Chapter 3: The Triple Tribunal

The main living room of the family’s primary residence was quite spacious, furnished with two tables—one large and one small. The Li family was large, spanning three generations with a total of seventeen members, so the two tables barely sufficed.

At this moment, Li’s parents, along with his elder brothers and their wives, were all seated around the large dining table. The eldest brother’s family had three children: two boys and a girl—Xiao Jiang, thirteen; Xiao Tao, eleven; and Xiao Lan, nine. The second brother’s family had two children: a boy and a girl—Xiao Bo, five; and Xiao Mei, ten. These children stood whispering in a corner, among them Li’s son, Xiao Hai.

“Dad.”

Xiao Hai called out as soon as he saw him enter the room.

Li Xiangdong asked, “Have you eaten?”

Xiao Tao nodded, “I have.”

“Good, then go play.”

Just as Li Xiangdong finished speaking, Zhou Yuqin, who had followed him inside, reached out and took their daughter from his arms. She walked over to Li’s parents, pulled a stool from beneath the table, and sat down holding the child.

Li Xiangdong could tell from the atmosphere that a serious family meeting was about to begin.

He greeted his parents and nodded to his elder brothers and sisters-in-law, then glanced around. There was no space left at the large dining table.

However, on the smaller table beside it sat a bowl of corn porridge, a plate of pickled radish, and two steamed buns made from second-grade flour.

Well... he was now relegated to the children’s table.

Feeling slightly awkward but hungry, and knowing that a young body digests quickly, Li Xiangdong sat down heavily. He cradled the full bowl of corn porridge in his hands, pressed his mouth to the bowl’s rim, and slurped it in slow circles.

After finishing the cooler top layer, he set the bowl down because the porridge beneath was piping hot and needed to cool.

He then picked up a steamed bun with his right hand, grabbed his chopsticks, and alternated bites between the bun and the pickled radish.

Having eaten two buns rather hastily, he let out a satisfied burp and exhaled contentedly.

Just as he was about to raise the bowl for another sip, his father, sitting at the big table, watched his youngest son eating and grew increasingly stern.

“Third son, you come back from the countryside with your wife and child, and I thought you might show some improvement. But it seems you have no other skills—only your shamelessness has grown.”

“You’re sitting here eating alone in a room full of people, and you’re not even embarrassed. Slurping away like it’s delicious. Is that enough? If not, I’ll have your mother serve you some more.”

Li’s father’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

Everyone else in the room couldn’t help but laugh, instantly dispelling the tense atmosphere.

Especially Li’s mother, who had been frowning moments before but now laughed the loudest.

“Third uncle, is the corn porridge really that tasty?”

The one speaking was Xiao Jiang, standing in the corner. He attended the nearby 125 Middle School, now known as Huiwen Experimental Middle School, in eighth grade. He wasn’t a diligent student and spent most of his time causing mischief.

“It is tasty. Want to have some more with third uncle?”

Li Xiangdong replied casually.

None of the younger generation in the Li family loved studying or had the ability to earn much money.

But when Li Xiangdong grew old, these children often visited him, bringing small treats like egg cakes, little buns, and milk. Though the gifts were modest, their thoughtfulness mattered—they cared enough to bring food to their third uncle and visited him from time to time. They were truly good children.

“Third uncle, you should eat by yourself. Eating this every day makes me sick...” Xiao Jiang began, but before he could finish, Li’s eldest brother’s wife scolded sharply, “Shut up! If you cause any more trouble, I’ll give you a good beating!”

Xiao Jiang shrank back, too frightened to say another word.

“Eldest daughter-in-law, can’t you speak nicely? Why scare my grandson like that?”

Li’s mother saw her eldest grandson tremble like a frightened quail and immediately took offense, retorting sharply at the eldest daughter-in-law.

With a loud bang, Li’s father slapped the table.

“You shut up too! The eldest daughter-in-law is teaching the child; don’t butt in. Don’t you know what a mess you’ve spoiled the third son into?”

“Me? Spoiled the third son? Honestly, can I even control him?”

Li’s mother fearlessly fired back, silencing Li’s father.

Everyone in the family knew exactly who had spoiled Li Xiangdong.

Sensing the tension growing, Li Xiangdong quickly finished the corn porridge, wiped his mouth, and stood up to slip away.

“Your work situation hasn’t been discussed yet. Sit down and listen!”

Li’s father, frustrated and unable to vent his anger on Li’s mother, turned it on Li Xiangdong.

Hearing the mention of work, Li Xiangdong obediently sat back down. This was indeed a matter to discuss seriously with the family.

At that moment, Li Xiaozhu, cradled in Zhou Yuqin’s arms, began to fuss—not crying, just whining softly, clearly sleepy.

Li’s father suppressed his anger and lowered his voice.

“Third son’s wife, take the child to the inner room.”

He then looked over at the grandchildren huddled in the corner, barely daring to breathe.

“Xiao Jiang, take your younger siblings and go play in the inner room with your third aunt.”

Children were like this: when parents scolded them, they could still laugh, but when adults argued, they were deeply afraid.

Hearing their grandfather’s orders, Xiao Jiang and the others hurried after Zhou Yuqin toward the inner room.

The eldest, Xiao Jiang, passed by Li Xiangdong and pulled a mischievous face at him.

Li Xiangdong glared at him. Having been back for over a month, the children were growing more familiar with him, especially this eldest nephew, who was resilient and seemingly forgot his punishments quickly. Moments ago, he had been scared stiff, but now acted as if nothing had happened.

Once the inner room door closed, Li’s father’s gaze returned to Li Xiangdong.

Looking at his youngest son, he sighed deeply.

Among his three sons, the eldest and second were steady and reliable, seldom causing him worry.

Only this youngest son continually gave him a headache.

As a child, he was disinterested in studying, spending afternoons chasing cats and dogs.

When sent down to the countryside as an educated youth, he often wrote home complaining of hunger, unable to endure the hard life there.

The first letter terrified him—he thought another natural disaster had struck.

Now, having returned from the countryside, the neighborhood committee had arranged a job for him, yet he refused to work.

This wasn’t raising a son; it was like raising a debt collector!

Li’s father said firmly, “Later, go to the neighborhood committee to report in. So what if it’s popping popcorn? It’s better than sitting idle at home.”

Though the job of popcorn popping seemed undignified, it was at least a collective enterprise under the neighborhood committee. He worried that if his youngest son delayed reporting, he might lose even this job.

“Dongzi, listen to your father. There are over four hundred thousand unemployed young people in the capital. In every three households, at least one person has no work.”

This was said by the second brother, Li Weimin, who spent much of his time at the bathhouse and was more informed than most.

Hearing these numbers for the first time, Li’s mother grew frantic, like ants on a hot pan.

“Dongzi, you can’t delay any longer. What will you do if you even lose this job?”

With so many people competing for so few jobs, popping popcorn was not so bad after all.

It was, in fact, a good job.