"It's your son out in the courtyard, mimicking rooster crows with his cousins."
Zhou Yuqin finished tying her daughter's pigtails, holding her chubby little body to keep her from crawling around on the kang. She then started putting on her daughter's shoes.
Li Xiangdong muttered, "Those little rascals sure know how to make a racket!"
No wonder one of the "rooster" calls out there sounded so familiar!
Li Xiangdong got dressed, climbed off the kang, stuffed a few sheets of coarse paper into his pocket, bent down to pick up the chamber pot, and headed outside.
Zhou Yuqin glanced at him in surprise, then smiled. Her husband had really changed. He used to think the chamber pot was dirty and never touched it, but now he was willingly emptying it.
Carrying the pot out of the house, Li Xiangdong saw his son and nephews running wild in the courtyard, still hollering and making a fuss.
"What, you think you're Zhou Bapi now, crowing like roosters? Got all this energy in the morning—can't you be like Xiaomei and Xiaolan and help out around the house?"
The three nephews and Li Xiaohai froze, staring at Li Xiangdong in the courtyard, silent until he left. Then the four of them huddled together to play again, but quieter this time.
After taking care of his business, Li Xiangdong returned, rinsed the chamber pot, and placed it in the corner of the room.
He walked to the washbasin stand and started washing his face. The basin, white with a red rim, had a big red "happiness" character at the bottom, flanked by two red carp.
He scrubbed his face, grabbed the towel hanging on the rack, dampened it, and wiped his neck.
Feeling refreshed, Li Xiangdong noticed his daughter lying on the kang, her big eyes fixed on him. He leaned over and tugged at her pigtails.
Li Xiaozhu scrunched up her face, unhappy about anyone touching her pigtails. She flailed her little hands, trying to push him away, and when that didn't work, she shouted, "Hit… hit you!"
Li Xiangdong looked at her. "If you hit Daddy, I won't play with you anymore."
Li Xiaozhu paused at her father's words, then opened her mouth. "Hit… hit… horsey…"
Zhou Yuqin burst out laughing. She walked over, sat at the head of the kang, and lightly patted her daughter's bottom twice. "All you talk about is hitting people! Always hitting this or that. Can't you say something else? You little rascal, so clever already, causing trouble at such a young age."
Li Xiaozhu crawled over, grabbing her mother's clothes, giggling and climbing onto her. Zhou Yuqin, worried she might fall, quickly scooped her up from the kang.
Li Xiaozhu sat on her mother's lap, nuzzling into her chest, her little hands slipping inside her mother's clothes. "Milk… milk…"
"Didn't you just eat? Why do you want more?"
Zhou Yuqin pulled her daughter's hands out of her clothes. She barely had any milk left these days. Besides, her daughter's milk teeth hurt like crazy when she bit down.
"You go wash up. I'll hold her for a bit."
Li Xiangdong came over and took his daughter.
Li Xiaozhu squirmed, not wanting to be held by her father, reaching out for her mother. "Drink… drink… milk…"
"Let your mom rest. Wanna play with Daddy instead?"
Li Xiangdong carried her outside. "Daddy's gonna take you to beat up your brother."
"Hit… hit… horsey…"
Hearing about "beating" her brother, Li Xiaozhu stopped fussing for milk, clapping her hands and giggling.
The kids running wild in the courtyard saw Li Xiangdong come out with Li Xiaozhu and crowded around.
"Third Uncle, you're not sleeping anymore?"
"Third Uncle, why'd you empty the chamber pot today?"
"Dad, I wanna hold little sister."
Seeing her brothers around her, Li Xiaozhu wriggled to get down. "Play… play… horsey…"
"Where'd you get all this strength?"
Li Xiangdong bounced her a couple of times before holding her securely. "We're not playing with them. Look how dirty your brothers are—stinky too. Let's ignore them."
"Horsey… stinky…"
Li Xiangdong noticed Mother Li coming out of the main house with a bowl, heading to the chicken coop between the main house and the west wing. She opened the wooden door and went inside.
He said to his daughter, "Grandma's checking for eggs. Wanna go see the old hens with Daddy?"
Li Xiaozhu's eyes lit up at the mention of hens. "See… cluck-cluck…"
Mother Li shooed the old hens out of their nests, squatting down to check each one. From two nests, she collected five eggs.
One egg per hen today! Ever since her third son returned from the countryside, she hadn't seen this many eggs in a while!
Carefully, she took the eggs from the nests and placed them gently in the bowl.
Li Xiangdong came in and saw Mother Li squatting, grinning at the eggs in her bowl. He spoke up, "Wow, so many eggs today!"
"You kid, walking so quietly you scared me!"
Mother Li glanced up, and in that split second, her grandsons, trailing behind her third son, crowded over, reaching for the eggs. She quickly stood, holding the bowl.
Glaring at the rambunctious boys, she snapped, "What are you doing? If you break these eggs, what'll you eat later? Get out! Who let you in here? Don't scare my old hens!"