Azhe's father stood to the side, taking the cigarette handed to him by Li Xiangdong. After lighting it and taking a puff, he looked at the group of youngsters gathered together, enjoying the lively atmosphere.
It had been a long time since he felt so relaxed and at ease, and a faint smile slowly spread across his face. "Is Dongzi planning to use a pig's tail to cure his daughter's drooling? You can't cut it; the kid should hold it whole in her mouth."
Li Xiangdong nodded in agreement. "Exactly! My girl's mouth just lets the drool pour out like a river."
Xiang Lin smirked. "Dongzi, your mouth runs without a filter. You talk like you're watering fields in the countryside with all that drool talk."
Azhe's father chuckled. "Dongzi's girl is a blessed one."
Li Xiangdong nodded enthusiastically. "Uncle's got it right. With a dad like me, my girl's gonna live a life full of blessings."
"Hey, Binzi, how's your knife work? Can you clean the bones out of that pig's tail?"
The meat was cut, and the pork head and offal were mixed together. Each person got a big bowl of it, broth and all.
Li Xiangdong didn't use a bowl. He borrowed two empty liquor bottles from Azhe, poured the liquor from his enamel mug into the bottles, and rinsed the mug thoroughly. One bottle was filled with meat, and the other held a pig's tail just for his daughter.
He initially wanted to ask the guys to help him carry a square stool back home, but seeing how eager they were to head back themselves, he decided not to mention it. He'd deal with it after drinking tonight.
"Is Aunt out for a stroll?"
"Hey, this mug's got liquor in it. I'm grabbing some for my dad. We ran out of empty bottles at home."
"Grandpa Zhang, off work already?"
"Aunt Liu, is your mother-in-law feeling better? Good to hear she's improving. It's probably the heat these past couple of days—makes you lose your appetite."
"Yeah, yeah, looks like rain's coming. Once it rains, it'll cool down, and your mother-in-law will definitely feel better!"
"This is liquor in here; my dad's waiting to drink. Catch you later!"
It was just after work hours, and Li Xiangdong made his way through the alley, greeting everyone with a string of half-truths and playful nonsense. These days, getting meat to eat was like a journey to the West for scriptures.
Living in an alley was like that—much like returning to the village during the New Year in later years, where you couldn't avoid the neighbors at the village entrance.
He definitely couldn't tell the truth. If the aunties in the alley found out, by the next day, the whole neighborhood would be buzzing that his family was eating meat out of an enamel mug!
Li Xiangdong fought his way through the gauntlet of greetings and reached his doorstep. Seeing the gate closed, he pushed it open with his hip.
No way was he kicking it open—his mother would scold him for a whole year if he did!
"Wife! Wife!"
In the main room, Zhou Yuqin was holding their daughter, scolding Li Xiaohai for not eating properly. Hearing Li Xiangdong's shouts, her face flushed with embarrassment!
He always called her by her name, never this affectionately. What had gotten into him today?
Under the curious gazes of everyone in the room, Zhou Yuqin handed the child to Li's mother and stepped outside.
"What are you yelling about?"
Zhou Yuqin looked at Li Xiangdong, who had already entered the courtyard, feeling a mix of shyness and annoyance.
"What did I yell? I was calling for you. What's wrong?"
Li Xiangdong walked up to his wife, looking at her with a confused expression, unsure why she was upset again.
"I brought back something good for you all."
He held the enamel mug under Zhou Yuqin's nose, letting her take a whiff. "Smells good, doesn't it?"
Zhou Yuqin's eyes lit up. "It smells amazing! Is that meat in there?"
Li Xiangdong said, "Fresh off the stove. Try a piece first."
"Let the kids eat it. I won't."
Zhou Yuqin hadn't had meat in ages and was craving it, but with so many kids in the house, how could she, an adult, compete with them for food?
"We'll eat in a bit. I brought back plenty of meat, and I got something special for our girl."
Seeing his secretive demeanor and refusal to say what it was, Zhou Yuqin's curiosity piqued, and she followed him into the main room.
When Li Xiangdong entered, he saw his mother holding his daughter, feeding her corn porridge with a spoon. He walked over, placed the mug in front of his mother, and said, "Xiaoqi, look what Daddy brought you."
He lifted the lid off the mug, revealing a whole pig's tail soaking in a bowl full of meaty broth.
Li's mother gasped at the sight of the massive pig's tail. "Third Son, where'd you get such a big pig's tail?"
At the small dining table, the kids sitting on little stools were slurping corn porridge. Hearing their grandma mention a pig's tail, they put down their bowls and rushed over.
"Where is it? Where's the pig's tail?"
"This pig's tail smells so good!"
"Third Uncle, that pig's tail you brought back is so fat!"
The nephews and nieces stared at the pig's tail in the mug, practically drooling, each wanting to take a bite.
"What's all this noise? Get back to your seats and eat!"
Li's mother's shout instantly quieted the room, and the kids slunk back to their seats, heads down.
"Dad, meat! I want meat!"
Li Xiaohai, too short to see the pig's tail in the mug, had heard his siblings say it was fat and smelled good, so it had to be delicious!
He clung to Li Xiangdong's leg, demanding meat.
"Hold on, you'll get some. Don't rush."
Li Xiangdong brushed off his son and turned to his mother. "This was our drinking snack tonight. I brought it back specially for Xiaoqi to help with her drooling. Don't worry, the bones in the pig's tail have already been cleaned out."
He pulled the pig's tail from the mug, checked that it wasn't too hot, and handed it to his daughter.
Li Xiaozhu, seeing a pig's tail for the first time, stared at her dad with wide eyes, holding it with both hands, unsure what to do.
Li's mother tucked the tip of the tail into her mouth. The girl sucked on it a couple of times, giggled happily, and gripped it tightly.
Li Xiaohai craned his neck and finally saw the huge pig's tail his sister was holding. His mouth watered. "Sister can't finish it, Dad! Sister can't finish it!"
"Let your sister eat first. If she can't finish it, then we'll see, okay?"
Li Xiangdong gently shook his leg, but his son wouldn't let go. "Aren't you hot? Stop clinging to me!"
Zhou Yuqin walked over, crouched down, and picked up her son, setting him back on his stool at the small table. "If your sister can't finish it, you can have the rest. But for now, eat your food properly, got it?"
Li Xiaohai grinned. "Got it, Mom."
Nearby, Li Xiaotao watched his cousin Xiaoqi, sitting in their grandma's lap, eating the meat. He was so envious he couldn't even drink his corn porridge. His eyes were glued to the mug with the pig's tail. "Third Uncle, Sister is eating the pig's tail. Can I have a sip of the meat broth?"
"Yeah, Third Uncle, let us have a sip of the broth!"
"Third Uncle, there's so much broth—let each of us have a sip!"
The nephews and nieces, knowing the pig's tail wasn't for them, turned their attention to the broth.
"Fine, I'm not stingy. You can have some broth, but if you drink it, that's all you're getting."
The adults in the room knew Li Xiangdong was teasing the kids. He'd brought back two mugs—there was no way it was just one pig's tail.
They found it odd, though. Li Xiangdong had never brought food home before. What was up with him today?
Looking at the two mugs he brought, the family exchanged puzzled glances.
Could it be that, with a new job, their third son was finally growing up and becoming responsible?
Still, they were happy about this change. After all, no one wanted a selfish glutton in the family.