Chapter 2: The Wife and the Daughter

“Shh, shh.”

Li Xiangdong whistled, shivered slightly, and pulled up his shorts with a satisfied grin as he stepped out of the public restroom in the alley.

Youth in his twenties was a blessing. Starting from the same line, he already had a five-centimeter advantage over others.

Coupled with his vigorous vitality, if he hadn’t been quick-eyed and swift-footed enough to step back just in time, the urine he’d just relieved himself with could have splashed onto his shorts!

He strolled leisurely through the alley, where everyone was having breakfast at this hour. The alley, with its gray brick walls and tiled roofs, was unusually quiet.

The alley where Li Xiangdong’s home was located was called Shipyard Alley, situated in the Dongcheng District and under the jurisdiction of Jianguomen Street Office, right within Beijing’s second ring road.

The alley stretched 525 meters long and was seven meters wide. It was said that a shipyard once operated here, which was how it got its name.

Shipyard Alley was divided into north and south sections, with the seven-meter-wide alley serving as the boundary line.

The northern part of Shipyard Alley had orderly courtyards and spacious lanes, mostly occupied by single-family houses. Residents were often elderly descendants of former dignitaries who had been dispossessed during the humanitarian upheavals but were gradually reclaiming their properties in recent years.

Of course, there were also the unlucky ones whose houses had been leased out by the street office. Holding onto their property deeds but unable to reclaim their homes, they frequently caused disturbances. Both the police and the street office had intervened multiple times, but to no avail.

“The people are masters of the country; I pay rent. You can’t just make me move. What are you going to do?” they would say defiantly.

Li Xiangdong’s home was in the southern part of Shipyard Alley, where the residents were mostly ordinary folks. The traditional courtyard houses there were more like tenement compounds—some had six or seven households, others twenty or thirty, even forty or fifty living together. Makeshift structures filled the courtyards, making the area crowded and chaotic.

His family occupied an entire courtyard alone—a rarity in South Shipyard Alley.

Just as he stepped through the gate, a young woman with delicate features and a short ponytail approached, cradling a child in her arms.

It was his wife, and the child she held was their little daughter.

Li Xiangdong stood frozen for a moment, unsure how to speak.

“Daddy… Daddy…”

The little girl in her arms waved her tiny arms and showed a few baby teeth with an open mouth.

The woman took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the child’s drool, then spoke first, “Mama told me to find you. Hurry and eat, or Mama will start nagging again.”

This was his wife, Zhou Yuqin, a year younger than him.

After graduating from junior high, Li Xiangdong had failed to get into high school and was sent to the countryside as part of the Down to the Countryside Movement, assigned to a village in suburban Changping.

He had two older brothers, more than ten years his senior, so his family never lacked strong laborers. He had never done any heavy work in his life.

Having been a layabout for so long, when he went to the countryside, he made a fool of himself, unable to handle any physical labor well. In the end, he ended up following the village women and children to cut pig fodder.

Fortunately, his situation was somewhat welcomed in the countryside.

The villagers knew his family lived in Beijing, not far away, and they weren’t afraid he would abandon his wife and children to return to the city.

When it came time to marry, through a matchmaker’s introduction, he met a girl from the neighboring Zhou family village—his wife, Zhou Yuqin.

At their first blind date, Zhou Yuqin found him handsome and agreed to the marriage.

In the beginning, Zhou Yuqin was happy every day, but gradually, the reality of rural life in those years set in. Looks couldn’t fill one’s belly.

Fortunately, both sets of parents helped financially and with labor, and their family managed to survive in the countryside. Now back in the city, they still relied on their parents.

Zhou Yuqin had a gentle temperament, never complaining when wronged, always keeping things bottled up inside.

Over more than a decade, Li Xiangdong squandered the money from selling their courtyard house. Zhou Yuqin only cried silently for a few days, but after that, her health declined.

She worked tirelessly to take care of Li Xiangdong all her life, yet never had a moment of peace. She passed away before sixty.

Li Xiangdong, supported by his wife, was considered fortunate by others.

At that time, when he heard such remarks, he felt mocked. Now, he realized there was some truth in them.

If he weren’t fortunate, could he have had a second chance at life?

Feeling guilty, Li Xiangdong stared at his wife for a long while. Seeing her stern face, he knew she was angry.

He understood Zhou Yuqin’s attitude. Through his memories, he was clear about the timing of his rebirth.

He and his family had been back in the city for over a month, but he had spent his days idling at home, wandering aimlessly and refusing the job arranged by the street office.

He could afford to be indifferent because Li’s parents were his biological parents.

But his wife was different. It wasn’t so natural for her, especially since her and the children’s household registration was still in the countryside, where they didn’t even receive monthly grain rations.

“My mother’s words are sharp, but she means well—like a knife’s edge with a tofu heart inside.”

Seeing Zhou Yuqin had no response, Li Xiangdong awkwardly scratched his nose and changed the subject, “Where’s Xiaohai?”

Li Xiaohai was their eldest son, only three years old, not yet of school age, always trailing behind his older siblings.

“He’s inside.”

“Are you free today? After we eat, I’ll take you out for a walk. There are many places in Beijing you haven’t been to yet.”

“I don’t want to go.”

Noticing his wife’s frown and continued silence, Li Xiangdong grew suspicious.

Trying to appease her, he said, “You rest for a bit, and let me hold our daughter.”

He took the child from his wife’s arms, walking into the courtyard as he kissed the little girl’s cheeks twice.

Li Xiangdong teased the little one in his arms, “Xiao Qi, say ‘Daddy’ for me.”

“Hit… hit you…”

The little girl’s tender hands lightly tapped Li Xiangdong’s arm, not hard enough to hurt.

Her full name was Li Xiaozhu, just past one year old. She was the seventh child in the family and at the stage of learning to speak. Perhaps after returning to the city, Li’s mother had spoiled her, as she often opened her mouth to threaten hitting others.

In the past life, his son and daughter treated him well, but it was his wife who was truly filial, especially Li Xiaozhu, who called every day for at least half an hour, making Li Xiangdong irritated whenever he heard the phone ring.

“Down... down...”

Li Xiaozhu wriggled restlessly in her father’s arms, arching her little bottom, wanting to get down and walk.

Li Xiangdong pinched her nose playfully, “You can’t even walk steadily, why get down? If you make a fuss again, I’ll spank you.”

Thinking her father was playing, Li Xiaozhu shook her head to dodge his hand and giggled.

“When you grow up, remember to be good to your old dad. When you get married and I’m old, remember to call me every day for at least an hour, okay?”

Her response was, “Hit… hit you…”

“Heh, you little rascal, you’re hopeless.”

“Hopeless… want…”

Hearing their nonsensical banter, Zhou Yuqin shot Li Xiangdong a sideways glance. What could a child so young understand?

Besides, what kind of conditions did they have?

How could they afford an hour-long phone call every day? Phone bills were expensive; they couldn’t even afford a minute a day!