Two years into her marriage, when her child was not yet one year old, her husband committed a crime and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. This would be the sixteenth year, and he still wasn't out.
Li Xiang's Little Aunt was a tough woman. She never remarried, choosing to raise her son all on her own while working in the county town. To this day, she still lives in a rented house. Her son was a disappointment, too. Just like his father, he became a punk. After graduating from junior high last year, he went straight to work. Rumor was, he was now a waiter at a karaoke bar.
Of her three daughters, only the youngest—the one who was doing the worst financially—had come to visit for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Li Xiang felt a pang of pity for his Little Aunt, and, naturally, a surge of anger.
His second aunt lived far away, so her absence was somewhat understandable. But his eldest aunt lived right there in the county town. Her family owned several cars, the roads were decent, and the drive would have only taken half an hour.
"Xiang'Er, don't be angry," Granny Li Xiang said, suddenly breaking into a happy smile. "Look, isn't that your eldest aunt's husband? He's here!"
Li Xiang looked over and, sure enough, a black Volkswagen was slowly approaching. The window was down, and it was indeed his eldest aunt's husband.
Li Xiang's expression softened slightly. 'At least he came,' he thought. Though his eldest aunt was nowhere to be seen, and it was already getting late.
'Maybe they came late on purpose so they wouldn't trouble Granny with making lunch,' Li Xiang mused.
Soon, his eldest aunt's husband parked on the side of the road. He got out, pulled a case of "Six Walnuts" from the trunk, and strode toward the house.
"Mother, you feeling alright? Li Xiang, you're back too? When did you get home? Oh, and you bought a tricycle?" his eldest aunt's husband said with a wide grin. He set the gift down at Granny's feet, but his eyes landed on the new tricycle, a flicker of contempt flashing in their depths.
Li Xiang's mood had just started to improve, but then he glanced at the gift. It wasn't the popular "Six Walnuts" brand at all—the box clearly read "Six Nukes"!
'What the hell?' Li Xiang thought. 'The guy runs a business in town. How could he not know this is a knock-off? He had to have done it on purpose. He probably didn't bother getting a real gift and just grabbed the cheapest thing he could find at a roadside stall.'
And on a major holiday like this, he didn't even bring a single mooncake, not even the cheap, individually sold ones.
Li Xiang had been about to offer him a cigarette, but now he just snorted. He ignored his uncle-in-law completely and turned to his grandmother. "It's getting late, Granny. I'll go make you dinner." With that, he headed straight for the kitchen.
His eldest aunt's husband was left speechless.
He scoffed and said to his mother-in-law, "Xiaoxiang has quite a temper, doesn't he? To be blunt, his EQ is too low. He'll never make it in the real world. He's bound to fail miserably."
Granny Li Xiang recalled what Li Xiang had said earlier about not leaving again and staying home. A worry bloomed in her heart. 'Could it be that my grandson was mistreated out there?' She turned to her son-in-law and said, "He's still young and doesn't understand the ways of the world. As his uncle, you should look out for him in the future."
"No problem! You can count on me!" her eldest aunt's husband said, slapping his chest with gusto. Inwardly, however, he scoffed. 'Help him? I'd sooner help my own son.'
"And Yu'Er? Why didn't she come back?" Granny Li Xiang still really wanted to see her eldest daughter.
Li Xiang's eldest aunt's husband lit a cigarette. He sat back, crossed his legs, and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "We just opened a new tile shop, and business is booming. She's busy watching the store. She wanted to come back, really, but she's just swamped. She asked me to say hello for her."
In reality, he had been in the area since the morning. He first went to his own family's home in the neighboring village and hung around until now. He was just about to head back to the city and only stopped by on his way out so people wouldn't gossip about him being impolite.
"Oh," Granny Li Xiang said, falling silent.
After finishing his cigarette, the uncle-in-law said, "Well, Mother, it's getting late, so I won't stay any longer. I'll come see you again next time." As he spoke, his eyes darted to the free-range chickens strutting about near the door, then fixed on three free-range ducks not far off.
Granny Li Xiang said, "Let me catch a chicken for you to take home."
His face lit up. "No, no, I'll do it myself!" he said quickly. "Just grab a handful of grain to lure them over." With that, he stood up and went inside Li Xiang's house to find a large woven sack.
Li Xiang saw this from the kitchen and grimaced. 'But if Granny wants to give him one, so be it,' he thought. 'After all, she's the one who raised all these chickens and ducks.'
A moment later, Granny scattered some grain on the ground. Seeing the food, all the chickens and ducks came crowding around.
The uncle-in-law was quick. In one smooth motion, he scooped up two plump hens. The rest of the birds saw this and scattered immediately.
