Chapter 25: Educating His Son

Li Xiaohai heard the noise and knew his father was back. He said, “Mom, Dad’s back.”

“Dad… Dad…”

Li Xiaozhu had slept too much during the day and wasn’t sleepy yet. She was crawling around on the heated brick bed, chasing her brother. Hearing her brother say their dad was back, she turned her head and stared at the door with wide eyes.

“I’ll go open the door for your dad. Xiaohai, you watch your sister. Don’t let her fall off the bed.”

“I know, Mom. I’ll watch my sister.”

Zhou Yuqin put on a coat, walked out of the room, and asked in a low voice at the door, “Who is it?”

“Your husband. Hurry up and open the door for me. There are too many mosquitoes out here.”

Li Xiangdong felt like he was a mosquito magnet. When he was with other people, the mosquitoes only bit him!

“Why are you back so late? It’s already nine o’clock.”

The gate opened, and Zhou Yuqin took the plate Li Xiangdong handed her. Seeing him about to go out again, she asked, “Where are you going?”

“There’s still stuff outside the door. I have to bring it in.”

Li Xiangdong explained, then ran two trips to move the four square stools from outside the gate into the courtyard.

“Tomorrow, you wipe these four stools and put them in our room.”

Zhou Yuqin was a little confused. “Why did you bring back stools? We’re not short on them at home. And that table, you still haven’t told me what’s going on with it.”

Li Xiangdong swatted at the buzzing mosquitoes around his ears. “Let’s go back inside first. I’ll explain it to you when we’re inside.”

He put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and pushed her into the room. It was much better inside; the room had been fumigated with mugwort.

Li Xiaohai stood on the heated brick bed and shouted, “Dad, you’re back.”

Li Xiangdong looked at his energetic son and daughter. “Why aren’t you two asleep yet?”

“Sister isn’t sleeping, so I’m not sleeping either. I want to play with my sister.”

Li Xiaohai stuck his butt out and climbed down from the bed. Without putting on his shoes, he ran over and circled him. “Dad, didn’t you bring back any meat?”

“Meat…”

Li Xiaozhu, sitting on the bed, followed suit. After shouting, she was so happy that she covered her mouth and giggled.

“Didn’t you eat all of your sister’s pig’s tail? Why are you asking for meat so late at night? And you’re not even wearing shoes. Are you asking for a beating? Don’t put your feet on the bed. Sit properly at the head of the bed!”

Zhou Yuqin was furious. She pressed Li Xiaohai down at the head of the bed and told him not to move, otherwise the newly changed bedsheet would have to be washed again tomorrow.

After Li Xiaohai sat obediently, she took a washbasin to the courtyard to get water.

Seeing his mother leave the room, Li Xiaohai dangled his feet off the edge and lay back on the bed, wriggling restlessly.

Seeing his son looking like a big grub, Li Xiangdong scolded, “Sit up properly for me right now!”

Seeing his father’s dark face, Li Xiaohai immediately behaved. He got up and sat at the head of the bed, not daring to move.

Li Xiangdong walked over, looked down at him, and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. “You’re the older brother. You have to set a good example for your sister. Your mother told you to sit at the head of the bed and not move around, so you have to listen. Do you understand?”

Li Xiaohai said proudly, “I’m the most obedient. Grandma said I’m more sensible than Brother Xiaotao.”

“Alright, you’re the most sensible. Sit properly and wait for your mother to come and wipe your feet.”

Li Xiangdong thought to himself that children still needed to be educated properly. “Did you eat all of your sister’s pig’s tail?”

“My mom let me eat it. My mom said my sister can’t eat that much meat.”

Li Xiaohai stuck his neck out and looked at his father.

Li Xiangdong walked over, sat down beside him, and patted his head. “If your sister couldn’t eat it, did you go and ask your great-grandparents, your grandparents, and your mother if they wanted to eat it?”

Li Xiaohai was at a loss for how to answer his father’s question. He lowered his head and sat on the edge of the bed, silent and sullen.

Li Xiangdong decided to let him think about it himself. He turned his head and saw his daughter sitting cross-legged on the bed, playing with her toes. He chuckled, leaned his head over, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Li Xiaozhu frowned and pushed her father’s head away. “Stinky… hit you…”

“Not stinky. Where does it stink? Is it your feet that stink?”

Li Xiangdong sniffed his daughter’s little feet. They didn’t stink at all. He suddenly understood what was going on, covered his mouth, and breathed into his hand. He smiled, “Dad just had a little to drink. You could smell it?”

“Stinky… stinky…”

“Dad will go wash up. You play by yourself.”

Seeing his wife come in with a basin of water, Li Xiangdong patted his daughter’s little head, walked over, and took the basin from her.

He washed up simply, then sat on the edge of the bed, put his feet in the basin to wash them, and watched as his wife wet the foot-wiping cloth in the basin and wiped Li Xiaohai’s two black feet.

“Why are you crying?”

Seeing her son’s head hanging down, sobbing, with tears rolling down his face, Zhou Yuqin couldn’t help but smile. When she was getting water in the courtyard just now, she had heard her husband educating their son. She felt that what he said made some sense.

“Alright, stop crying. Go play with your sister on the bed.”

Zhou Yuqin wiped the tears from her son’s face, patted his bottom a couple of times, and shooed him onto the bed. Then she said to Li Xiangdong, “He’s still young. You can teach him slowly in the future. He’ll be more sensible when he’s a little older.”

“Sigh.”

Li Xiangdong sighed, not knowing what to say.

“I’ll go pour out the water.”

Zhou Yuqin took the foot-wiping cloth Li Xiangdong had used and walked out with the basin.

Li Xiangdong turned his head and saw his son lying in the middle of the bed. He reached out and pushed him. “Move in a little. You’re taking up the whole bed by yourself. How is anyone else supposed to sleep?”

“I won’t!”

Li Xiaohai buried his head in the small blanket and didn’t move.

“You little rascal, you have quite a temper.”

Li Xiangdong gave him a hard push, pushing him to the innermost part against the wall.

Li Xiaohai poked his head out from under the small blanket. Realizing he was at the very inside, he was stunned for a moment. Seeing his father smiling, he snorted and buried his head in the small blanket again.

Li Xiaozhu thought her brother was playing with her. She stuck her butt up, crawled over, and tried to get under the blanket. Li Xiaohai held the corner of the blanket and wouldn’t let her in.

“Giddy-up… play…”

“I’m not playing!”

“Play…”

Li Xiaozhu grabbed the corner of the blanket and wouldn’t give up.

“Brother won’t play with you. Daddy will play with you. Let’s play horsey.”

Li Xiangdong reached out and picked up his daughter. Then he lay down with his head against the wall, placed her on his stomach, held her by the arms, and rocked her, saying, “Riding a big horse, giddy-up, giddy-up.”