At about 10:00 a.m. on February 10, in Xinzheng Street, Changsha City, Hunan Province, the 87-year-old Yi Jiufan raised a firecracker and waited for "distinguished guests" in front of his home — his 101-year-old sister Yi Shuyuan will take her children back to her mother's house to pay respects to the New Year as in previous years.
Despite her mobility problems, her sister, who lives near Nanhu Road, returns to her brother's side with her children every year to reunite with her extended family. Her parents died early, and her brother became her mother's family.
The sister and brother have a deep affection, and when the sister has 5 children, she still saves her own food stamps and daily necessities as much as possible to leave to her younger brother to maintain her living standards. Yi Jiufan has always been grateful for this. Therefore, after retirement, the local Yijiu clan, known as a "tourist master", often took his sister out to play with him. Not only that, he has also sent New Year blessing red envelopes to his sister for 41 consecutive years.
Today's firecrackers are in accordance with local customs to celebrate the sister's 101-year-old age, "it is not easy to come once." However, although she is over 100 years old, Yi Shuyuan is still very energetic, and from time to time she and her brother start a family routine and recall the past.
After experiencing the era of war and chaos, the eldest sister raised 5 children alone and helped her younger siblings
At noon on February 10, Yi Jiufan and Yi Shuyuan and their respective children had dinner at a hotel near their home, and when they came out, it was already raining lightly, and Yi Shuyuan slowly walked back with the support of her son and daughter. During the meal, the sister's coat was accidentally stained with oil, and the children wanted to clean her up, but the clothes were broken as soon as the zipper was pulled open, and the sister called out "ventilation", but the children tossed and turned for half a day and did not get it right, regretting that they should not buy the old man a dress that was troublesome to wear, and had to zipper and button. The sister-in-law, Yi Jiufan's wife, brought hot water and smiled, "This dress is for our young people to wear!" ”
Although she and Yi Jiufan are also octogenarians.
Yi Jiufan's parents died early, and his parents had eight cells in their own lives, but at that time, after experiencing the war and chaos years, although several big brothers and sisters escaped from death several times, in the end, only Yi Jiufan and the two sisters survived. "At the time of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, more than 400 people who came to take refuge in my ancestral hall took refuge, and six of their families left in half a year." Yi Jiufan recalled.
Yi Shuyuan had already married in Changsha at that time, made shoes with her husband, and returned to her hometown to take refuge with her during the War of Resistance. After the war, as the eldest sister, she not only took care of her own family, but also helped her younger siblings as much as possible. "Her husband died early, left in his forties, and had five children to raise. When it came to the New Year, our township was tight with supplies, so she saved the food stamps for those New Year goods and helped us celebrate the New Year. Every year, I also made shoes for my family, and there were 12 pairs of shoes in one year. She also has difficulties, she has to make shoes to feed 5 cubs. Recalling the emotional place, Yi Jiufan's eyes burst into tears.
Later, he became an independent family, his life gradually improved, and he would help his sister from time to time. One of Yi Shuyuan's sons talked about the days when Zhiqing lived in the uncle's house when he went to the countryside and was well taken care of.
This is how the three sisters came to each other to help each other. In recent years, Yi Jiufan's second sister has been unable to move due to a fall, and everyone has become less moving, but every time this kind of party, it is also necessary to make a video call to see each other and understand the recent situation.
Every year, the extended family gathers together and hopes that they will have a good life with each other
The 87-year-old Yi Jiufan is very "trendy", not only using his own smart phone smoothly, but also often teaming up to teach the elderly nearby how to use it. He is also a well-known local "travel expert", has been reported by the media many times, and since the age of 60, he has traveled almost all over the world. The walls and shelves are filled with records and photographs of his travels.
And the sister Yi Shuyuan loves to be lively, Yi Jiufan often takes her out to play, Beijing, Jiangxi, Sichuan, etc., running a lot of places. It was also a way for him to give feedback to his sister and take her out to meet the local customs.
But now that they are older, they basically stop running out, that is, they visit each other during the New Year's Festival. Every New Year's party, Yi Shuyuan will bring a big son over to play with Yi Jiufan's big son, like their children, these younger ones, will drive to the KTV opened by Yi Jiufan's son to sing, and this pair of sisters and brothers will sit around the fire at home, nagging and chatting about the past.
During the small talk, the sister leaned a little to her brother's side and asked, "You still live on the first floor, and you want to live on the first floor." This year, due to the inconvenience of the sister-in-law's legs and feet, the brother's two sons moved down from the upper floor.
"Every year they meet, when they are older, they are all talking about their wishes for good health, family happiness, and children's work, and the sister expects the younger brother to be good, and the younger brother expects the sister to be healthy." Anyway, they are happy with each other! Yi Shuyuan's son said.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Wu Chen Xingzi