In 1972, Zhang Zhiyuan, a Chongqing zhiqing, dragged his luggage to the remote Nanjiang County.
Getting to know the villager She Linhai's family here was originally the fate of Pingshui's encounter,
There is not much intersection, Zhang Zhiyuan and She Linhai are not related,
Just because of an accident, Zhang Zhiyuan made a promise,
Tying the fates of a group of people together,
In that era, the cultural elements valued commitment very much,
Zhang Zhiyuan, in particular, was even more so, because of a promise, he was trapped in the countryside for more than a decade.
01
Zhang Zhiyuan, born in 1954, has attended school for several years.
He was one of the few intellectuals of the time.
At the age of 18, under the call of the times, he became a young intellectual,
Before coming to Nanjiang County, Zhang Zhiyuan did not suffer too much.
There is no experience in growing crops and doing farm work,
In order to quickly integrate into the collective,
Zhang Zhiyuan specially learned from She Linhai, a farmer who lived next door to him.
She Linhai's family are all authentic farmers,
The ancestors of the three generations are all farming, and the cultural knowledge is not as good as Zhang Zhiyuan,
In terms of farming, he is a good hand,
As a simple man, every time Zhang Zhiyuan encountered problems in farming,
She Linhai will put down the work in his hand to Explain to Zhang Zhiyuan well,
With the guidance of She Linhai, the "teacher",
Zhang Zhiyuan will soon be farming, and the two are like brothers.
Work together in the fields, sit down and talk when you are tired,
She Linhai, who has never been out of the mountains, likes to listen to Zhang Zhiyuan tell the stories outside,
Zhang Zhiyuan was also interested in the rural trivia that She Linhai said.
The two are also friends and mentors, even though She Linhai is 12 years older than Zhang Zhiyuan,
It still did not hinder the communication between the two,
Soon became a very good friend,
When he first went to the countryside, Zhang Zhiyuan could not cook,
She Linhai's wife, Hu Xiuting, also often let her husband take Zhang Zhiyuan home to eat together.
Seeing that Zhang Zhiyuan was a little shy, Hu Xiuting told him:
"Don't be shy, just be your own home."
She Linhai's simple and kind family made Zhang Zhiyuan very moved.
She Linhai's family has six people, in addition to his wife Hu Xiuting, there are four babies.
Every time Zhang Zhiyuan went to She Linhai's house for dinner, the four children were particularly excited.
In their eyes, Zhang Zhi was far more powerful than the village teacher,
Four children are also often incarnated as a hundred thousand whys,
Chasing Zhang Zhiyuan all day long,
Zhang Zhiyuan is also very patient to answer questions for these four curious babies.
Later, Zhang Zhiyuan could cook on his own, and he rarely went to She Linhai's house to eat.
However, during the New Year's Festival, Hu Xiuting will still let Zhang Zhiyuan come to the house for dinner.
If Zhang Zhiyuan refused to come, Hu Xiuting said, "If you don't come, I'll go to your house and pull you here." ”
In this way, Zhang Zhiyuan was even more embarrassed, and could only go to She Linhai's house for the festival.
Zhang Zhiyuan spent two birthdays in the countryside and never had the opportunity to go home.
When he was planning to go home to see, She Linhai fell ill.
02
One day, Zhang Zhiyuan was preparing to go out to do farm work as usual.
Suddenly I heard the cry of a child,
She Linhai's children hurriedly ran towards him,
Although I don't know what happened, my rich life experience tells Zhang Zhiyuan,
There must have been an accident at She Linhai's house, and the child was crying and stuttering,
Nervously unable to speak: "Brother Zhiyuan, I and I..."
Zhang Zhiyuan didn't have time to ask more, and pulled the child to run wildly towards She Linhai's house.
She Linhai coughed incessantly, lying on the bed, almost out of breath,
Looking at the pool of blood on the ground, Zhang Zhiyuan knew that She Linhai was very ill.
Zhang Zhiyuan hurriedly carried She Linhai on his back and ran towards the health center.
