The last entrenchment in life – death reports from an ordinary family

Before they died, they counted life inch by inch, slammed into the gate of destiny, and even in the face of death, they were full of hope, and they refused to give up the last struggle for life...

On January 30, 1996, I interviewed a very ordinary family in Gonghe Street, Central District, Jinan City, Shandong Province.

The protagonists are Zhou Yue, a young worker at the Mulan Motorcycle Engine Branch of Jinan Light Riding Group Corporation, and his elderly grandmother. This is an unfortunate family, it turned out to be a family of five, Zhou Yue's parents and brothers took their lives because of sudden disasters, but the courage and true feelings shown by this ordinary family in the face of bad luck really make us admire.

A good man who had others in his heart to die was gone. In The Third Middle School of Yu County, Jinan City, people still deeply miss a teacher named Zhou Dingyu.

Teacher Zhou is tall and tall, with a head of 1.83 meters. He was already a celebrity in Jinan when he was less than one year old.

In April 1937, when he turned 10 months old, he was carried by his parents to participate in the Jinan Infant health competition and won the championship, and his photo appeared in the newspaper and placed in the window of the city's large and small photo studios. His dream from childhood was to become a doctor. However, in 1958, after graduating from the Biology Department of Shandong Normal University like all the young people of his generation, he responded to the call of the state to teach at a middle school in Yuxian County, and worked for 20 years. At that time, YuXian was just a small street in the countryside, and the oil lamp in his 8-square-meter hut was always lit late. Mr. Zhou read a lot of books during that lonely night, which made him an all-round teacher: in addition to high school physics and chemistry, he also taught Chinese, art, and physical education. This handsome, gentle and elegant teacher was very popular with the students, and the songs he composed were still sung by the students. However, his favorite book was the medical book, and he made a small medicine box by himself, bought medicine with his usual frugal money, and became a doctor who did not take anything. In his words, there is nothing better in life than to help others out of pain, which seems to be his life's motto. Mr. Zhou learned to take photography with the school's Seagull 120 camera, volunteered to take commemorative photos of new students and graduations for the school, and almost all the photos of his home were taken by him.

This teacher beloved by the students could not withstand the earnest retention of the students and the school, and repeatedly gave up the opportunity to return to Jinan to reunite with his wife and end the separation of the two places.

Like all intellectuals of his time, he lived a difficult but fulfilling life. A monthly salary of $50 was paid until 1980. It was this meager income that he sent 20 yuan to his wife and 5 yuan to his parents, and the rest of the money was used to buy books and medicines except for extremely frugal living expenses. He often said that he was a spiritual aristocrat because these books sustained him throughout his life. After his death in 1980, his wives and children burst into tears as they sorted out their belongings, and apart from books or books, there were only two large jars, one for the wheat used by the school to cover his salary, and the other for his pickles. He never went to the canteen to eat, always eating pickles and drinking a bowl of wheat porridge at every meal; He never wore a new piece of clothing, all the clothes and shoes were picked up by his father and brother-in-law, and he never gave him clothes that did not fit well. In the summer of 1980, Zhou Dingyu received an order to return to Shandong Normal College To teach, and he could finally end his separation life, however, more than 20 years of poverty and hardship made him pay too much price, and the sallow and haggard face made his wife anxious. When I asked, I realized that he had been in pain in his liver area for a long time. On September 16, the whole family accompanied him to the hospital for examination, and the result was advanced liver cancer! The wife gritted her teeth and helped her husband home, saying to the young child: Dad is very tired, he has been tired for 20 years, now let us take care of him, no one is allowed to make him angry. Teacher Zhou also sighed: "I am no longer afraid of delaying the train, I am really tired, I really need to take a break, and then I have to go to class better and teach me physics and chemistry well." In front of their fathers, the children were still innocent: "Dad, we have someone to tutor and study, and someone to play a beautiful guitar for us." Zhou Dingyu's guitar plays very well, and the children love to listen. One day, Teacher Zhou was playing when suddenly a string broke. He took his wife's hand and said that he wanted to take a turn around Jinan City, "For more than 20 years, there are many places in Jinan that I am very unfamiliar with, but it is my birthplace!" On September 26, the family wore neat new clothes, the wife used a bicycle to push her husband to walk in the streets and alleys of Jinan, stopping and walking, Zhou Dingyu watched greedily, the eldest son Zhou Ting, 8 years old, and zhou Yue, the younger son of 5 years old, tightly surrounded their father, their eyes full of innocence and sadness. Looking at the governor's children, Zhou Dingyu secretly said to his wife: I beg you not to tell my children about my illness, they are too young. The wife suppressed tears: "Who said you are sick, you are just too tired and need to rest!" Zhou Dingyu smiled happily: "Really? I hope so!" The wife told her son behind her husband's back: "No one is allowed to talk about half a sick word in front of her father in the future, let alone have a single tear." Sure enough, the hut was always full of laughter, the sons were docile and obedient, and the father laughed continuously; although he was sometimes sweating profusely in pain and even his voice changed tone, he still faced the child kindly and always gave the child a kind of comfort: "Son, in two days, My father will go to class, otherwise I am sorry for Jinan." The sons rushed to say, "Dad, you will be fine, you can teach us both now, we are also children in Jinan!" The husband and wife, the father and the son, so hidden the illness, the sons thought that the father was still in the dark, but the father forced a smile not to let the sons worry about his pain. Until 6 p.m. on November 27, 1980, Zhou Dingyu left, and his wife and children found that the chapter of "Liver Cancer" in a thick medical book under his pillow had been sharpened: he was a college student who knew medicine! The wives and children cried for days and nights, and let go of the sorrow they had endured for more than two months, and they lost a selfless father, a good person who did not want to leave his grief to others until death.

