Du Chunfang had worried that Liang Yuemei would be unhappy when she came home to find Li Long had steamed buns and made braised pork. To her surprise, neither Li Jianguo nor Liang Yuemei looked the least bit surprised when they returned.
She began to understand. Li Long not working and occasionally cooking must have been normal in this household.
Du Chunfang could not quite make sense of it.
This was different from back home.
Although braised pork was greasy and hard on the stomach at night, the truth was that in an era when having any meat at all was a blessing, even the Li family, who ate meat regularly, found this meltingly tender braised pork a rare treat.
Everyone enjoyed the meal. Nobody gave a thought to indigestion or anything like that.
Li Long and Tao Daqiang got up early the next morning and came over to collect the tire before retrieving the nets. Li Qingxia emerged through the doorway with his clothes draped over him and asked:
"Leaving now?"
"Right now," Li Long said. "Dad, put on some more clothes. It's cold here early in the morning."
"It is colder than back home." Li Qingxia sneezed and obediently went back to change into a thick coat, then came out and followed Li Long to Little Haizi.
Unable to sleep anymore, Du Chunfang got up. After tidying herself up, she went outside, looked around the yard, then went to the woodpile and slowly carried a bundle of cornstalks over to the stove.
Although she did not do much work at home either, she really was not used to spending day after day here doing nothing but eating.
Her daughters and sons back home had all married and moved out, leaving the old couple to live and eat on