Chapter 82: Why Did the Katydid Stop Chirping?

Old Mrs. Li saw her great-grandson get hit several times, while her own husband sat on the side watching with relish. She spoke up to persuade him, “A couple of hits is enough. Taozi doesn’t know what your name is as a grandfather.”

“Hmph!”

Hearing his own mother speak, Father Li sat back down at the dinner table with a stern face.

“Get lost.”

This book was first published on twkan.com.

Big Brother Li was also furious. This foolish son of his had managed to give him an uncle by raising a katydid. If Old Mrs. Li hadn’t spoken up, he would have wanted to slap Li Xiaotao a couple more times.

Li Xiaotao sniffled a couple of times. Under his father’s stern gaze, he hunched his neck and back and ran out. He was still very confused, having no idea why he had been beaten.

“What are you laughing at? If you hadn’t brought back a katydid, would there be all this nonsense?”

Seeing his youngest son standing on the side, happily watching the commotion, Father Li’s words were neither yin nor yang.

“What does it have to do with me?”

Li Xiangdong muttered, then sat back down at the table with his daughter and continued eating.

Old Mrs. Li looked at her grandson eating heartily and asked with a smile, “Dongzi, why did you bring back a katydid from work?”

“An elder gave it to me on the way back.”

Li Xiangdong looked at the fried dough twists soaking in his grandmother’s bowl and smiled, “Grandma, are the fried dough twists delicious?”

Old Mrs. Li nodded, “Delicious, but I can’t bite them. I have to soak them in the corn paste until they’re soft before I can eat them.”

Old Mr. Li was worried his grandson was spending money recklessly and reminded him, “It’s not easy being away from home. You don’t need to bring these things home in the future.”

Second Sister-in-law smiled, “Grandpa, you’re so right. It’s only been a few days. White Rabbit candy, instant noodles, and now so many fried dough twists. Dongzi, you can’t spend money so recklessly.”

Big Sister-in-law and the two brothers nodded frequently, expressing their agreement with Old Mr. Li and Second Sister-in-law’s words.

“Third brother.”

“Yes.”

Li Xiangdong answered and looked up at Father Li. “What’s wrong, Dad?”

Father Li stopped his chopsticks, looked at him, and asked, “Have you received this month’s salary? When do you plan to give the family money for food?”

“I’ll give it now.”

Li Xiangdong took out 5 yuan from his pocket and gave the money to Mother Li, who was eating on the side.

“It’s not that I intentionally didn’t give it. The day I got my salary, my dad dragged the three of us brothers to drink too much, and I forgot.”

“And these few meat and oil tickets are extra subsidies my unit gave me for this trip.”

Li Xiangdong gave the tickets Wang Dahai and Erguaizi had given him to Mother Li as household expenses under a different pretext. Seeing his mother’s eyes light up, he quickly explained, “The reward is an occasional thing, not every time.”

Mother Li wrapped the tickets in her handkerchief and said with excitement, “Even an occasional one is amazing. No wonder everyone says the railway unit is a good place to work. I’ll go buy some meat tomorrow, and we’ll have a good meal.”

“Mmm, buy more. The kids at home are growing.”

Li Xiangdong explained that he had to go to Shandong by train early the next morning, then mashed the egg and fed it to his daughter before carrying her back to their room.

He placed his daughter on the kang. Seeing her stretch out her hands, wanting to be held, he said in a gentle tone, “Can you play on the bed by yourself for a while? Daddy is going to wash up. I’ll come back and hold you, and we’ll sleep together.”

“Mmm.”

Li Xiaozhu nodded and sat cross-legged on the kang, starting to play with her toes.

Li Xiangdong went out of the room and looked back to see his daughter playing happily by herself. He then went to wash up with peace of mind.

He had just washed his face and was about to wipe his body when Li Xiaohai, who was playing in Big Brother Li’s room, came running over.

“Dad, the katydid isn’t chirping.”

He held the katydid cage and shook it vigorously like a dice cup. “Dad, look, is it asleep?”

???

Li Xiangdong’s face darkened. “Li Xiaohai! You can’t play with the katydid like that. A few more shakes and it’ll be dead!”

Li Xiaohai was relentless, “Then why isn’t it chirping?”

Li Xiangdong was speechless, “It might be carsick. It’s probably throwing up.”

Li Xiaohai stood there, his head spinning. He didn’t understand what “carsick” meant.

Li Xiangdong sighed and said, “Don’t always hold it in your hand to play. Put it on the ground, and it will start chirping by itself in a while.”

“I know, Dad.”

Li Xiaohai, satisfied, took the katydid cage and trotted back into Big Brother Li’s room.

“Sooner or later, you’ll play it to death.”

Li Xiangdong muttered, lamenting the tragic fate of the katydid.

He quickly wiped his body, washed his feet under the tap, and went back to the room to tease his daughter, who was still playing with her toes. Then he took out the cotton-padded pants he wore in winter from the cabinet.

*Rip~*

Along the stitched seam, the cotton-padded pants were torn open.

“What are you doing?”

Zhou Yuqin had just finished helping Mother Li wash the dishes. When she entered the room, she saw her husband ruining things. Feeling heartbroken, she quickly walked over, picked up the cotton-padded pants, and looked at them. “Why are you tearing clothes for no reason?”

“I need the cotton inside.”

Li Xiangdong briefly explained his plan to trade crickets.

After hearing this, Zhou Yuqin frowned, “Will you get into trouble for doing this?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. When your husband makes money, you can just sit on the kang and count money for fun. I’m already worried that too much money will tire you out.”

As he spoke, Li Xiangdong pulled the cotton out of the pants and stuffed it into his cloth bag.

“I’ll never get tired of counting money, no matter how much there is.”

Zhou Yuqin smiled, but seeing her husband pulling out handfuls of cotton from the pants, she said with a pained heart, “Remember to bring the cotton back after you’re done using it. This is good stuff, you can’t just throw it away.”

“I know.”

Li Xiangdong put the now-limp cotton-padded pants back in the cabinet, took a big step onto the kang, and saw his daughter holding a small ball of cotton, kneading it and playing.

He yawned and tugged at his daughter’s little pigtail. “Xiao Qi, Daddy is sleepy. Are you sleepy? Will you sleep with Daddy?”

“Okay…”

Li Xiaozhu uttered a single word and climbed onto him with her hands and feet.

Li Xiangdong held his daughter in his arms, picked up the cotton she had dropped on the kang, divided it into two small balls, and stuffed them into his ears to prevent the mischievous kids at home from waking him up after he fell asleep.

“When I get back from this trip to Shandong, our family of four will go to your parents’ house for a couple of days. You can go see your parents too.”

Li Xiangdong held his daughter, who was lying on his stomach, and gently patted her back, coaxing her to sleep.

“Mmm.”

Zhou Yuqin nodded happily, took a thin blanket, and draped it over the father and daughter. “If you’re tired, go to sleep first. You have to get up early tomorrow. Oh, I forgot to ask, what does the katydid you brought back eat? We don’t know how to raise it, don’t let it starve to death.”

“Just feed it some vegetable leaves and caterpillars. It won’t live for long anyway…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Yuqin saw her husband start to snore. She smiled and patted her daughter, who was lying on her husband’s body, sleeping with her eyes closed, then turned and left the room.

The night gradually deepened.