Chapter 14: Afraid to See His Father-in-law!

Li Xiangdong had already made up his mind. As long as his wife was happy, he didn’t want the land.

But faced with Father and Mother Li, who kept asking him why he was hesitating, he needed to come up with an excuse to fool them.

He was racking his brains for a story when his second brother’s words gave him an idea.

He suddenly remembered a foolish thing he had done in his previous life, so he gritted his teeth and blurted it out.

“My second brother is right. I was hesitating just now because I wasn’t paying attention when I was cutting pigweed a few days before I came back to the city, and I almost fed the village’s pigs to death.”

The courtyard instantly fell silent…

The way everyone looked at him was a bit strange. Even his grandparents were shaking their heads repeatedly.

Mother Li jumped up and came over to beat him, “You good-for-nothing! You can’t even cut pigweed properly! What else can you do?”

Father Li was even angrier. He took off his shoe and was about to come over and beat him, “You bastard, you can’t do anything right, but you’re number one when it comes to causing trouble!”

If he hadn’t thought of another excuse, Li Xiangdong wouldn’t have said this. He dodged while shouting, “I didn’t do it on purpose! Besides, the pigs didn’t die, they just had diarrhea for a few days!”

He wasn’t lying about this. At that time, he had just received the news that he would be able to return to the city soon.

Then, while working, he was so happy that he didn’t pay any attention to cutting pigweed. He didn’t know what those pigs from the village collective had eaten.

In the end, they all had diarrhea for four or five days and were on the verge of dying from dehydration…

Later, the village accountant found him and told him that the pigs with diarrhea had been weighed. Knowing that he hadn’t done it on purpose, they rounded it off and asked him to compensate the village with 6 yuan.

Where did he have the money at that time?

It was too late to write home for money. He was going back to the city in two days. In the end, he could only thicken his skin and go to the neighboring Zhou Family Village to find his father-in-law.

But he was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he could only trick his father-in-law, saying that their family was going back to the city and that he should go and see his grandson and granddaughter, lest he miss the children in a few days.

Zhou Fu, an old farmer from the countryside, had never thought that his son-in-law would have so many tricks up his sleeve.

In the end, not only did he pay the 6 yuan, but he also lost a lot of face along with him.

To feed pigs and almost cause them to die from diarrhea was a huge joke in the countryside!

Li Xiangdong still remembered that when his father-in-law went home that day, he looked at him, his lips trembling with anger!

“Dad, Mom, don’t hit him anymore.”

Zhou Yuqin knew that her husband was too embarrassed to go to Zhou Family Village, and even more embarrassed to see her father.

She stepped forward and blocked Father and Mother Li. “The matter has been resolved. He doesn’t want to go back. I’ll go back by myself in a few days. You two, don’t be angry.”

Old Man Li said, “Was it your father who cleaned up the mess in the end?”

Zhou Yuqin nodded, “My dad paid the village 6 yuan. It’s actually fine now. He’s just too embarrassed to see my dad.”

Old Man Li sighed, looked at Li Xiangdong, and said, “In the end, as long as the pigs didn’t die and it could be solved with money, it’s not a big deal. The key is, what? Are you planning to never see your father-in-law for the rest of your life?”

Before Li Xiangdong could speak, Father Li, who had found an opportunity, kicked him in the butt.

“You bastard, did you take all my cigarettes? You cause trouble for me at home, and you cause trouble for your own father-in-law in the countryside. In a few days, buy some things and go apologize to your father-in-law in person!”

Grandma Li said, “Dongzi, do as your father says. When you and your wife go back to get the household registration certificate, go and apologize to your father-in-law in person.”

Li Xiangdong patted the footprint on his butt and nodded, “I know, Grandma.”

“No one is to mention this matter again. Just pretend that nothing happened. Take the children back to their rooms and give them a few words of instruction. Don’t let the neighbors in the alley know.”

Old Man Li made the final decision. Everyone in the courtyard nodded in understanding and followed their instructions.

West wing room.

Li Xiangdong went back to his room and rummaged through his chests and cabinets. He had to report to his work unit the day after tomorrow, so he had to dress decently.

He took out all his few clothes from the wardrobe and looked at them. There really weren’t many that he could wear out.

The clothes from before he went to the countryside had long since become unwearable. Mother Li had altered them and given them to Li Xiaojiang and his brothers.

This was how it was in every family now. The older ones wore them, and then they were passed down to the younger ones. Patches were stacked on top of patches, and the pant legs were full of needle holes.

Later, when he went to the countryside, in that social environment, as an educated youth receiving re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants in the countryside, if he didn’t have two patches on his clothes, it would seem as if his re-education was not profound enough and that he was not integrated with the poor and lower-middle peasant class.

Even during this period after returning to the city, he hadn’t been able to get a set of clothes without patches. The family’s cloth ration tickets were limited and had to be saved for making new clothes for the New Year. The flawed cloth at the supply and marketing cooperative was not always available. The white undershirt and large shorts he was wearing now were his father’s.

In the end, he managed to put together a set of clothes without patches. It turned out to be the one he bought for his wedding. Fortunately, his wedding was also in the summer, so he could wear it now.

A short-sleeved Dacron shirt and a pair of army green pants. The pants were made of pure cotton, which was fine, but he really didn’t like this Dacron shirt. This thing didn’t absorb sweat. If he wore it to do some work, he would be drenched in sweat without a sound.

But he had to wear it. He put on the clothes and took out a new pair of labor protection shoes. The family was not short of these, as they were all issued to his father and brothers.

Standing in front of the mirror, Li Xiangdong fiddled with his hair a couple of times.

After spending seven or eight years in the countryside, his handsome face was still so tender. Time always secretly leaves a crack for people like him.

Li Xiangdong turned around and looked at Zhou Yuqin, who was holding their daughter with both hands, letting her learn to walk on the heated brick bed. He said smugly, “How about it, your husband is handsome, right? We’ve been married for four years, and your husband, me, is still as handsome as when we had our blind date.”

“Stop being so vain. How can a grown man like you care more about these things than us women?”

Zhou Yuqin was a little helpless. At that time, she had been bewitched. During the blind date, she saw that he was good-looking and could talk well, so she foolishly married him. How could she have known at that time that life would be so frustrating?

Fortunately, starting from this morning, she found that her husband had changed. In addition, the matter of his job had been resolved. She believed that their life would slowly get better in the future.

Li Xiangdong shook his head, “You don’t understand. This is called having a young face. In twenty years, I’ll still be like this. At that time, the two of us will look like mother and son. And if another forty years pass, when we go out together, outsiders will see us and say, ‘Hey, this grandson is so filial, he even knows to accompany his grandmother for a walk.'”

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiangdong, who had come to his senses, quickly spat a few times. How did he end up talking about himself?