojiang, to trade clothes.

There was nothing they could do. The younger generation of the Li family had been caught up in the wave of layoffs in the 90s. No matter how capable the Li family was, they were still just ordinary people. Faced with this overwhelming historical tide, they had no way to use their strength!

"I asked Xiaotao to come and help move the table down."

Li Xiangdong explained, "Listen to the implication; he could tell that Zhou Yuqin was worried that he would lead her nephew astray."

He tidied up the teapot and cups on the table, and the uncle and nephew carried the table to the living room of the main house.

As Li Xiangdong strolled leisurely from the main house to the pond in the courtyard, Li Xiaojiang walked over dejectedly.

"Third Uncle, let me help you."

Li Xiangdong had originally wanted to see how long his nephew could be so stubborn, but seeing him come over to make amends, he said, "What's done is done, what's there to be ashamed of? If you know how to save face, don't do anything shameful in the future."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

Li Xiaojiang took over from Li Xiaotao and helped him move the cleaned mahogany table to the west wing.

After getting everything ready, Li Xiangdong began to fulfill his promise.

"You wait at home, I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy you popsicles."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

"Third Uncle, don't forget, mine is a cream popsicle."

The children, standing in the yard waiting for their popsicles, were excitedly waving their arms and legs.

"Third Uncle, I'll go with you."

Li Xiaojiang jogged up to catch up. After the two came out of the house, he said, "Third Uncle, could you please stop scolding me in front of my younger siblings?"

Li Xiangdong casually asked, "What's wrong? You did something wrong, can't I even say a few words to you?"

"No, it's just... me..."

Li Xiaojiang hesitated, unsure of how to express himself.

"Alright, I got it. I'll save face for you from now on."

Upon closer inspection, Li Xiangdong noticed that his nephew had developed an Adam's apple, indicating that he had entered puberty.

As someone who's been through it all, he knows all too well that parents in this era mainly use physical force to educate their children. They believe that "spare the rod and spoil the child," and he himself was raised by his father's beatings.

“Now that you’re all grown up, if you have any thoughts that you’re too embarrassed to share with your parents, you can come and talk to your third uncle.”

"I understand, Third Uncle."

Li Xiangdong nodded, then changed the subject, "Is there a girl you like in class?"

Li Xiaojiang's face flushed red instantly, and he stammered, "No...no."

Li Xiangdong smiled. It seemed his nephew had a girl he liked; his feelings were written all over his face.

He pressed further, "What's the little girl's name?"

Li Xiaojiang hesitated for a moment, but finally revealed the secret in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangdong realized it wasn't the name of his future nephew's wife.

Tsk tsk…

It turns out that this young girl was his nephew's childhood sweetheart.