She Linhai pulled Zhang Zhiyuan and said that he did not want to go to the doctor.
It is said that there is only one disease in the world that is poor,
How could She Linhai not want to cure the disease, but was poor and afraid,
Zhang Zhiyuan knew that She Linhai's condition could not be delayed,
So there is no obstruction of She Linhai,
Rushed to the health center as fast as possible.
At that time, the medical conditions were not good, and there were very few diseases that could be cured.
After being sent to the hospital, watching the doctor shake his head repeatedly, Zhang Zhiyuan was disheartened.
Looking back at She Linhai, this is a good big brother who has taken care of himself for two years,
Pulled the doctor out and seriously inquired about the condition,
The doctor said: "His illness is very serious, and he feels that he has not been saved."
You must know that She Linhai is only 32 years old,
It is in the prime of life, encountering such a thing, really makes Zhang Zhilin unacceptable,
The doctor's words are almost equivalent to issuing a critical illness notice,
However, Zhang Zhilin felt that there must be a miracle happening in She Linhai.
During She Linhai's hospitalization,
Zhang Zhiyuan spent more time taking care of She Linhai than his wife Hu Xiuting.
Bring water to send food, wipe your body, in order to supplement She Linhai's body,
Zhang Zhiyuan took out all the money he had saved in the past two years.
Even if Zhang Zhiyuan did so hard, She Linhai's condition still did not improve.
Coughed incessantly during hospitalization, vomited blood several times,
Every time Zhang Zhiyuan's heart is stinging,
It is said that boys have tears and do not flick,
Seeing such a picture, 20-year-old Zhang Zhiyuan couldn't help but cry.
She Linhai pulled Zhang Zhiyuan and said, "Zhiyuan, don't cry, brother and you have something to say." ”
Zhang Zhiyuan did not dare to be sloppy, and immediately dried his tears,
She Linhai continued, "The only thing I can't let go of is your sister-in-law and four babies."
After saying this, She Linhai was silent for a while, and Zhang Zhiyuan did not speak again.
She Linhai coughed a few times and spoke again, "Be sure to take care of them for me." ”
Zhang Zhiyuan did not answer, but just nodded while crying loudly.
A few days later, She Linhai died, and Zhang Zhiyuan did not dare to forget his instructions.
It was also directly taken care of She Linhai's widow and children.
03
Women without husbands live a very hard life, Hu Xiuting is very capable,
But after all, it is still a woman, and a lot of physical work is very weak,
Zhang Zhiyuan in addition to work,
Every day, I will come to Hu Xiuting's courtyard early,
Help her fill the water tank, and chop up the firewood for a few days,
Zhang Zhiyuan was only entrusted by She Hailin to help take care of his widow.
But in the eyes of others, it is another plan,
After all, Hu Xiuting is a widow, without her husband to accept the help of others,
Saying that it has nothing to do with it, I'm afraid no one really believes it,
Over time, there was more and more gossip in the village.
In their free time, they will say:
"The relationship between these two people is not ordinary, how can a big and small guy grow old and go to the widow's house?"
Such words reached Zhang Zhiyuan's ears, which could be ignored.
But Hu Xiuting can't stand it, although she is a widow, but she values fame very much.
Slowly, he no longer accepted Zhang Zhiyuan's kindness,
Zhang Zhiyuan saw that Hu Xiuting had a mustard heart,
Told Hu Xiuting many times not to be afraid of what others say,
Living a good life is the most important thing,
But Hu Xiuting never heard,
For this reason, Zhang Zhiyuan, as an intellectual, is also a little helpless.
04
Zhang Zhiyuan attaches great importance to commitment, and since the commitment must be completed,
Hu Xiuting, a widow with four children,
Aside from the hardships of life, widows who do not have men in the countryside are easily bullied,
Zhang Zhiyuan can't bear to see Hu Xiuting's family being bullied,
After a night of hard thinking, Zhang Zhiyuan made a decision that he couldn't believe.
