Li Xiaozhu and the other boys were shooed out of the chicken coop by their grandma but didn't go far, lingering just outside.
Mother Li eyed Li Xiangdong suspiciously. "Why're you up so early today? Didn't get enough to eat last night?"
"Come on, Mother, I'm turning over a new leaf."
To change how others saw him, Li Xiangdong knew he had to start small, beginning with no more sleeping in.
Mother Li didn't quite buy it. "Hope you can keep it up for a few days. If you've got nothing to do, get out of here. Why bring the kid? It stinks in here."
"Your precious granddaughter wanted to see the old hens, so I brought her to take a look."
Li Xiangdong held his daughter's little hand, pointing at the hens scratching around on the ground. "Those are old hens. Xiaoqi, wanna eat one? If you do, we'll have Grandma kill one and make you chicken soup."
"Cluck-cluck…"
Li Xiaozhu stared curiously at the hens wandering about. "Eat… cluck-cluck…"
Mother Li chuckled, walked over, and pinched her cheek. "Don't listen to your dad's nonsense. We can't eat our old hens—they're for laying eggs."
Li Xiaozhu wasn't having it. "Eat… cluck-cluck…"
"You little rascal, greedier than your brothers! They're after the eggs, but you've got your eye on Grandma's hens."
Mother Li took an egg from the bowl and let her granddaughter touch it. "This is an egg. If we eat the hens, there'll be no eggs to eat, got it?"
Li Xiaozhu nodded, reaching for the egg. "Egg… eat…"
Mother Li pulled the egg back, chuckling. "Can't eat it now. Grandma'll make you egg water later."
"Eat…"
Li Xiaozhu's lip quivered, ready to cry.
"Don't cry, Xiaoqi. Wanna play with the egg? Daddy'll get it for you."
Seeing tears well up in his daughter's eyes, Li Xiangdong took the egg from his mother's hand and held it out for her to touch and play with.
Mother Li watched from the side. Once her granddaughter stopped crying, she wanted to ask for the egg back but worried it'd set her off again. Instead, she cautioned, "Third Son, hold that egg tight. Don't you dare drop it."
"Don't worry, Mother."
A grown man like him couldn't hold an egg steady?
Seeing his mother cleaning the coop, Li Xiangdong tried to butter her up. "You've done such a great job raising these five hens. We get eggs every day, all thanks to you."
The coop wasn't too dirty since it was cleaned daily. Mother Li swept it quickly with a broom, fed the chickens, and then had time to respond.
"I got lucky today! Probably because your grandma forgot her precious grandson, or I wouldn't have gotten this many eggs."
Li Xiangdong was speechless. He'd said all those nice things to cheer her up, but his mother didn't give him an inch, throwing shade with every word.
"I already talked to Grandma yesterday. She promised not to sneak your eggs anymore. They're all yours from now on."
Mother Li walked out with the bowl of eggs, not buying it. "Who knows? How many eggs I get each day isn't up to the hens—it's up to you and your grandma!"
Li Xiangdong's face flushed red at her words!
Following behind with his daughter in his arms, he stepped out of the coop, grumbling, "Mother, can you at least give me some face in front of my daughter? Not everything needs to be said out loud, you know."
"You're embarrassed now? Didn't see you blushing when you were sneaking bites."
Mother Li glanced back at him, not slowing her pace as she reached the stove under the main house's eaves and placed the bowl in the cabinet nearby.
Li Xiaozhu, with his three younger cousins trailing like shadows, followed from the courtyard to the coop and now to the stove.
"Grandma, the egg water's too bland. Can you add some sugar?"
"Grandma, I want sweet egg water."
"Grandma, it tastes better with sugar."
Mother Li was surrounded by her four grandsons, their clamor making her head buzz.
"Shut it, all of you! Go ask around—whose kids get to eat eggs every day? Ungrateful brats, and you want sugar? Think sugar's free?"
"Then, Grandma, no sugar. Can we have boiled eggs today?"
"Yeah, Grandma, there's five eggs today. We saw them."
"Grandma, let's eat boiled eggs."
Mother Li shot them down. "No way. Just five eggs—if we boil them, you'll fight over them. Get out of here. Keep making a fuss, and you won't even get egg water today. I'll fry the eggs for your grandpa to eat with his liquor."
Seeing their grandma's temper flare, Li Xiaojiang and the other three knew pestering was pointless and stopped bothering her.
Mother Li shooed the boys away, grabbed a ladle, and scooped a few scoops of water from the nearby tank, pouring it into the big iron pot on the stove.
"Xiaomei, add some more firewood. Once the water boils, don't put in so much wood, got it?"
"Got it, Grandma."
After instructing her eldest granddaughter, Li Xiaomei, who was tending the fire, Mother Li turned to Li Xiangdong, standing under the eaves by the door.
"You can't let a kid keep playing with an egg just to humor her. Put it back in the cabinet."
Li Xiangdong realized his mother had a point. Eggs were precious these days.
No one would treat an egg like a toy for a kid. He coaxed his daughter and placed the egg back in the cabinet.
"Want…"
Li Xiaozhu tugged at his hair, pointing toward Li Xiaomei, who was stoking the fire.
"Wanna play with big sister?"
"Play…"
Li Xiaozhu nodded.
But Mother Li, seeing him carry his daughter toward the stove, exploded. "Third Son, when the doctor cut your umbilical cord, did they snip your common sense too? Your daughter's so little, and you're bringing her near the fire?"
Damn!
Li Xiangdong froze, stunned by his mother's sharp tongue.
"What are you standing there for? Did last night's liquor burn out your brain? You got something to do or not? If not, get out of my sight!"
Li Xiangdong looked at his mother, exasperated, muttering, "Xiaoqi's learning to talk like grown-ups. Aren't you afraid you'll teach her bad words?"
With that, he carried his daughter far away.
Li Xiaozhu was already copying her mom's "hitting" talk—better not let her pick up cursing too.
His mother's sharp insults were so plentiful, anyone around her long enough would get an education!
"Third Son, what're you mumbling about?"
"Mother, you heard wrong. I didn't say anything."
Li Xiangdong knew better than to argue. He carried his daughter to the side, sat on the stone steps, and watched the four boys playing in the courtyard.
"Xiaolan, go check the small kitchen—see if the cornbread's steamed."
"The eldest and second daughters-in-law dawdle all day. Gotta prod them for every little thing!"
"Third Son."
"Yeah, what now, Mother?"