"Xiaojiang."
"Li Xiaojiang!"
At the critical moment, it was time to rely on his eldest nephew.
"What's up, Third Uncle? Why're you calling me?"
"Third Uncle, I'm here."
"Third Uncle…"
"Dad."
Call one, and they all come running.
Each one was sweating, faces smudged with dirt.
"Stop shouting, keep it down! Don't disturb your great-grandpa and great-grandma's rest."
"Xiaojiang, come help Third Uncle move this table. The rest of you, stay back—watch out, don't get bumped."
Li Xiaotao, who'd tagged along, piped up, "Third Uncle, let me do it. You rest."
"You sure? This table's pretty heavy."
"I can handle it, Third Uncle. I've moved it before."
Li Xiaotao flexed his biceps to prove it.
Li Xiangdong stepped aside tactfully. The kid was eager to help, and he couldn't be ungrateful.
Aside from his wife and two kids, everyone in the family had urban household registration, with monthly grain rations. Food was never scarce at home. The kids might not eat well, but they never went hungry.
Especially his second nephew, Li Xiaotao. At just eleven, he was sturdier than Li Xiangdong, though not the brightest. Otherwise, he was solid.
"Third Uncle, where're we moving the table?"
"To the water tank for now."
Used as a dining table for years, it had accumulated grime that needed cleaning. If he was going to keep it in his room, it had to be scrubbed thoroughly.
The commotion was loud enough for his mom and sisters-in-law to hear. Even his wife came out to take a look.
They didn't say anything. Li Xiangdong pulling something like this was par for the course. Let him fuss—they'd just waste breath nagging.
Seeing his two nephews carry the table steadily, Li Xiangdong left them to it and returned to the west wing.
Pushing open the door, he saw his wife sitting on the kang, gently fanning their sleeping daughter to shoo away mosquitoes.
Zhou Yuqin looked up as her husband entered. "Why're you cleaning that dining table?"
Li Xiangdong replied, "I'm gonna clean it and swap it with the table in our room. I'll explain more tonight."
Zhou Yuqin nodded. She wasn't unreasonable. If her husband said he'd explain later, she wouldn't pry.
But then she saw him pull an egg from his pocket, crack it, and start peeling. She knew instantly—Old Lady Li had slipped it to him. She'd seen it happen plenty of times.
Li Xiangdong glanced at the coal stove used for winter heating, moved the thermos to the floor, lifted the stove's iron lid, and tossed the eggshell inside before putting everything back.
Perfect. No need to toss the shell in the alley—evidence destroyed.
He held the soft, white egg and offered it to his wife. "Eat it. Grandma gave it."
"I don't want it. You eat."
Zhou Yuqin pushed it away, a bit annoyed at her unreliable husband.
Old Lady Li sneaking eggs to Li Xiangdong embarrassed her in front of her sisters-in-law and the kids.
"Then I won't eat either. Let's save it for our girl. When she wakes, warm it in hot water."
Li Xiangdong checked the enamel mug, saw it was empty, and placed the egg inside.
Zhou Yuqin was surprised. He usually ate the egg right away, never saving it for their daughter. Had he changed?
Li Xiangdong then pulled out the money his grandparents gave him from the other pocket, counting it in front of his wife—big and small bills, thirty yuan total.
Zhou Yuqin's confusion deepened. "Where'd you get that money? Don't tell me Grandpa and Grandma gave it to you too."
She'd never seen a man like him—past his twenties, still spending his grandparents' pension.
Her look irritated Li Xiangdong, but he didn't dare raise his voice, worried others might hear. He whispered, "What's that look? I didn't ask for it. Grandpa and Grandma shoved it into my hands. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't refuse!"
Seeing her disbelief, he leaned in, nuzzling her. "Come on, don't be mad. I'll give you the money, alright?"
"Get away, it's too hot."
Zhou Yuqin wasn't used to such affection, her face flushing slightly.
Li Xiangdong teased, "Why's your face red? We're an old married couple, and you're still shy?"