Zhang Zhiyuan decided to become a family with Hu Xiuting,
In this way, you are not afraid of gossip, and you can take care of Hu Xiuting's mother and son in a justifiable way.
The next morning it was just dawn,
Zhang Zhiyuan came to Hu Xiuting's house early and brought his own quilt.
And Hu Xiuting said her thoughts,
After hearing Zhang Zhiyuan say that he wanted to become a family with himself,
Hu Xiuting opened her mouth in fright,
In Hu Xiuting's view, the two could not be together.
I am a widow with four children, which is simply a burden,
Everyone else avoided it, how Zhang Zhiyuan would "send it to the door".
Hu Xiuting is not very understanding,
So Zhang Zhiyuan and Hu Xiuting said what She Hailin had told them,
After listening, Hu Xiuting could not calm down for a long time.
However, he still acquiesced to Zhang Zhiyuan's meaning,
After being together, Zhang Zhiyuan's pressure is even greater,
I wake up earlier every morning than before, work until late at night before coming home,
At this time, Zhang Zhiyuan was only 20 years old,
He would have had a better option, but for a promise,
I will be responsible until I "marry" myself out,
In just a few months, Zhang Zhiyuan's face has changed a lot.
He was too bitter and tired, and these Hu Xiuting looked in his eyes.
Fiercely moved by Zhang Zhiyuan,
Slowly, Hu Xiuting did not have a little mustard in her heart,
Truly take this hairy child who is 11 years younger than himself as his husband,
Everything in the family will let Zhang Zhiyuan decide,
A few years later, Zhang Zhiyuan and Hu Xiuting also gave birth to two children.
With the addition of the previous 4 children, the family has become stronger,
The burden on Zhang Zhiyuan's shoulders is also getting heavier and heavier,
However, Zhang Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and insisted.
One day, the village, which had been calm, became lively,
Hu Xiuting was curious and went to see,
In the crowd, some people are promoting the news that zhiqing can return to the city,
After Zhiqing returned to the city, most of the treatment was very good,
Hu Xiuting knew the news and was both happy and scared.
Happy is that Zhang Zhiyuan can finally go back, no longer have to suffer,
Sadly, Hu Xiuting and Zhang Zhiyuan now have feelings,
She was also reluctant to let Zhang Zhiyuan leave in her heart,
However, one yard to one yard, Hu Xiuting still told this news to Zhang Zhiyuan, who was working.
Zhang Zhiyuan knew that he could return to the city, but there was not much fluctuation on his face.
Just a short answer: "Well, got it." "And then keep your head down and go to work,
Perhaps a long time ago, Zhang Zhiyuan would return to the city without hesitation.
But now Zhang Zhiyuan can't go,
He has a commitment to She Hailin, his home and wife and children are here,
Hu Xiuting asked Zhang Zhiyuan: "Will you go?" ”
Zhang Zhiyuan shook his head: "No. ”
After hearing "no", Hu Xiuting's heart clucked and felt uncomfortable.
The people of the Zhiqing Office also knew about Zhang Zhiyuan,
Many colleagues were moved to tears by Zhang Zhiyuan's story.
Repeatedly asked if Zhang Zhiyuan was willing, he could even help Hu Xiuting solve the hukou problem.
However, Zhang Zhiyuan refused, this mountain life, he was used to.
Today' Zhang Zhiyuan has been rooted in the mountains for 40 years and has become a 60-year-old uncle.
Without the vigor of the year, there are countless responsibilities and responsibilities.
A promise to stick to forty years, obviously can go away and be responsible for the end,
Some people say that Zhang Zhiyuan is stupid, does not know how to advance and retreat, and is too dead-eyed.
Some people also say that Zhang Zhiyuan is serious about love and righteousness, and he has made a promise of thousands of gold.
In this era of indiscriminate swearing, people do not believe that failure to keep their promises will be punished by heaven.
Many are perfidious,
People like Zhang Zhiyuan are worth learning from, and the promised things must be done.