As one of the most prosperous cities in China, Shanghai can not only appreciate the wisdom of the entire human race, but also experience the all-encompassing nature of Shanghai, no matter what it is, it seems to be taken for granted in Shanghai.
Walking on the streets in the afternoon, you will hear Shanghainese who have just eaten a full meal sitting in front of their homes chatting, enjoying the rare tranquility of the afternoon, but in the midst of the peace, a young man of different skin colors breaks the picture of harmony.
I thought this was a foreigner studying at that university, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his fluent Shanghainese dialect was like a native of this land, which was Zhu Junlong, the "black baby" who was brought back by Zhu Shuibao 17 years ago.
The arrangement of fate
On the morning of August 8, 2000, 55-year-old Zhu Shuibao got up as usual, went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and prepared breakfast for the family, a habit that Zhu Shuibao has insisted on for many years, and every time she passes through this foggy grove, she will lift her spirits.
Zhu Shuibao felt that this was the most ordinary day, but fate seemed to be so elusive, and the intertwining of Zhu Junlong and her fate in the dark not only changed Zhu Junlong's life, but also changed Zhu Shuibao.
Somehow, today's Zhu Shuibao felt that she had lost the spirit of the past, and the whole person walked forward in a daze, and when passing through the woods, she seemed to hear the sound of the baby crying, she laughed self-deprecatingly, and began to reflect on whether she had not slept well last night, and she was hallucinating.
Gradually, Zhu Shuibao realized that something was not right, the sound was not like an illusion, but bigger and bigger, more and more real, with curiosity and incomprehension, Zhu Shuibao followed the sound to find a baby in an inconspicuous corner.
Zhu Shuibao looked at the baby, he did not look big, at most for a few months, and then, a note containing the baby basket confirmed Zhu Shuibao's idea, which said that the child was born on August 1, 2000.
After all, Zhu Shuibao was a mother, and after seeing the child, he immediately decided to take the child home and raise it well, and then inquire about the child's parents to see if he could find the child's biological parents.
After carefully examining the child, Zhu Shuibao was more firm in this idea, the child's body was full of prickly heat, and even the skin had begun to flow pus and rot, at that time Zhu Shuibao had only one thought in his mind, that is, to find a way to save the child.
After Zhu Shuibao took the child home, he took care of it carefully, insisted on taking medicine every day, and raised it for a week, the prickly heat on the child's body gradually disappeared, and Zhu Shuibao's hanging heart also followed, except for one thing that made her feel strange that the child was very dark.
There is a saying in Pudong, Shanghai, that no matter how a child is born, washing will always turn white, and Zhu Shuibao did not think much about it, thinking that it was just an ordinary child. It wasn't until the time the child was about to be vaccinated that the doctor at the hospital found out that it was a mixed race.
Zhu Shuibao, who had never seen a mixed-race child for most of her life, suddenly panicked, in her understanding, mixed blood meant that the child was not Chinese blood, it was unhealthy, she hurriedly asked the doctor what kind of blood was mixed, whether there was any harm.
The doctor patiently explained to Zhu Shuibao the meaning of mixed blood, and told her that this was a mixture of Chinese and black people, and there were no signs of disease or health at present, zhu Shuibao was relieved.
Although the child's physical problem is not a big problem, but then the child's life has become a big problem that plagues Zhu Shuibao, originally the old couple can barely survive by relying on their meager wages and the money they usually sell waste, and now they have another child.
The child is still too young, need to drink milk powder every day, the price of a can of milk powder is thirty or forty yuan, Zhu Junlong, who has a large appetite, can eat a can in two or three days, you know, Zhu Shuibao can only sell for thirty or forty yuan in the old cartons saved up by Zhu Shuibao for a whole month.
A huge pressure was placed on the old couple, and the family also had some rejection of this mixed-race child of unknown origin, and they all wanted to find his biological parents and send him back to where he should go.
But Zhu Shuibao suddenly developed a courage: "No matter what, he is a life!" Whether he is black or white, no one can casually send the child elsewhere, this child I have raised! Having said that, Zhu Shuibao is still looking for parents for the child, and if the child's parents change their minds and can't find him, they will be very anxious.
This mixed-race child stayed in the Zhu family for another month, during which Zhu Shuibao had been trying to find his biological parents for him, and she had exhausted almost all methods, handing out leaflets, asking friends, and even reporting the case and asking the police for help, but nothing was found.
