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Ah Xiu's home, in a small county town in the mountains. The county is sparsely populated, with less than 30,000 people. Because the city is small, there are only two main streets in the north and south, and most of the residents who walk the streets and alleys are familiar with each other.
The residents of the small town, adults and children, almost did not know Ah Xiu. Because her characteristics are obvious: she is mute, congenital. However, she has a clear ear and a very good look, but she just can't speak.
Ah Xiu's home is four bungalows, one west house for the kitchen, and the other three hall houses, where she lives with her brother and parents.
In the impression of the people of xiaocheng, Ah Xiu's parents died very early. Later, she and her brother Aaron inherited the four rooms of their parents. Unfortunately, Aaron is also handicapped, with sound limbs and medium looks, but he is blind.
A few years after the death of his parents, Aaron became intimate with Tian Xia, a blind girl in the countryside, with the help of an enthusiastic grandmother. After Tian Xia and Along got married, they had a son, named Jinshui. Fortunately, Jinshui is not affected by the genetic factors of his parents, and the mental function is normal in the body. This made Ah Xiu, as an aunt, like it.
Since Jin Shui was born, he has been caring for Ah Xiu most of the time. Ah Xiu especially loved this little nephew. For the sake of this nephew, Ah Xiu gave up the marriage, and there was an old woman who wanted to introduce her to the object, but she refused. She said that in this life, she would not marry again, and she would live with her brother-in-law's family.
Living with her brother-in-law, Ah Xiu felt warm and kind. Because the sister-in-law is not convenient to do housework, most of the work inside and out is shared by Ah Xiu.
Sister-in-law Tian Xia said to her more than once, Xiu, listen to your sister-in-law, you still have to become a family, so that a lifetime will be complete.
Ah Xiu said, Sister-in-law, don't you hate me? I'm willing to live with you and my brother for the rest of my life.
Show, sister-in-law will dislike you, you say this, sister-in-law can be sad; I think I always let you do this and that, my heart is too unwilling to go, sorry for you.
Sister-in-law, as long as our family is doing well, you don't think too much, no matter what you do, I am willing.
Tian Xia saw that the sister-in-law was stubborn and unwilling to start a family, and never mentioned this matter again. As Jin Shui grew up, Ah Xiu was over thirty years old, and she didn't want to start a family anymore.
In the memory of the people of the small city, Jin Shui was pulled around by his aunt from the moment he could walk. Ah Xiu looked at him with a look of love on his face. Seeing acquaintances on the street, Ah Xiu likes to take the initiative to say hello. When acquaintances saw her nephew, they naturally wanted to boast, and Ah Xiu danced with his hands and couldn't help but be happy.
When Jin Shui was five or six years old, people in the small city could often see Ah Xiu dragging him to the east house and the west family; if nothing else, Ah Xiu took his little nephew and did housework for the needy family, and when he was done, he gave her a little money as a reward. Whoever she works in, Jin Shui follows her and plays in whose house. In today's parlance, Ah Xiu is doing housekeeping work. This was in the early eighties.
Ah Xiu learned to be a maid without a teacher, but no matter whose house she went to, she must bring her nephew Jinshui. Jin Shui was very sensible, and when his aunt was working, he never cried or made trouble; when the master brought him something to eat, he also continued; when no one gave him food, he obediently sat and waited for his aunt.
Ah Xiu's busiest time is before the Spring Festival every year, when the family is ready for the festival, it must be thoroughly cleaned and hygienic, and Ah Xiu has become sought-after. After finishing the east family, go to the west house; after doing the south house, go to the north house; wherever she goes, she will take the golden water to wherever she goes.
The most work Ah Xiu did was to wash the clothes, wash the sheets, wash the curtains, and incidentally help the main family mop the floor and wipe the windows. After doing the work, how much wages are given, it all depends on the main family; to give three cents and two cents, Ah Xiu is not too little, to give one yuan and eight corners, Ah Xiu is not too much.
There are also many times when the employer does not pay her for her work, but gives her a few old clothes, scarves and gloves as a substitute, and she does not say anything. Because Ah Xiu is not picky, so many people have a job, like to call Ah Xiu to do, Ah Xiu has every request, never shirk.
There is a grandmother living alone on the street, her children are in big cities outside the country, there is no one to accompany her, when Ah Xiu is not alive, she often pulls jinshui to accompany her, and also cleans and cleans up for her; but the grandmother gives Ah Xiu a salary, but Ah Xiu resolutely does not accept it.
Grandma asked her, Ah Xiu, why don't you accept other people's? Is it to look down on my old woman? Ah Xiu sighed, laughing and waving his hands and comparing.
The grandmother understood, and Ah Xiu said that it was not easy for the grandmother to be alone, and she could not ask the grandmother for money.
One autumn night, at more than two o'clock in the morning, Ah Xiu got up and went to the courtyard to relieve himself. In the moment she returned to her room, she suddenly saw a flame on the street not far from the southwest corner, and Ah Xiu realized that there was a fire.
She knew it was late at night, and surely no one had thought of it. Ah Xiu immediately ran towards xiaocheng East Street, and she ran to the fire squadron breathlessly, anxiously slamming the door on duty.
The duty officer heard the slamming of the door, jumped to the window to see that it was Ah Xiu, and hurriedly opened the door. Ah Xiu pointed anxiously to the southwest, and the duty officer understood that there was a fire and immediately rang the alarm bell.
Soon, three fire trucks went out at the same time, and Ah Xiu followed the fire truck to the scene of the incident. The fire hydrant opened, and the firefighters fired a three-pipe high-speed water column salvo for about five or six minutes, all of which extinguished the tongue of fire.
When all the neighbors were woken up, they were glad that thanks to the firefighters arrived in time, only three shops were burned, fortunately there was no one living inside; fortunately, the fire of the shops was extinguished in time, and the residents upstairs were not affected.
People who wake up from their sleep are asking the firefighters, who called the police? The firefighters told it was Ah Xiu.
When the upstairs occupants learned that it was the mute woman Ah Xiu who saved them, they were grateful. The next day, more than a dozen resident representatives rushed to Ah Xiu's house and all brought gifts to express their gratitude.
Ah Xiu yawned and refused to accept things from neighbors. After her blind sister-in-law Tian Xia learned of the reason, she also resolutely refused to accept things from neighbors. Tian Xia said, Uncles and aunts, our family Ah Xiu said that it cannot be collected, it really cannot be collected; it is the fire brigade that puts out the fire, we cannot accept this feeling, and we have received your wishes.
After this incident, the neighbors had more good feelings for the A Xiu family. People saw Ah Xiu, who was babbling, and had more respect.
Today, decades later, the elderly people in the small town still remember the fire fighting of Ah Xiu.
The difference is that Ah Xiu, who has passed the flower armor in the past year, has already become an aunt.
More than ten years ago, Jin Shui became a family and had two children; both were raised with the help of Ah Xiu. She became a veritable aunt.
Jinshui's two families went to work in big cities, and the children of the family and the task of picking up and dropping off school were all undertaken by Ah Xiu.
A man and a woman and two grandchildren, when they saw Ah Xiu, an aunt and grandmother called out non-stop, ah Xiu did not mention how happy she was.
When you meet Ah Xiu from the street, you always see her carrying a basket of groceries and smiling, with a happy face.