"Mother, I'll take a duck, too," he said, stuffing the chickens into the sack and tying it shut.
Granny frowned, but she still began to scatter more grain to call the birds back over.
Whether out of foolishness or trust in their owner, a dozen or so of the chickens and ducks still cautiously approached.
Seeing his chance, the uncle-in-law used the same trick, deftly snatching a duck and stuffing it into the sack.
'What the hell?' Li Xiang couldn't take it anymore. He strode out of the kitchen and snatched the sack out of the man's hands.
"What do you think you're doing?" his uncle-in-law bellowed, furious.
Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. "What kind of gift did you bring for Granny that makes you think you can just take two of our chickens and a duck? You're from the city; don't you know how much free-range birds like these are worth?"
"Tch, how much could two chickens and a duck possibly be worth?" the uncle-in-law sneered. "You're a grown man. Why are you acting as petty as some old woman?"
Li Xiang retorted, "Even if they weren't worth much, they're still worth dozens of times more than that case of knock-off 'Six Nukes' you brought! You're calling me petty? You're a supposed boss who drives a car, and you show up with that garbage?"
"You...! You're insane!"
"Get out!" Li Xiang had reached his limit. This wasn't just about today; it was about this man's disgusting attitude for the past twenty-odd years. Back then, Li Xiang wasn't the one in charge, and his parents were too honest, so they let people push them around. Now, he had no intention of indulging him.
'Who needs relatives like that?'
His uncle-in-law was trembling with rage. He raised his hand as if to strike, but Li Xiang shot him a glare. 'What, you want to start something with me?'
Startled by Li Xiang's piercing gaze, the man's heart skipped a beat. He lowered his hand and said angrily, "With an EQ like yours, you're not even fit to shine your cousin's shoes."
He was, of course, comparing Li Xiang to his own son.
He turned and stomped off. A moment later, his car sped away into the distance.
Granny Li Xiang sighed. "Xiang'Er, you went a little too far. This will make your eldest aunt lose face."
Li Xiang was exasperated. "Granny, when has her family ever shown you any respect? Look at this counterfeit trash he brought. I'm telling you, this 'Six Nukes' stuff is a cheap knock-off. It's worth thirty yuan at most. But it's not even about the money. The point is, you're getting on in years. What if you drink this and get sick?"
"If my eldest aunt were truly a devoted daughter, couldn't she have put her business aside for a while? She couldn't even spare half a day for you?"
As he spoke, he tore open the case of garbage-tier drinks, took out three cans, and poured their contents into the dog bowl.
The two Dahuangs saw this and trotted over, lapping it up eagerly.
On the roof, an old pregnant tabby cat saw the commotion, leaped nimbly to the ground, and padded over as well.
Li Xiang suddenly felt a pang of regret. 'Dahuang might be fine after drinking that stuff, but this old cat is pregnant. What if it causes a miscarriage?' He quickly shooed the cat away, then took the dog bowl, emptied it, and washed it clean. He'd find a chance to throw out the rest of the cans later.
Watching Li Xiang bustle about, Granny suddenly felt… as if her own back had grown a little straighter.
It was good to have a grandson to stand up for her. In truth, she had lived for over seventy years. She might not be educated, but she could still tell who treated her well and who treated her poorly.
Before long, Little Aunt returned. Granny was overjoyed, and the unpleasantness from earlier vanished completely.
Li Xiang greeted his Little Aunt and told her what had happened. She gave him a thumbs-up, saying he had done the right thing.
Then she tried to persuade her mother. "Mom, you're not young anymore. You should stop always thinking about others and start enjoying life for yourself. Those free-range chickens and ducks—wouldn't it be better to keep them and eat them yourself? And even if you don't eat them, you can still keep them for the eggs."
Li Xiang invited his Little Aunt to stay for dinner. It was just a simple, home-cooked meal, but the three of them ate together happily.
As she was leaving, Little Aunt pressed 200 yuan into her mother's hand.
Of course, Granny refused to take it, saying that Little Aunt had already bought so many things and that she didn't need the money, especially since life wasn't easy for her. But Little Aunt insisted it was winnings from mahjong. "Maybe heaven knew I wanted to do something nice for my mom," she said, "so it gave me an amazing lucky streak today."
Li Xiang then gave the two chickens and the duck his uncle-in-law had caught to his Little Aunt for her to take home. He hadn't released the birds earlier precisely because he had been waiting for this moment.
Little Aunt tried to refuse, but in the end, she accepted one of the chickens. She also invited Li Xiang to visit her at her home, promising to cook him a delicious meal.