To save her husband some face, Zhou Yuqin stifled her laughter and stuffed the contraceptive back under the sheet.
She got off the kang, grabbed a pair of shorts from the wardrobe, and tossed them to Li Xiangdong. "Hurry up and put these on."
"Are you laughing at me?"
Li Xiangdong, now wearing the shorts, kept his eyes fixed on his wife.
Zhou Yuqin couldn't hold it in any longer. "No, I'm not—pfft—I didn't mean it like that."
"If you didn't mean it, why are you laughing? You're making fun of me!"
It was just too embarrassing!
Once his wife lay back down, Li Xiangdong quickly turned off the light to hide his mortified expression.
Zhou Yuqin tried to comfort him. "Alright, alright, don't be mad. Let's sleep. You've got important things to do tomorrow."
Li Xiangdong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
The earlier incident had dealt a massive blow to his pride!
"You flipping pancakes or what?"
Zhou Yuqin spent her days looking after the kids, washing their clothes, and mending their pants, with barely a moment to rest. At night, she had to coax them to sleep, and if her daughter wet the bed, she'd be up cleaning. Over time, rarely getting a full night's sleep had left her exhausted.
After the earlier fiasco, she could fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
"Pancakes? I feel like I am a pancake right now!"
Li Xiangdong turned to his side, looking at his wife lying beside him in just a camisole and shorts. His heart stirred again.
That earlier mishap was a fluke!
If he didn't make Zhou Yuqin surrender completely this time, he'd never live it down in front of her! Besides, he wasn't some quick-shot guy. It had just been a while since he'd done this. After being "reborn" and touching his wife for the first time, he'd gotten a bit too excited and lost control—that's all!
"Wanna go again?"
"Go what? I'm done. I'm tired, and I've got the kids tomorrow."
Zhou Yuqin pushed away her husband, who was trying to climb on her again, and sat up. "Why are you so annoying? Didn't we just do it?"
"Do what? My pants didn't even come off! That didn't count. Let's do it again."
Li Xiangdong eyed his fair, soft wife, reaching out to touch her exposed lower back. "The contraceptive's gonna expire if we don't use it."
"Keep your hands to yourself!"
Zhou Yuqin swatted his wandering hand, nearly laughing at his ridiculous excuse. Her husband was pulling out all the stops just to get some action.
For the first time, she realized Li Xiangdong had this side to him. It was kind of amusing. After all these years of marriage, she suddenly felt that life could be flavorful like this—not just going through the motions like before.
Lying back down, she teased, "Whatever, let it expire. Contraceptives are free, no money or coupons needed. The street office hands them out every time the women's director comes by."
"What, really?"
Li Xiangdong, a grown man, had no clue about this.
In an era where even manure required coupons, there was actually something that slipped through the cracks of the planned economy!
This was just messing with him!
Unwilling to let it go, he said, "Even if it's free, we shouldn't waste it, right? Gotta use it, Comrade Zhou Yuqin. You can't let your fine, hardworking qualities stumble over something like this."
"Stop pinning random labels on me!"
Zhou Yuqin's head started to ache as her husband rambled on, dragging out old-fashioned slogans from years ago.
Li Xiangdong pulled her into his arms, still not giving up. "I'm not pinning anything on you. I'm educating you. Even though we're back in the city, you can't lose that honest, simple quality."
Zhou Yuqin, held in his arms, didn't know what to say. "Stop yapping. Fine, I'll agree, alright?"
No sooner had she spoken than she was pinned beneath him. Propping herself up on her elbows, she asked, "Why don't you take a breather? Are you sure you're up for it?"
"What kinda talk is that? Drop the 'sure'—you'll know if I'm up for it if you check!"
Li Xiangdong grabbed her hand, pulling it downward.
"Let go, or I'm going to sleep!"
"Alright, I'll let go. You don't wanna check? Fine, I'll do the checking."
"Be gentle, don't rip my clothes."
"I'm taking them off, got it? We're a legal couple. Why's it sound like I'm doing something illegal when you say it?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
A rustle of clothes followed.
Seeing him pause again, Zhou Yuqin looked puzzled and incredulous. "You didn't… again, did you?"
"Again what? I'm looking for that fish that slipped through the planned economy!"
"What fish?"
"Nothing, just that free stuff from the street office. Gotta put it to use!"
Though a bit annoyed, Li Xiangdong hadn't done this in a while. To play it safe, he decided to use the contraceptive.
He wasn't about to mess up in the same spot twice!
The earthen kang was great—sturdy, reliable, warm in winter, and quiet during action.
Zhou Yuqin got off the kang, wiped herself down, and lay back down. "Happy now?"
Li Xiangdong wasn't the type to forget his wife after getting what he wanted. He pulled her close, brushing back the sweat-dampened hair from her forehead. "I'm just serving you, aren't I?"
"Stop being cheeky."
Zhou Yuqin pinched his soft spot lightly. "Let's sleep. I'm really tired."
Li Xiangdong looked at his wife, who was slowly dozing off in his arms, her faint snoring filling his ears. He closed his eyes too.
As the old saying goes, only the ox gets worn out, never the field.
Li Xiangdong was woken by the crowing of roosters.
It felt like several roosters in the courtyard were going at it nonstop, like they were fighting!
He struggled to open his eyes, feeling unrested, drained, and low on energy.
Shaking his groggy head, Li Xiangdong sat up on the kang to gather himself. After slowly waking up, he rubbed his face and looked at Zhou Yuqin, who was at the head of the kang, dressing their daughter.
Weakly, he asked, "What time is it?"
"You're up? It's not even six yet."
Zhou Yuqin finished dressing their daughter and started braiding her hair. Seeing his sleepy look, she added, "If you're tired, sleep more. I'll call you for breakfast."
Li Xiangdong squinted, noticing the sky brightening outside. He yawned, about to say he'd sleep more, when the roosters in the courtyard started up again!
The crowing irritated him. "Are all our roosters ready to lay eggs or what? They won't stop. I'll slaughter them one day!"
Seeing his wife grinning at him, his mind suddenly cleared.
"Wait a minute! Don't we only have a few old hens? Where'd these roosters come from?!"