Chapter 3: The Three-Part Interrogation

The living room of the main house was quite large, with two tables, one big and one small.

The Li family was large, with seventeen members, young and old. The two tables were barely enough.

At this moment, Father and Mother Li, along with his brothers and sisters-in-law, were all seated at the large dining table.

The eldest brother had three children, two boys and a girl: Li Xiaojiang, 13; Li Xiaotao, 11; and Li Xiaolan, 9.

The second brother had two children, a boy and a girl: Li Xiaobo, 5; and Li Xiaomei, 10.

These children stood in the corner, whispering about something. Among them was his son, Li Xiaohai.

“Dad.”

Li Xiaohai called out as soon as he saw him enter the room.

Li Xiangdong asked, “Have you eaten?”

Li Xiaotao nodded, “I’ve eaten.”

“Okay, go play then.”

As soon as Li Xiangdong finished speaking, Zhou Yuqin, who had followed him into the room, reached out and took their daughter from his arms.

She walked over to Father and Mother Li, pulled out a stool from under the table, and sat down holding the child.

Li Xiangdong saw the formation and thought, this is going to be a three-part interrogation…

He greeted his parents, then nodded to his brothers and sisters-in-law. A glance revealed that there was no space at the large dining table.

However, on the small table to the side, there was a bowl of cornmeal mush, a plate of pickled radishes, and two steamed buns made from a mix of two types of flour.

Well… he had been relegated to the children’s table.

Faced with this situation, Li Xiangdong felt a little awkward, but eating was more important. Mainly, he was hungry; a young body digests quickly.

He sat down with a plop, held the full bowl of cornmeal mush with both hands, put his mouth to the rim, and slurped it in a circular motion.

After finishing the cooler top layer, he put down the bowl. The rest was too hot and needed to cool down.

He picked up a mixed-flour steamed bun, grabbed his chopsticks with his right hand, and took a bite of bun followed by a bite of pickled radish.

After finishing the two buns, he had eaten a bit too quickly and let out a satisfied burp, breathing a long sigh of relief.

He paused for a moment, then picked up the bowl of cornmeal mush again. Before he could start slurping…

Father Li, sitting at the large dining table, watched his youngest son eat, his sullen face growing darker.

“Third son, you brought your wife and child back from the countryside, and I thought you would have matured a little. I didn’t expect you to have no other skills, but your skin has certainly gotten thicker.”

“A whole room of people is watching you eat by yourself, and you’re not even ashamed. You’re slurping it down like it’s delicious. Is it enough? If not, I’ll have your mother get you some more.”

Father Li’s sarcastic words were spoken in a strange tone.

The people in the room couldn’t help but laugh, and the serious atmosphere was swept away.

Especially Mother Li, who had been frowning just a moment ago, was now laughing the loudest!

“Third Uncle, is the cornmeal mush really that good?”

The one who spoke was Li Xiaojiang, who was standing in the corner. He was in the second year of junior high at the nearby No. 125 Middle School, which would later become Huiwen Experimental Middle School. His grades were not good, and he was always getting into mischief.

“It is. Want to have some more with Third Uncle?”

Li Xiangdong replied casually.

None of the next generation of the Li family liked to study, nor did they have the ability to make a lot of money.

However, when he was old, these children often visited him, bringing him things like sponge cakes, small loaves of bread, and milk.

The items weren’t valuable, but the sentiment was precious. To think of bringing their third uncle food and visiting him from time to time, they were all good kids.

“Third Uncle, you should eat it yourself. I eat this every day, I’m about to throw up…”

Before Li Xiaojiang could finish, the eldest sister-in-law, who was beside him, scolded, “You shut up! If you cause any more trouble, see if I don’t beat you later!”

Li Xiaojiang shrank his neck in fear and didn’t dare to make another sound.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, can’t you speak nicely? Why are you scaring my grandson?”

Seeing her eldest grandson shiver and shrink his neck like a quail, Mother Li was displeased and retorted at the eldest sister-in-law.

Bang!

Father Li slammed his palm on the table. “You shut up too! The eldest daughter-in-law is disciplining her child, don’t you butt in. Don’t you know what you’ve spoiled the third son into?”

“I spoiled the third son? You touch your conscience and tell me, can I control him?”

Mother Li was not afraid of Father Li and directly retorted, leaving him speechless.

The whole family knew who had spoiled Li Xiangdong.

Seeing the atmosphere in the room becoming increasingly tense, Li Xiangdong quickly finished the cornmeal mush in his bowl, wiped his mouth, and was about to slip away.

“We haven’t talked about your job yet. Where do you plan to go? Sit down properly!”

Father Li, having been choked up by Mother Li’s words and having nowhere to vent his anger, turned his frustration onto Li Xiangdong.

When Li Xiangdong heard that they were going to talk about his job, he obediently sat back down. This was indeed something he needed to discuss properly with his family.

At this moment, Li Xiaozhu, in Zhou Yuqin’s arms, started to get fussy. She wasn’t crying, just whimpering incessantly. She was getting sleepy.

Father Li suppressed his anger and lowered his voice, “Third daughter-in-law, take the child to the inner room.”

He turned to look at his grandchildren cowering in the corner, not daring to breathe loudly. “Xiaojiang, you take your younger siblings and go play in the inner room with your third aunt.”

Children are like that. When their parents hit them, they can laugh.

But if adults argue, they are scared from the bottom of their hearts.

Hearing their grandfather’s words, Li Xiaojiang and the others quickly followed Zhou Yuqin into the inner room.

As the oldest, Li Xiaojiang made a face at Li Xiangdong as he passed by.

Li Xiangdong glared at him. After being back for over a month, the children had become more and more familiar with him, especially his eldest nephew. He was quick to forget a beating, very resilient. He had been scared just a moment ago, but now he was acting as if nothing had happened.

Once the door to the inner room was closed, Father Li’s gaze returned to Li Xiangdong.

Looking at his youngest son, Father Li couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. Among his three sons, the eldest and second were the most down-to-earth and steady in their work, rarely causing him any worry.

Only this youngest son could make his liver ache with anger every time.

When he was young, he didn’t like to study and would tease cats and dogs after school.

When he was sent to the countryside as an educated youth, he would write home every few days complaining that he wasn’t getting enough to eat and couldn’t survive the days without food and drink in the countryside.

The first time he received such a letter, it scared him half to death. He thought another natural disaster had struck!

Now that he was back from the countryside, the subdistrict office had also arranged a job for him, but he just wouldn’t take it.

How was this raising a son?

This was clearly raising a debt collector!

Father Li said in an unquestionable tone, “Go report to the subdistrict office later. What’s wrong with popping popcorn? It’s better than sitting around at home doing nothing.”

Popping popcorn didn’t sound respectable, but it was at least a collective enterprise under the subdistrict office. He was worried that if his youngest son kept delaying, he would lose even this job.

“Dongzi, listen to our dad. If there’s a job, let’s take it for now. There are over four hundred thousand unemployed youths in Beijing right now. Across the whole city, that’s almost one person without a job in every three households.”

The one speaking was the second brother, Li Weimin. He spent his days at the bathhouse and was better informed than most.

Hearing these numbers for the first time, Mother Li was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

“Dongzi, you can’t delay any longer. If you lose even this job, what will you do!”

There were many monks but little porridge. Looking at it this way, what was wrong with popping popcorn?

It was a good job