"It's the heat," she insisted, worried he'd squander the money. She held out her hand. "Give me the money."
Li Xiangdong knew she was thin-skinned and stopped teasing, handing over the cash but keeping some.
Zhou Yuqin counted it twice. "I've got 26.7 yuan. How much do you have?"
"3.3 yuan."
He'd just counted.
"Give me the rest."
She held out her hand again.
"I'll keep one yuan, but you can have the rest."
He kept one yuan, giving her the 2.3.
Zhou Yuqin counted the 2.3, then held out her hand again. "All of it."
No way he'd give her everything. He grabbed her hand, kissed her palm, and said, "There, you've got the money. Don't ask for more."
Zhou Yuqin's palm tingled, and she wiped it on the sheet, annoyed yet embarrassed. "You're so shameless."
Li Xiangdong chuckled to himself. 'Shameless? She's so innocent.'
"Third Uncle! Xiaotao and I moved the table to the water tank. Why aren't you out yet?" Li Xiaojiang called from outside.
"Coming, coming!"
Worried about waking his daughter, Li Xiangdong replied softly, stepped out, and closed the door.
"Good job."
He praised them casually, grabbed two old rags, wet them under the tap, and started wiping the table carefully.
The kids gathered around, curious. "Third Uncle, what're you doing?"
"Cleaning the table. Can't you see?"
"New Year's ages away. Why're you cleaning it now?"
They knew the house got a big clean before New Year, with all the furniture dragged out to be scrubbed. They'd help every year.
They just wondered why Third Uncle was bothering now—the table didn't even look dirty.
Li Xiangdong grinned. "I'm bored, and I don't want you kids worn out come New Year. So I'm cleaning this table early to lighten your load."
Li Xiangdong started spouting nonsense.
"Third Uncle, you're fooling no one!"
"Yeah, when have you ever done any work?"
"Third Uncle's lying without even blushing."
"My dad never works. Grandma says he's a big lazybones."
Kids talk too much. Ignore them, and they keep asking. Answer them, and they nag endlessly.
Anyway, with these kids hovering around him, he couldn't shoo them away. Let them say whatever.
After wiping the front of the table, he planned to clean the back, including the dust in the carved hollows at the table's corners.
As he crouched down, he spotted snot smeared on the underside.
He stood up, glaring at his nephews. "Which one of you wiped snot on the back of the table?"
The reachable spots on the underside were caked with dried snot, grossing him out.
"Not me!"
"Third Uncle, wasn't me."
"Not me either."
None of the kids fessed up.
Li Xiangdong called his two nieces over. Girls wouldn't do something so disgusting.
He gave his son a light kick to shoo him aside—he wasn't even as tall as the table legs, so it definitely wasn't him.
Looking at the three nephews standing before him, faces red, Li Xiangdong said, "You three, go clean that snot off."
"No way, it wasn't me!" Li Xiaojiang stuck out his neck, stubborn as a mule, refusing to admit it. It was too embarrassing—it'd ruin his big-brother image.
Li Xiaotao betrayed him. "Big Brother, it was you! I saw you do it a bunch of times. How can you deny it?"
"Li Xiaotao, You wanna get beat up?" Li Xiaojiang was furious. If Third Uncle wasn't standing there, he might've thrown hands.
"You can't beat me. I'm not scared. If we fight, who knows who'd win?" Li Xiaotao waved his fist, unfazed by his brother's threat. They'd scrapped before—nobody guaranteed a win.
Worried Third Uncle wouldn't believe him, he looked for backup. "Xiaobo, tell him, didn't Big Brother wipe that snot?"
Li Xiaobo kept his head down, silent. Of the four boys, aside from Li Xiaohai, he was the youngest and got beat up the most. He stayed neutral, not daring to cross anyone.
Besides, he'd wiped snot on the table too.
Li Xiaojiang was livid at his own brother. "Li Xiaotao, you idiot, shut up!"
"I'm not an idiot. Mom says I'm just honest."
"Third Uncle, Mom also says Big Brother's full of tricks. You gotta believe me—it's definitely him!"