The child's parents seem to evaporate out of thin air, no one can hear their news, helpless Zhu Shuibao can only continue to take on the heavy responsibility of raising the child, during which neighbors and friends also do their best to help the old man, buy breakfast to send more than a bun, or buy waste when giving a few dollars, or give Zhu Shuibao the clothes that the children at home can't wear, this "black baby" grew up in an alternative "hundred family meals".
Can't send it, and it's hard to say
Zhu Shuibao had three children under his knees, and the younger son married a virtuous Jiangxi sister, the two were kind and loving, the only pity was that they could not conceive a child, and the two gradually began to treat this "black baby" as their own son.
After the younger son is paid, he will always buy him some delicious food, and the daughter-in-law also loves this child, and this child also has his own name - Zhu Junlong, perhaps a kind couple who is favored by heaven, and the daughter-in-law who has not been pregnant for four years finally has a child.
The couple named the boy Zhu Junhu, which coincided with Zhu Junlong to form the meaning of dragon and tiger leap, hoping that they would be able to do something when they grew up. Zhu Shuibao also gave them nicknames, Zhu Junlong was called Baby, and Zhu Junhu was called Beibei.
The couple also gradually took on the burden of raising Zhu Junlong, the old two were able to breathe a sigh of relief, the time was hurried, Zhu Junlong soon reached the age of going to school, but because there was no household registration, he could not go to the local school, which became a big problem for Zhu Shuibao's family.
To this end, Zhu Shuibao and his young son's family ran south and north, hoping to solve the problem of children going to school as soon as possible, after all, they missed the grade and then went to school to keep up with the process, but it backfired, and Zhu Shuibao, who had been running for half a month, still could not solve this problem.
In desperation, Zhu Shuibao could only discuss with the couple to send him to the welfare home: "We can no longer delay the child's schooling, Zhu Junlong can only settle down in the school to study in the welfare home, and it is not a big deal to pick him up again in a few years." ”
Having said that, Zhu Shuibao was not willing to give up this grandson, but the facts were in front of him, and he had to make this decision, and after hesitating for a few days, Zhu Shuibao still took his grandson to a children's welfare home in Mindong, Shanghai on September 13, 2004.
Although I heard that the children here can successfully enroll in school, but the pain of separation made Zhu Shuibao can't laugh, when he arrived at the door of the welfare home, Zhu Junlong also felt that something was wrong, grabbed his grandmother's leg and did not let go, and even cried loudly: "I don't want to go, I want to go home." ”
Seeing Zhu Junlong crying, Zhu Shuibao couldn't bear to cry anymore, Zhu Junlong saw that his grandmother was also crying, more and more he felt that it was not right, the crying became louder and louder, and his mouth shouted over and over again, Daddy, Mom, Grandma, don't you want me.
The growing cries shattered Zhu Shuibao's inner defenses, and she could no longer send her grandson to the welfare home, which could not confirm Zhu Junlong's nationality after checking the situation, could not adopt, and had no choice but to let them go home and wait for news.
Zhu Shuibao, who originally hoped that Zhu Junlong would enter the welfare home, laughed from the bottom of his heart when he heard the news, and quickly picked up Zhu Junlong, while comforting the child, he said to the dean: "Alas, alas, it is good." ”
After saying that, she took Zhu Junlong away and grabbed the shuttle bus home, afraid that the dean would run over and say that Zhu Junlong could enter the welfare home, at this time Zhu Shuibao only had one thought, that is, no matter what, Zhu Junlong could not leave him.
On the way home for three hours, Zhu Shuibao had been clinging to Zhu Junlong's small hand, and when they got home, everyone was relieved, as if they had gotten rid of something terrible, and the family looked at the reunited Zhu Junlong and Zhu Junhu and smiled at each other.
According to Zhu Shuibao's later recollections, when the family decided to send Zhu Junlong to a welfare home, they were silent, and Grandpa, who had experienced decades of wind and rain, even cried out, although not a biological child, but the nurturing feelings of several years had made them regard Zhu Junlong as their own.
From isolation to no difference from ordinary people
The child is back, but the problem of going to school is still not solved, in order to let the child have school, Zhu Shuibao and the couple continue to run up and down, all the offices in Shanghai have their presence, has been running for a year or two to get Zhu Junlong's account down.
After going to school, Zhu Junlong began to slowly contact his peers, but he soon found a problem, the children around him did not seem to want to play with him, Zhu Junlong as long as he ran to find other children, they ran away, which made Zhu Junlong very helpless.
