Chapter 11: The Wife Who Holds a Grudge
Li Xiangdong fanned himself as he strolled into the main living room, spotting his mother chopping vegetables and his two sisters-in-law kneading dough with great effort.
He exclaimed in surprise, “Pure white flour! Mother, you’re really generous today.”
“When have I ever been stingy? Our family can afford to eat this once in a while,” his mother replied without looking up.
She continued chopping, “Luckily, we still have some Erba sauce at home. We’ll have cold noodles for lunch today. With this scorching heat making everyone restless and your father and the others working hard all morning, this will be a comforting meal.”
Nodding, Li Xiangdong agreed. The heat sapped one’s appetite, and noodles rinsed in cold water were a bit easier to eat.
“Need me to help with anything?”
“What can you do? Just wait and eat.”
His mother glanced at him with a look of disbelief, her tone full of disdain.
Hmph! She actually looked down on him.
Li Xiangdong then went into the west room where his parents slept, opening a drawer to rummage through his father’s stash.
To his surprise, there were still some Peony cigarettes—good stuff.
In these times, high-ranking officials smoked Peony, mid-level cadres smoked Xiangshan, workers and peasants smoked the cheaper Ersanli, and rural cadres enjoyed Da Paojuan.
Since last year’s reform and opening up, foreign trade brands like Yunyan and Hongtashan had started to gain popularity.
He pocketed the only two packs of Peony, grabbed a few packs of Da Qianmen, and left the few remaining packs of the local brand behind. At eight cents a pack, those made his throat burn; better to save them for his father.
Someday, when he made money, he’d buy his father Zhonghua cigarettes!
Having cigarettes but no fire was useless, so he also took a box of matches.
He had to take them—matches required ration coupons, and he had none.
Reluctant to waste the Peony, he opened a pack of Da Qianmen instead. From the matchbox, he pulled out a match, struck it on the side, and slowly lit the cigarette, drawing a deep puff.
The strong smoke burned his throat.
Li Xiangdong hadn’t smoked unfiltered cigarettes in a long time; it took him two puffs to adjust.
His mother, seeing her third son with a cigarette dangling from his mouth and his bulging pockets as he left the room, said nothing. A son smoking his father’s cigarettes wasn’t a big deal.
Times were different; back then, smoking was a sign of maturity in men.
However, Li Xiangdong had no intention of sharing his secondhand smoke. He sat on the doorstep steps, smoking slowly.
Li Xiaojiang, noticing his third uncle smoking, came over and squatted beside him, whispering, “Uncle, can I have a puff?”
“You know how?”
Li Xiangdong glanced at him sideways. After sharing some private matters, his eldest nephew now treated him like one of his own, daring to ask for anything!
Li Xiaojiang quickly explained, “Uncle, I don’t know how, but some classmates smoke, and I want to learn.”
Li Xiangdong scolded, “Why learn the bad instead of the good? You’re so young and already wanting to smoke!”
“Uncle, keep your voice down.”
Li Xiaojiang was terrified, afraid his mother would hear.
But it was too late—they were squatting right at the doorstep, so close she surely heard.
Li Dazhao stormed over, her flour-covered hands grabbing Li Xiaojiang’s ear tightly. She scolded, “You little rascal, always causing trouble. If I let you learn to smoke, I’d beat you!”
She yanked him to his feet by his ear, causing him to cry out and beg for mercy.
“Mother, I’m sorry! Please let go, I won’t do it again.”
“Go back to your room!”
She twisted his ear again fiercely.
Rubbing his reddened ear, Li Xiaojiang trudged back inside, shooting a furious glare at Li Xiangdong, who hadn’t expected his third uncle to set him up so.
Li Xiangdong chuckled as he returned inside, put the cigarettes away, and carried the open pack with him.
He noticed his daughter had stopped breastfeeding and was sitting on the kang, playing with an ice cream stick, occasionally licking it.
“Xiao Qi, let go. You can’t play with that in your mouth—what if you hurt yourself?”
He tried to take the stick, but she gripped it too tightly, and he dared not pull hard.
As they tussled, Li Xiao Zhu reached over with her other hand, grabbed his hair, and yanked hard twice.
“Bad... I’ll hit you...”
Li Xiangdong winced, tears almost welling up, while his wife watched, laughing softly.
“What are you laughing at? Hurry up and help me!”
“You deserve it.”
Zhou Yuqin came over, tickling their daughter’s chubby sides, making her giggle until she loosened her grip on Li Xiangdong’s hair.
Rubbing his scalp, Li Xiangdong said, “Why do I deserve it? I’m just worried about our daughter.”
“I’m watching, what could possibly happen?”
Zhou Yuqin was unconcerned; everyone raised their kids this way, and no one’s children were harmed.
Li Xiangdong replied, “You never know. She’s so little and doesn’t understand. Better safe than sorry. I mean well.”
“You’re saying I don’t mean well? I shouldn’t have minded you—let your daughter teach you a lesson.”
“Heh, you’re really ruthless. Oh, I get it—you’re holding a grudge.”
Li Xiangdong curled his fingers into a fist.
“It’s just a couple of pats, not like I’ve never patted before.”
Zhou Yuqin ignored him and, with a tone of negotiation, asked, “Can you watch the baby for a while?”
Li Xiangdong leaned sideways against the kang, “Sure, I’ll keep her company. You go handle your things.”
“You agreed?”
Zhou Yuqin was a little surprised; she didn’t expect her husband to say yes.
“I don’t have much to do, just want to help mother and the sisters-in-law with chores.”
She explained that having returned to the city for so long, she couldn’t help much at home. Watching her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law bustle about serving the whole family made her feel a bit uneasy.
In the past, she wouldn’t have said anything, but today her husband seemed different, so she tried asking.
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