Li Xiaotao's mouth ran nonstop, oblivious to Li Xiaojiang's eyes turning red with rage.
Li Xiangdong lost patience. "Enough, stop arguing. I don't care who did it—just clean it up."
Li Xiaojiang stood rooted, huffing like an angry toad.
Seeing his big brother unmoving, Li Xiaotao crossed his arms, squinting defiantly, refusing to budge either.
Li Xiaobo half-stepped forward, then stopped. With his big brothers standing still, he didn't dare move, fearing a double beatdown later.
"What, you kids think you can ignore your Third Uncle now?"
This was outright rebellion—they weren't even listening to him. Li Xiangdong pulled out his trump card. "Xiaomei, Xiaolan, you two help Third Uncle clean the table. I'll buy you ice cream later—cream ones!"
"Awesome, Third Uncle!"
"Thanks, Third Uncle!"
Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaolan were thrilled. They hadn't expected such a treat to fall into their laps.
The sisters often helped with chores, and though this job was a bit gross, it wasn't hard. Plus, Third Uncle promised cream ice cream.
The two went at it with gusto. Growing up, the best they'd had were milk ice pops—cream ice cream was too pricey for the adults to buy.
At the mention of cream ice cream, Li Xiaobo cracked first. "Third Uncle, I swear I won't wipe snot on the table anymore."
"Mm," Li Xiangdong nodded dismissively.
Seeing Third Uncle didn't respond, Li Xiaobo stepped closer, looking pitiful. "Third Uncle, I want cream ice cream too. I've never had it."
Li Xiangdong looked at his nephew's pathetic expression and sighed. "Fine, you're in. But you only get an ice pop. Only kids who listen to Third Uncle get cream ice cream. Want it? Behave better."
You can't treat those who work the same as those who don't, or you'll lose control of the team.
Happy with just an ice pop, Li Xiaobo cheered, "Thanks, Third Uncle! You're the best!" A cool ice pop on a hot day was worth a beating.
"Hey, Third Uncle, I want one too," Li Xiaotao said with a goofy grin, scratching his greasy head.
Li Xiangdong pushed him away. "You want what? Get outta here. Don't you ever wash your hair? It's greasy enough to fry food."
"Third Uncle, how can you say that? I helped you move the table—it was heavy!" Li Xiaotao looked betrayed, feeling unfairly treated.
"Uh…" His second nephew had a point, and Li Xiangdong couldn't argue. "Fine, you're in too. But your behavior earlier pissed me off, so you're downgraded—milk ice pop for you."
Li Xiaotao grinned wide, thrilled. "Third Uncle, I'm not picky. I love milk ice pops."
Li Xiaojiang nearly called his brother an idiot watching him.
Seeing Third Uncle's playful smirk, Li Xiaojiang hesitated but stayed silent, holding his big-brother pride.
Noticing his eldest nephew's stubbornness, Li Xiangdong ignored him. He wasn't begging for a deal.
"Dad." Li Xiaohai hugged his leg, looking up. "Dad, what about me?"
"What about you? You want a fart? Stand behind Dad's butt—I'll let one out for you."
Li Xiangdong chuckled at his son, who'd just called him a lazybones and now came groveling.
Li Xiaohai, starting to understand things, heard his siblings' laughter and knew they were mocking him. Plus, he wanted cream ice cream, and his dad wasn't buying.
His mouth quivered, eyes reddened, and tears rolled down.
Seeing his son about to wail, Li Xiangdong quickly covered his mouth, afraid of drawing Mother Li or Zhou Yuqin. "You playing me, huh? Crying on cue? Fine, I'll buy you one, alright?"
"Hehe." Hearing his dad promise cream ice cream, Li Xiaohai stopped crying, sniffled, and grinned nasally—then sprayed yellow snot all over Li Xiangdong's hand.
"Damn it!" Suppressing his disgust, Li Xiangdong shook his hand, rushed to the water tank, grabbed soapberry powder, and scrubbed his hand twice.