Fortunately, Zhu Junlong met a teacher who was good at observation, and after his teacher found this problem, he led Zhu Junlong to his classmates during the class, let them touch Zhu Junlong's palms one by one, and said to them: "Look, you are all the same skin, there is no difference." ”
With the help of the teacher, slowly some students began to try to make friends with Zhu Junlong, and as Zhu Junlong made the first friend, everyone gradually put aside their prejudices about Zhu Junlong and played together.
Later, Zhu Junlong went to junior high school, after contacting new peers, there will still be people who look at Zhu Junlong with doubtful eyes, but at this time, Zhu Junlong is not as helpless as before, but he took the initiative to contact his classmates, and told them that he and his brother are his mother's children, but his skin color is a little dark.
Everyone slowly accepted Zhu Junlong, and looking at him was no different from looking at ordinary people, but only Zhu Junlong himself understood that he was not related to his relatives at home at all, and he began to realize that his skin color may have originated from distant Africa after learning geographical knowledge.
Zhu Junlong did not tell his family about this, but silently endured this trouble that did not belong to his own age.
Until one day, Zhu Junlong finally couldn't bear it, and asked this question to his grandmother, Zhu Shuibao was first stunned for a few seconds, and then said to Zhu Junlong, You are indeed not your parents' biological children, you and Junhu are picked up.
The daughter-in-law also reacted when she heard Zhu Shuibao's words, and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, you and Junhu were picked up by Grandma, and Grandma is the best for you two, you must listen to Grandma's words." ”
After Zhu Shuibao heard his daughter-in-law's words, he looked at his daughter-in-law with a look of approval, and her daughter-in-law also understood that everyone in the family loved Zhu Junlong the same, Zhu Junlong only knew good and bad, since grandma was so good to herself and Junhu, then the rest didn't matter.
It is also after experiencing this incident that the family attaches more importance to the love of the military dragon and the tiger, giving them gifts must be exactly the same, buying yogurt also needs to be a box per person, and even the porridge is exactly the same, in order to let the two children understand that in addition to the skin color, you two are the same.
The little junhu also made efforts in order not to make his brother sad, he understood that his brother had always been angry about his different skin colors, so he planned to go black with his brother, he began to refuse to take a bath, after being taught by his mother, he began to bask in the sun every day, after a summer vacation, junhu black chased Zhu Junlong, and grandma couldn't tell the two grandchildren after seeing it.
Skin color does not affect filial piety
Zhu Junlong grew up slowly under the careful care of Zhu Shuibao and his parents, and his tall and muscular body of one meter and eight meters gradually showed his genes belonging to black people, but his fluent Shanghainese dialect made him seem out of place.
Zhu Shuibao's family also slowly changed with time, the family's old house was demolished, Zhu Shuibao successfully divided into six houses, she gave her two sons two sets each, kept one set for herself, and the last set was given to her black grandson Zhu Junlong.
Later, the old man planned to sell the house where he lived, take the money to buy a house close to his children, and also have daily contacts to see his grandchildren. However, what the old man did not expect was that when she sold the house, the children secretly took all the money behind her back, and did not want to return the money to the old man afterwards.
The old man did not expect that his own children who had been taking care of him for decades would actually do such a thing, Zhu Shuibao's house and money were gone, he suddenly became a lonely and miserable person, and his children did not want to take care of her.
At this moment, Zhu Junlong, who heard the news, took his grandmother to his residence, and Zhu Junlong's behavior surprised Zhu Shuibao, whose own children were actually not as good as their unrelated grandsons.
Zhu Junlong comforted his grandmother: "This was originally the house that Grandma gave me, Grandma you moved in is a matter of course, and in the future, I will buy a bigger house to make Grandma live more comfortably." ”
Zhu Junlong's words made Zhu Shuibao cry silently, lamenting that he had a good life and that he would have grandchildren to take care of him in his later years. But this is all brought about by Zhu Shuibao's kindness, and the good deeds of twenty-one years ago have kept Zhu Junlong alive, and twenty-one years later, Zhu Junlong has proved with his actions that gratitude has nothing to do with kinship and skin color.
Zhu Junlong is willing to use his solid arms to shield his grandmother from the wind and rain, take care of his life, just like Zhu Shuibao twenty-one years ago, firmly leaving himself and taking care of himself, and the kindness of mankind allows the two people to establish an unbreakable relationship between grandmother and grandson across blood.