The first time Li Chongwen's daughter actually refused to let him hold her, she sat on a wooden horse and played with her. In the past, little girls would run into his arms when they came back from get off work.
A loud cry made Li Chongwen and Li Laifu look towards the courtyard.
Li Laifu smiled and said, "I knew he would get beaten."
Looking at Li Chongwen's confused eyes, Li Laifu said with a smile: "I roasted a few birds. Xiao Yuan came back first. I asked him to leave one for Xiao Tao. What do you think will happen?"
Li Chongwen smiled and shook his head and said, "I guess it would be nice to have a bird head left."
"Hey, who's back?" Old man Zhang came back carrying a cloth bag.
"Uncle Zhang, it's time to get off work," Old Man Zhang nodded to Li Chengwen, but his eyes were fixed on Li Laifu.
"This kid has grown taller in just one day," he said, reaching over Li Laifu's head with his hand extended.
Li Laifu dodged. If he touched him, he would have to rub him, and maybe even pull his face.
Li Laifu said hurriedly: "Grandpa Zhang, I went to the countryside to catch a few birds and put three on the table for you. You go back and cook and eat them."
"And this is a good thing,"
Seeing Li Chongwen teasing his daughter, Old Man Zhang whispered: "You are so clever!"
After a while, Jiang Yuan came out. His face looked like a ghost painting. He had obviously cried. He squatted next to Li Laifu and said, "Brother, it's better for you."
Li Laifu said: "Stop flattering me, how much did you leave for your second brother?" He was also going to take this opportunity to beat him and always grab food. This is a bad habit.
Who knew that Jiang Yuan's words would make both him and Li Chongwen laugh, and they couldn't even open their mouths if they wanted to scold him.
Jiang Yuan sniffed and said, "I didn't eat his food anymore, mother. You told me you couldn't steal food when you hit me last time, so I just licked his bird again."
Li Laifu thought he might as well eat it, no wonder Jiang Tao wanted to beat him.
"Brother, you are so awesome. Why is that bird you grilled so delicious?" Jiang Yuan asked with wide eyes.
Looking at his aggrieved look, it was true that he didn't eat anything secretly, he just licked it. I wonder if Jiang Tao still tasted it when he ate it?
"Go and clean up those birds, don't squat here," Li Laifu said, kicking Jiang Yuan's butt.
"Daughter, daddy, let's take you in and play!" Li Chongwen coaxed the little girl for a long time without getting off the wooden horse.
"No...no," the little girl said, shaking her head and shaking her pigtails.
In future generations, little girls would be able to talk a lot. The key in this era is that there are no adults to teach them, and adults don’t have the leisure to do so. How can they be like those mothers and fathers in later generations who surround their children every day and teach them how to speak?
Li Chongwen had no choice but, like Li Laifu, he carried the wooden horse together and walked towards the courtyard.
Li Laifu sat at the door, watching the people in the alley coming and going, and saying hello to everyone he knew. Have you eaten? Are you off work? The shouts of uncles and aunts are extremely cordial. In later generations, this scene can only be seen in the countryside during the Chinese New Year. The neighbors in the high-rise buildings in the city may not be familiar with each other. Even if they are familiar, they may not be friends, and they may have quarreled over the parking space.
Zhao Fang and Mrs. Liu also came back, both holding cloths in their hands and talking and laughing.
"Why did this fine fabric become defective? Who cares about the color when wearing clothes? Xiaofang, remember to call me if this happens again in the future," Old Mrs. Liu said as she hurried away.
"Sure, I'll notify you as soon as Aunt Liu comes back," Zhao Fang said proudly. She felt like she was in a dream. She used to dig wild vegetables every day, but now she actually has a job? Being able to help others is something I never dared to think about before.
"Laifu, are you hungry? Auntie is going to cook for you now," Zhao Fang said after seeing Li Laifu.
"Auntie, I'm not hungry anymore. The food is ready. Let's just eat later."
He and the little girl had leftover pork ribs at noon, and there was still more than half of the pot in the pot.
"Laifu is a good boy, so sensible," Mrs. Liu praised.
"It's not that bad. Our Laifu is so good that I can't say enough," Zhao Fang also praised you.
Seeing the two people talking more and more passionately, Li Laifu didn't dare to stay any longer, and all of a sudden his face, a man of two lifetimes, turned red with praise.
The family had a delicious dinner, big steamed buns and pork rib soup, but Zhao Fang felt a little distressed because the oil in the pork rib soup was oozing out. How had she ever seen soup like this before? The little girl was smart enough to let Li Laifu hold her hands when it was time to eat.
Every time Jiang Yuan came close to Jiang Tao, he would push him away. It was obvious that Jiang Tao was still angry.
In the evening, when Jiang Yuan was on the kang, he was pouring water to wash the feet of his eldest and second brothers. Li Laifu couldn't help but ask: "Xiao Tao, is your bird delicious?"
"Brother, don't mention it."
At about ten o'clock in the evening, Li Laifu walked towards Guijie Street, and suddenly felt the urge to go to work. After all, he could only move out when he had to go to work. He had nothing to do this night, and the time was too difficult.
I walked to Dongzhimen and put on my mask. It was only 11 o'clock when I arrived at Guijie Street. I was planning to walk from south to north as before, but Lao Wei shouted: "Don't go there."
"Er Lengzi, I've been waiting for you for two days," Old Biaozi also walked over quickly and said.
"You are a bitch to me," Li Laifu cursed at the old Biaozi.
The two men pulled Li Laifu to the old donkey's head, and the four of them leaned against the wall.
Li Laifu shined a flashlight on two old faces with arms folded and asked: "You two look so flattering, what do you want? You two are not old rabbits, are you?"
Lao Wei smiled and said: "Go away, let me talk to you about business. Do you still have the rice and wild boar meat you gave Lao Donkey that day?"
Li Laifu shined his flashlight on the old donkey's head again, thinking that the old man had betrayed him.
The old donkey head said: "Don't blame me. One day you threw it on the stall and they saw it?"
"Boy, this old donkey has a stern mouth. If I hadn't discovered him that day, he really wouldn't have said it," Lao Biaozi said on behalf of the old donkey.
The old donkey took out a pen wash and a seal from his shoulder bag and said: "You put ten kilograms of rice and two kilograms of meat that day. The two of them used these two things to exchange for three kilograms of rice and one kilogram of meat. The pen wash is from the official kiln of Qianlong. , the seal is made of soapstone, it can be regarded as a small boutique, you won’t suffer any loss.”
Li Laifu was also happy when he saw something being collected, and asked with a smile: "Are these two guys strict with their mouths?"
Lao Biaozi and Lao Wei rolled their eyes in anger. This kid was so inhumane that he asked this in front of them.
Lao Wei and Lao Biaozi looked at Lao Donkey Tou, who said to Li Laifu: "We have agreed that we will eat at home and will never exchange anything from outside. We have been together for decades. This I can vouch for them."
Li Laifu didn't plan to touch the grain at all. Occasionally, he collected a few kilograms of small items to play with and kill time. He was only prepared to exchange for larger items with the old donkey head. After all, the old man was so strict that even Lao Biao, who was with him, His son didn't even know he was exchanging food.
