Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li's mother brought a bowl of corn porridge into the house and placed it in front of Li Xiangdong. "There's a boiled egg in the bowl. You can eat it first."

"what?"

Li Xiangdong was somewhat flattered. He had never received such treatment before. If Old Lady Li secretly gave him an egg, he would be scolded by his mother for a whole day.

"Give it to the children, I won't eat it."

Li's father, who was standing to the side, swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth and said, "Your mother told you to eat, so just eat. This egg was specially saved for you this morning."

Li's mother glanced at him sideways and said, "You used to be so cunning about sneaking food, but now that I'm letting you eat it openly, you still can't bring yourself to do it?"

"Forehead..."

Li Xiangdong was speechless; he was just being polite.

The older brothers and sisters-in-law, who were eating, all spoke up, "Third brother, Mom is just worried about you."

"Dongzi, you can eat without worry. The boys at home have never gone hungry."

"That's right, the fried dough twists you brought back are enough for them to eat."

Old Man Li said, "Your mother was worried that you wouldn't eat or rest well while traveling with the carriage, so she specially saved this for you to nourish your body."

Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll eat in a bit. I can't let my mother's kindness go to waste."

He fed his daughter while looking at his grandparents and said with a smile, "Actually, I'm doing fine outside, so you don't need to worry. You should eat your meal too; you can't eat cold food at your age."

"Okay, let's eat now."

When Grandma Li saw Li Xiangdong return, she was so happy that she forgot to eat and her eyes never left him.

When he reminded the elderly couple to eat, Grandma Li smiled and continued eating. With her grandson back, even the corn porridge tasted much better than before.

"Give me your daughter."

Zhou Yuqin reached out to pick up Li Xiaozhu, but unexpectedly, she was slapped by Li Xiaozhu's little hand.

"I'll hit...you..."

After Li Xiaozhu finished beating her mother, her legs went weak and she sat in her father's lap, turning her body to snuggle closer to him.

Li Xiangdong ruffled his daughter's little tuft of hair and chuckled, "You're really something now, you even dare to hit your mother."

He looked at Zhou Yuqin and smiled, "It's alright, I'll hold her while she eats."

"alright."

Zhou Yuqin was slapped on the hand by her daughter, but she wasn't angry. She knew her daughter missed her father and had cried and made a fuss all night. Now that she saw him, she definitely didn't want to let go.

She reached out and tapped her daughter's head, "Don't call me if you wet your pants again, or I'll still take care of you."

"want..."

Li Xiaozhu turned around and called out to Zhou Yuqin, then shrank back and snuggled into Li Xiangdong's arms.

Seeing how clingy her daughter was, Zhou Yuqin knew she couldn't bring her back, so she stopped insisting and said to her husband, "You eat first, then feed her later."

"Ah."

Li Xiangdong nodded, then said to his daughter in his arms, "Do you want to eat an egg?"

Seeing his daughter huddled in his arms without making a sound, he had no choice but to hold this big ball of flesh and start eating.

No matter how good the food outside is, it can't compare to the comfort of eating at home.

Li Xiangdong had just finished eating a steamed bun when Li Xiaojiang and the others, who had quickly finished their meals at the small dining table, came running over.

They stood in front of Li Xiangdong, their eyes fixed on the cricket cage beside him.

"Third Uncle, we've finished eating. Can we play with the cricket for a while?"

Li Xiaohai tilted his head back and said ingratiatingly, "Dad, I miss you so much. Can I play with the cricket for a while?"

Li Xiangdong looked down at his son and laughed, "Really? I've been back for so long, and you only just remembered me? Weren't you just asking for meat? Now you're telling me this? I don't believe you."

"Dad, give me the cricket."

Li Xiaohai grabbed his leg, sat on his feet, and said, swaying back and forth, "Dad, let me play with you. My sister doesn't want to play. Let me play with you."

"Stop shaking me, get up now, I'll do it to you, okay?"

Li Xiangdong picked up the cricket cage from the table next to him and instructed Li Xiaojiang and the others, "You can play with it, but be careful not to kill the crickets."

"Understood, Third Uncle."

"Third Uncle, I dare not take it, I just want to look."

The two little girls, Li Xiaolan and Li Xiaomei, were just curious; they wouldn't dare to actually hold and play with it.

Li Xiaojiang said, "I definitely won't kill the cricket."

Li Xiaotao said in a simple and honest voice, "Third Uncle, don't worry, I'll raise it like my own son."

Hearing his second nephew's words, Li Xiangdong couldn't help but laugh and said, "You still treat it like a son? Then why don't you give it a name?"

Li Xiaotao nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll call it Li Guoguo."

"cough cough"

Li Xiangdong couldn't help but cough twice. Li's father's name was Li Guowei. Li Xiaotao named a cricket that. The silly boy is going to get a beating!

Sure enough, as soon as the name Li Guoguo was uttered, the adults at the dinner table all turned their gazes to Li Xiaotao, who was still grinning foolishly.

The brothers and sisters-in-law were stunned for a moment before they realized what was happening, but Li's mother laughed so hard she almost spat out the food in her mouth.

Li's father put down his bowl, stood up, strode over, grabbed Li Xiaotao's arm, and kicked him in the butt. "You bastard, you think raising a cricket will produce a brother for me!"

Li Xiaotao was confused. After being kicked by his grandfather, he looked at his father with a bewildered expression and asked, "Grandpa, why did you kick me?"

With a dark expression, Mr. Li pointed at the cricket cage and said, "Don't call it Li the Cricket, do you hear me?"

Li Xiaotao rubbed his bottom, puzzled, and said, "Why can't we call it Li Guoguo? I've already told my third uncle that I'll raise it like a son, and a son definitely needs a name."

wipe!

When Li Xiangdong heard Li Xiaotao's words, his heart skipped a beat. He was trying to drag him down with him!

He quickly shoved the cricket cage in his hand into Li Xiaohai's hands, then pulled him off his feet, stood up, and hugged his daughter as they moved to the side.

Li Xiaohai, unaware of the situation, looked at the cricket cage in his hand with great joy. He ran towards Li Xiaojiang with his short legs and boasted, "Big brother, I have a cricket to play with now!"

Although Li Xiaojiang didn't understand why Li Xiaotao was beaten, he didn't want to be implicated, so he grabbed Li Xiaohai and ran into the yard.

Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaomei, the two sisters, also took the opportunity to slip away.

Li Xiangdong stood aside holding his daughter, watching Li Xiaotao get kicked twice more by Li's father and slapped by his older brother.

If his wife and second sister-in-law hadn't stopped his sister-in-law, the men's doubles match would have turned into a mixed triples match.

What an unlucky kid...

Li Xiangdong couldn't bear to look at her. He turned around and saw his daughter, Li Xiaozhu, staring wide-eyed at her brother being beaten, her little hands clenched tightly.

Li Xiangdong chuckled in a low voice, "Why are you so excited about your brother getting beaten up?"

"Hit...hit...da da..."

Li Xiaozhu waved her little fists twice, rested her head on his shoulder, and giggled while covering her mouth.