Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Under the jujube tree.

On a blue brick slab sits a cricket cage, and three crooked branches are stuck in a mound of soil. In front of the mound of soil are a bowl of pickled vegetables and three cornbread buns.

Li Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the ground.

Li Xiaojiang stood to the side and called out, "One bow."

In front of the bluestone slab, Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai bowed deeply, their expressions solemn.

"Two bows."

"Three bows."

"The family members return the greeting."

Li Xiaotao slapped his thigh, rolled around, and howled, "My cricket! Why did you leave?! I fed you some vegetable leaves, why didn't you eat them?! You wouldn't have starved to death if you'd at least eaten something!"

Seeing this scene before him, Li Xiangdong felt as if fireworks were going off in his head.

His whole body was numb!

‘Clang! ’

Hou San, who was also standing in front of the screen wall with Li Xiangdong, dropped the cricket box he was carrying on the ground due to a tremor in his hand.

"Hahahaha~ Holy crap~! Dong-ge, these kids of yours are really something else! Haha~ Cough cough~ Cough cough!"

Hearing the commotion, Li Xiaojiang, who was enthusiastically acting as the master of ceremonies, turned his head and saw three heads peeking out from in front of the screen wall. "Third Uncle is back! Run!"

Before he could finish speaking, he dashed into his house.

Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaobo also took off running, but Li Xiaotao didn't care at all. He stood up, brushed the dirt off his body, looked up at his third uncle walking towards him, and said sadly and aggrievedly, "Third Uncle, the cricket is dead."

Li Xiangdong glanced at the main house. It seemed that only these four mischievous boys were in the house. Even the Xiaolan and Xiaomei sisters were not there. No wonder they dared to imitate people's mourning!

He said with a forced smile, "Oh, so it's because the cricket died. I thought I was dead, and you guys were showing me your filial piety."

As A-Zhe followed him into the courtyard, he laughed and said, "Dongzi, is this your second nephew? He's quite something for his age. He really imitated that tantrum just now. If he keeps practicing, he'll never lack food in the future."

"Fuck off!"

Li Xiangdong cursed at A Zhe, strode to the jujube tree, kicked over the bluestone slab, and shouted, "Everyone who ran into the house, get out here!"

The only sounds in the courtyard were the laughter of Hou San and A Zhe; there was no sound from the rooms in the east and west wing rooms.

After a while, Li Xiaojiang opened the door and only his head was visible. He saw the overturned bluestone slabs and the salted vegetable buns that had rolled onto the ground.

He said with concern, "Third Uncle, why did you kick over the cornbread and pickled vegetables? How are we going to explain this to Grandma when she gets back?"

"Come on, come on."

Li Xiangdong beckoned to him, "Come here, I'll tell you how to explain."

"I'm not going."

Li Xiaojiang immediately put on a playful smile, "Third Uncle, don't be angry, we were just joking around."

"I know you're just joking around. Come out quickly, your third uncle brought back some delicious food from out of town."

Li Xiangdong took out the braised chicken he had bought on his way back from his satchel. He unfolded the oil paper on it and showed it to Li Xiaojiang. "Do you want some braised chicken? If you do, come over quickly."

Li Xiaojiang stared at the braised chicken, swallowed hard, and said, "Third Uncle, I won't eat it. It's too oily. I'm worried I'll get diarrhea if I eat it."

After he finished speaking, he slammed the door shut and then locked it behind him.

"Third Uncle, I want to eat braised chicken."

Li Xiaotao sidled up to Li Xiangdong, looking at the braised chicken with a smile, and said, "Third Uncle, you're so kind of you, you even brought us braised chicken to eat."

Hou San, who was standing to the side, was very interested in Li Xiaotao. He asked with a smile, "Have you ever eaten braised chicken?"

Li Xiaotao stared at Hou San with wide eyes, showing no fear in front of a stranger. "Never eaten before? What's wrong? You'll be able to eat soon, won't you?"

"Hey, you're something else."

Hou San looked Li Xiaotao up and down, making "tsk tsk" sounds repeatedly.

Li Xiangdong rewrapped the oil paper and said, "Go and drag Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai out of the house. Your third uncle will give you a chicken wing. If you can get your eldest brother out, I'll give you a chicken leg."

Li Xiaotao asked, bewildered, "Third Uncle, you're not lying to me, are you?"

Why would I lie to you? Go now.

After Li Xiangdong finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the living room of the main house.

Li Xiaotao excitedly ran to his second brother's house, banging on the door loudly. "Xiaobo, come out quickly! Uncle bought a roast chicken, it smells amazing!"

......

"You two can pour your own water."

After entering the house, Li Xiangdong greeted Hou San and A Zhe, then turned and went to his parents' room.

Just as A Zhe poured Hou San a glass of water, he saw Li Xiangdong come out of the west room with a feather duster. "Dongzi, what are you doing? The kid is just being silly, it's not that serious."

"Brother Dong, you should get a different tool."

When Hou San saw the feather duster, he was reminded of some painful memories, and his eyelids twitched.

"I used the feather duster to scare them. The main problem is that they are too lawless. If outsiders knew what happened, they would laugh at us to death."

Li Xiangdong took the feather duster and hit his hand a couple of times to test its strength. He looked at Hou San and A Zhe and said, "You two better not spread this around as a joke."

Ah Zhe laughed and said, "Don't worry, Dongzi, Hou San and I won't tell anyone."

"I definitely won't tell, don't worry, Dong-ge."

Hou San took a sip of water, shook his head, and asked, "Brother Dong, was that your second nephew the one who was rolling on the ground crying just now?"

Li Xiangdong looked at Hou San and asked, "Hmm, what's wrong?"

Hou San took out a cigarette, lit it, and threw the cigarette pack on the table, saying, "It's nothing, I was just asking. I think your second nephew is quite amusing."

"Fun?"

A Zhe picked up a cigarette from the table, offered one to Li Xiangdong, then lit one for himself and took a puff. "If your son were like this, you wouldn't find it funny."

Hou San said nonchalantly, "So what? If I had such an interesting son, how fun would that be! My son and I would be happy every day."

Upon hearing Hou San's words, A Zhe gave him a thumbs up and said admiringly, "You're awesome, but I think you should educate your children properly in the future, otherwise your father will be driven to his death by you sooner or later."

'Snapped'

Hou San slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and glared at A Zhe angrily, saying, "What does my father's life or death have to do with me? How could I possibly make him die?!"

"Cough cough~"

When Ah Zhe heard Hou San's outrageous words, he choked on his own cigarette. "Third Master Hou, I was wrong. Please sit down."

Hou San persisted, saying, "Explain yourself first: what does my father's life or death have to do with me getting angry at him?"

"It's okay, I was just being mean, I was wrong."

"If you know you have a sharp tongue, then speak less!"

"Yes, Master Hou is right."

Li Xiangdong watched the two bickering with a smile, not smoking the cigarette he was holding, but tapping his fingers on the table.

His second nephew, Li Xiaotao, is not very bright, which is a great worry for his family.

His older brother worries about his mentally challenged son all the time. He's only in his thirties, but his head is already covered in white hair that's almost as much as his father's.

A Zhe looked at the silent Li Xiangdong and asked, "Dongzi, what's wrong?"

"fine."

Li Xiangdong suddenly looked up at Hou San and asked, "Would you like to take on an apprentice?"