Still Feisty in Old Age: An Elderly Couple Takes Their Ungrateful Children to Task

[Period] [Family Squabbles] [No rebirth] In 1988, Li Jianguo, a seventy-year-old retired fitter, and Wang Xiuying, a sixty-five-year-old elementary school teacher, suddenly realized that their children saw them as “a burden” after the old house was transferred, their savings were lent out, and the family heirloom was “put in safekeeping.” On a freezing night when no one came to care for them as they lay seriously ill, the old couple finally came to their senses. “Raising children to support you in old age? We raised three leeches that suck the blood right out of us!” From then on, the gentle old sheep turned into a pair of “old firecrackers.” Li Jianguo set up a repair stall, charging fixed prices for his work and giving his own son no discount. Wang Xiuying wrote satirical ditties that spread through the neighborhood, regaling everyone with her children's “glorious deeds.” When news of the demolition came and all three children came running, the old couple had already laid a perfect trap. “Want a bite of hot tofu? Let's see if these old teeth will let you!”