Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

'Ahem! '

When Li Xiangdong saw Gao Xinmin's gaze sweep over him, he quickly explained, "Uncle Gao, my throat is itchy."

"Your throat is itchy at just the right time."

Gao Xinmin glared at him. The reason he came over was because, apart from Li Xiangdong and his two companions, all the other employees on their train had stayed obediently in the guesthouse and hadn't gone out.

He was also worried about the safety of the three of them, but he didn't expect that Hou San, that silly boy, might say something he hadn't thought of if it weren't for Li Xiangdong's cough.

He looked at Hou San and said, "Go on, what else do you need these crickets for?"

"Nothing."

When Hou San saw Li Xiangdong and A Zhe staring intently at him, he muttered, "I'm really not doing anything, Uncle Gao, don't ask anymore. I just misspoke."

Gao Xinmin walked up to Hou San, looked down at him, and pressed, "Stop trying to fool me, tell me now! What are you three up to?"

"I..."

What's wrong with you?

"I'm still counting on..."

"What are you hoping for? Tell me!"

"I...I'm still counting on these crickets to carry on the family line, okay, Uncle Gao!"

"You bastard!"

Gao Xinmin was completely dumbfounded by Hou San's outrageous words. What kind of nonsense was this? Expecting crickets to carry on the family line? Was he planning to marry a cricket bride?!

Li Xiangdong looked at Hou San, who was timid and submissive, intimidated by Gao Xinmin's imposing manner.

I admire him immensely; he's a ruthless person!

The fourth most ruthless person after Xu Xian, Dong Yong, and Ning Caichen!

Seeing Gao Xinmin's dark face, he advised, "Uncle Gao, please calm down. You know Hou San, he never thinks before he speaks. Don't let him upset you further."

"Get out of here, you're no better than me."

Gao Xinmin retorted to Li Xiangdong, then looked at Hou San and continued relentlessly, "You're not going to tell the truth, are you? Fine, go home and explain to your father."

After saying that, he looked at A Zhe and asked, "Where is your father feeling unwell?"

A-Zhe, who had been watching the commotion, swallowed hard when he saw the gun pointed at him. "I'm weak."

Gao Xinmin was so angry he laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

Ah Zhe blushed, lowered his head and whispered, "Kidney."

"..."

Upon hearing this word, Gao Xinmin was speechless for a moment.

He calmed himself down, realizing he wouldn't get any more information, and shook his head with a smile. "What a bunch of talented people! I never expected to find three of you on this train. It wasn't easy to get you all together."

"One wants to marry a cricket as a wife, and the other wants to nourish his father's kidneys. Dongzi, you're something else. You don't want anything in return, and you've traveled all this way to follow them. You're so loyal and courageous."

Li Xiangdong rubbed his nose, staring at his feet without looking at Gao Xinmin.

Aren't soldiers generally straightforward?

How come he speaks in the same tone as his mother!

"The three of you should continue with your work. I won't keep you any longer."

After Gao Xinmin finished speaking, he threw his cigarette butt on the ground and turned to walk out of the house.

"Take care, conductor."

"Uncle Gao, please take care."

"Uncle Gao, after we return to the capital, you mustn't go to my father to complain."

Gao Xinmin stopped and turned to Hou San, saying, "Don't call me uncle. I don't want my niece-in-law to be an insect."

Li Xiangdong walked to the door, peeked out, and, finding Gao Xinmin nowhere to be seen, quickly closed the door.

"Hou San, did you realize you almost let something slip? Think before you speak next time!"

"Ah Zhe, you did a good job just now. That's how it should be. I'll remind you two one more time: if anyone asks you questions on the way back and you don't know what to say, just shut up and pretend you didn't hear anything."

"Understood, Dongzi."

"I'm not going to say anything, Dong Ge."

"Alright, let's get to work. After we're done, Hou San, go return the handsaw and kitchen knife to them. A Zhe, you stay here and help me clean up."

...

Had lunch.

At Gao Xinmin's call, everyone began to prepare to walk to the station and board the train in advance to prepare for departure.

Li Xiangdong and his two companions carried burlap sacks on their shoulders, cricket boxes in their hands, and their cloth bags were also full.

They had just come out of the house when they ran into Kong Dani, who came over and asked, "Hou San, what's in your sack?"

Hearing the chirping of crickets coming from the bag, she exclaimed in surprise, "Are there crickets in there? Hou San, what are you doing with all these crickets?"

"I..."

Hou San was about to speak, but in the end he held back.

Kong Dani's eyes were full of curiosity. "Tell me, Hou San."

Hou San blushed and shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Hmph, fine, don't tell me then."

Seeing that Hou San didn't speak, and that Li Xiangdong and A Zhe acted as if they hadn't heard her, Kong Dani got a little angry and quickly walked away from the three of them.

More and more colleagues came out of the room, and Li Xiangdong and his two companions stood out in the crowd, prompting their colleagues to ask them questions.

"Whoa~ What did you guys bring?"

"Hou San, what's in the bag? I can hear crickets chirping."

"Comrade Li, what are you doing with so many crickets?"

Li Xiangdong and his two companions seemed to be wearing signal jammers, as if they hadn't heard anything, and kept their heads down as they walked forward without saying a word.

The more silent the three of them remained, the more curious everyone became.

At this moment, Gao Xinmin, who was walking at the front, turned around and shouted, "What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket? This person is taking it back to use as medicine to treat illnesses. When you're out and about, pay attention to your image and don't embarrass our Beijing Station."

These words relieved Li Xiangdong and his two companions from their predicament. Instead of circling around them, the crowd gathered in twos and threes and chatted quietly.

"This is the first time I've ever heard of crickets being able to cure diseases."

"You're not very knowledgeable. Even boys' urine and feces can be used as medicine."

"I've also heard that excrement is human urine yellow, and it's sold in Chinese medicine shops."

Walking in the crowd, Li Xiangdong noticed that Hou San seemed a little downcast. He asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you worried that Kong Dani won't talk to you anymore?"

Hou San nodded and said, "Mm."

Li Xiangdong smiled and comforted her, "It's okay. Once we make money, you'll buy her little leather shoes, right? She definitely won't be angry with you then."

"Uh-huh!"

Hou San's face lit up with joy when he thought of Kong Dani wearing the little leather shoes he had given her.

Li Xiangdong and his two companions followed the crowd onto the platform. They arrived at the boarding gate of the crew rest carriage and were about to board when Gao Xinmin approached them.

He said with a long face, "With so many crickets in the carriage, how are the other passengers supposed to get some rest at night? You're not allowed to put them in."

"what?"

Li Xiangdong and his two companions were dumbfounded. Were they going to prevent them from bringing crickets on the bus?