Chapter 97: The Grand Play

Under the jujube tree.

On a bluestone slab sat a katydid cage. Three crooked branches were stuck in a pile of dirt, and in front of the dirt pile were a bowl of pickles and three cornbread buns.

Li Xiaotao sat cross-legged on the ground.

Li Xiaojiang stood to the side and shouted, “First bow.”

In front of the bluestone slab, Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai bowed, their expressions solemn.

“Second bow.”

“Third bow.”

“Family members, return the bow~”

Li Xiaotao slapped his thigh and began to wail, rolling on the ground and kicking his legs, “My katydid~ why did you have to go! Why didn’t you eat the vegetable leaves I fed you~ If you had just eaten a little, you wouldn’t have starved to death~”

Seeing this scene, Li Xiangdong felt as if fireworks were going off in his head, crackling and popping.

He was completely numb!

*Clang!*

Hou San, who was also peeking from behind the screen wall with Li Xiangdong, dropped the cricket box he was holding with a trembling hand.

“Hahahaha~ Holy crap~! Brother Dong, these kids of yours are so damn interesting! Haha~ cough cough~ cough cough!”

Hearing the noise, Li Xiaojiang, who was enthusiastically acting as the master of ceremonies, turned his head and saw the three heads peeking from behind the screen wall. “Third Uncle is back, run!”

Before his words had even landed, he had already slipped into his own room.

Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaobo also took to their heels and ran. Only Li Xiaotao didn’t seem to care. He stood up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and looked up at his third uncle walking towards him, saying sadly and aggrievedly, “Third Uncle, the katydid is dead.”

Li Xiangdong glanced at the main house. It seemed that only these four mischievous boys were at home. Even the Xiaolan and Xiaomei sisters were not there. No wonder they dared to imitate a funeral!

He said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Oh, so the katydid is dead. I thought I was dead, and you were all paying your respects to me.”

Ah Zhe, who had followed him into the courtyard, smiled, “Dongzi, is this your second nephew? He’s quite something at such a young age. That tantrum just now was so realistic. If he practices well, he won’t have to worry about food in the future.”

“Get lost!”

Li Xiangdong cursed at Ah Zhe and walked quickly to the jujube tree, kicking over the bluestone slab. “All of you who ran into the house, get out here!”

Only the laughter of Hou San and Ah Zhe could be heard in the courtyard. There was no sound from the east and west wing rooms.

After a while, Li Xiaojiang opened the door and only showed his head. He saw the overturned bluestone slab and the pickles and cornbread buns scattered on the ground.

He said worriedly, “Third Uncle, why did you kick over the cornbread buns and pickles? How are we going to explain this to Grandma when she comes back?”

“Come, come, come.”

Li Xiangdong beckoned to him, “You come here, and I’ll tell you how to explain.”

“I’m not going over there.”

Li Xiaojiang’s expression suddenly turned playful, “Third Uncle, don’t be angry. We were just playing around.”

“I know you were playing around. Come on out. Third Uncle brought back some good food from out of town.”

Li Xiangdong took out the roast chicken he had bought on his way back from his cloth bag. He opened the oil paper on top and showed it to Li Xiaojiang. “Do you want some roast chicken? If you want some, come over here.”

Li Xiaojiang’s eyes were fixed on the roast chicken, and he swallowed his saliva. “Third Uncle, I don’t want any. It’s too greasy. I’m afraid I’ll get diarrhea if I eat it.”

After saying that, he slammed the door shut with a *clang* and even bolted it from the inside.

“Third Uncle, I want to eat roast chicken.”

Li Xiaotao sidled up to Li Xiangdong, his eyes on the roast chicken, and smiled, “Third Uncle, you’re so nice. You even brought us roast chicken.”

Hou San, at the side, was very interested in Li Xiaotao. He asked with a smile, “Have you ever had roast chicken?”

Li Xiaotao stared at Hou San, not at all intimidated by the stranger. “No, I haven’t. What’s wrong? Won’t I be able to eat it in a little while?”

“Aiya, you’re an interesting kid.”

Hou San looked Li Xiaotao up and down, making “tsk tsk” sounds.

Li Xiangdong re-wrapped the oil paper and said, “Go and drag Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai out of the house for me, and Third Uncle will give you a chicken wing. If you can get your big brother to come out, I’ll let you eat a whole chicken leg.”

Li Xiaotao asked with a blank expression, “Third Uncle, you’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Why would I lie to you? Go on.”

After saying that, Li Xiangdong turned and walked towards the living room of the main house.

Li Xiaotao ran excitedly to the door of Li Erge’s room and banged on it loudly. “Xiaobo, hurry up and come out! Third Uncle bought a roast chicken back, it’s so fragrant!”

…

“You two, help yourselves to water.”

After entering the house, Li Xiangdong greeted Hou San and Ah Zhe, then turned and went into his parents’ room.

Ah Zhe had just poured a glass of water for Hou San when he saw Li Xiangdong come out of the west room with a feather duster. “Dongzi, what are you doing? The kids are just being mischievous. It’s not that serious.”

“Brother Dong, you should probably switch to a different weapon.”

Seeing the feather duster, Hou San was reminded of some of his own painful memories, and his eyelids twitched.

“I’m just using the feather duster to scare them. It’s mainly because they’re too lawless. If outsiders knew about what happened just now, they would laugh their heads off.”

Li Xiangdong hit his hand with the feather duster a couple of times to test its strength. He looked at Hou San and Ah Zhe and said, “You two better not spread this as a joke.”

Ah Zhe smiled, “Don’t worry, Dongzi. Hou San and I won’t tell anyone.”

“I definitely won’t say anything. Don’t worry, Brother Dong.”

Hou San took a sip of water and asked, shaking his head, “Brother Dong, was the one rolling on the ground and crying just now your second nephew?”

Li Xiangdong looked at Hou San and asked, “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Hou San took out a cigarette and lit it himself. He threw the cigarette pack on the table and said, “Nothing, I was just asking. I think your second nephew is quite fun.”

“Fun?”

Ah Zhe took a cigarette from the table, handed one to Li Xiangdong first, then lit one for himself and took a puff. “If your son was like that, you wouldn’t think it was fun.”

Hou San said nonchalantly, “So what? If I had such an interesting son, it would be so much fun! We would definitely be happy every day.”

Hearing Hou San’s words, Ah Zhe gave him a thumbs up in admiration. “You’re awesome. But I think you should still educate your child well when you have one. Otherwise, your dad will be angered to death by you sooner or later.”

*Smack*

Hou San slapped the table. He stood up and looked at Ah Zhe angrily, “What does my dad’s death have to do with me? How did I anger him to death?!”

“Cough cough~”

Hearing Hou San’s outrageous words, Ah Zhe choked on the smoke in his mouth. “Master Hou, I was wrong. Please sit down.”

Hou San was relentless, “First, explain to me what my dad’s death has to do with me angering him.”

“It has nothing to do with it. I have a big mouth. I was wrong.”

“If you know you have a big mouth, then talk less in the future!”

“Yes, yes. Master Hou’s teachings are correct.”

Li Xiangdong watched the two of them bicker with a smile. He didn’t smoke the cigarette in his hand, but his fingers kept tapping on the table.

His second nephew, Li Xiaotao, was not very bright, and the family was very worried about it.

His big brother was worried about his foolish son all day long. At the age of thirty-something, he had almost as much white hair as his father.

Ah Zhe looked at the silent Li Xiangdong and asked, “Dongzi, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Li Xiangdong suddenly looked up at Hou San and asked, “Do you want to take on an apprentice?”