Zhou Dingyu was born plain, lived an ordinary life, but walked very solemnly. The colleagues who rushed from Yucheng to hear the news, the students who rushed back from all over the country, and even the principal of the Teacher's Affiliated High School that he did not attend the class that day also came, and everyone remembered his simplicity and kindness, remembered his selfless love, his indifference and peace, and his generosity and forbearance... A good man who had others in his heart to die was gone.

The devil hovered beside the good mother again.

Zhou Dingyu's wife, Sun Zhaolan, is a beautiful woman, an only child, a pearl in her mother's eyes. When she married Zhou Dingyu, she would not do housework, and all she could give to her husband was a loyal and kind heart. Zhou Dingyu lived in Yucheng, she raised her two sons alone, and what she missed most was Saturday, when her husband hurried home, rain or shine, always bringing grain and small gifts for his wife and children: a piece of sugar cake, a few eggs, and a few fructose. Her biggest heartache was that on Sundays, her husband always cleaned his room and then reluctantly embarked on his way home. She remembered the last time her husband pushed the flatbed truck to buy coal, he had no strength to push the cart home, and he had to sit on the curb and look at the figure she was looking for, his eyes full of timid apologies. Now, the industrious husband who could play the guitar was gone, and there were no longer broad shoulders to lean on.

The days were too difficult, Sun Zhaolan wrote a letter to his mother with tears, the mother sighed at the misfortune of her daughter, did not say a word, resolutely cut down the hundred-year-old tree at the door, along with the ancestral family house, a bedside table and two wooden boxes all sold, carrying a few hundred yuan hurried to Jinan. The loving mother's hands wrapped around her desperate daughter: "Son, if I have a mouthful of food to eat, I will not let your mother-in-law cut off the cooking!" Three generations of grandchildren began a difficult life. At that time, Sun Zhaolan was less than 40 years old, and she was extremely attractive for her modesty and beauty, but she rejected many suitors. She learned to do many things, to support the family and raise her sons. She tells her children the most about compassion and how to help others. The eldest son, Zhou Ting, who grew up in this environment, is helpful and empathetic, and neighbors, classmates or colleagues always ask him for help. In July 1987, Zhou Ting graduated from junior high school, and with his grades, there was hope for him to go to high school and then go to college, but he put aside the dream of reading, facing the actual life, he said to his mother: "I am the eldest, it is time for me to share something for my mother, let my brother read, I want him to go to middle school and college."

Looking at the governor's son, Sun Zhaolan seemed to see the clear figure of her husband——— as tall, as careful and thoughtful, as calm and serene, which was the bloodline of Zhou Dingyu, the confirmation left by a good man walking in the world. She put her arms around her son and cried bitterly, what could be more proud of her than having a sensible son? The grandmother said to Sun Zhaolan with tears: "You have finally survived!" Yes, these years have gotten better day by day, Zhou Ting has grown into a tall and handsome young man, he fell in love with a beautiful girl, looking at the figure in and out of the pair, the mother's heart was full of comfort. But she never expected disaster to come to her.

In early 1992, she first felt discomfort in her left breast, then she felt a lump, she secretly went to the hospital, it was cancer again, and the devil who killed her husband came again! The mother fought the devil alone, suffering alone, until one night, she rolled in pain, alarming the eldest son, Zhou Ting rushed to help her mother: "Mom, where do you hurt?" I find you very abnormal these days!" The mother smiled palely, "Don't think about it, your mother won't be sick!" As if again, the mother tried to hide from her son. Zhou Ting also seems to "believe" that his mother is not sick, but he honors his mother as much as possible, every time he eats, his mother always has one more dish in front of him, and a fried egg is buried under the rice, but every time the family always pushes me to let ... On April 7, 1992, When Sun Zhaolan was close to surgery, she summoned her son and said with tears in her eyes: "Son, my mother is ready to go to the operating table, my mother has breast cancer, I don't know if I can pass this pass, no matter what, my mother is reluctant to you!" The sons all cried, and Zhou Ting took out a few hundred yuan: "Mom, don't worry, with our brothers, you are safe!" The young worker, whose salary was only a few tens of yuan, took out his savings for several years.

This is the same scene more than ten years ago, Zhou Ting used a bicycle to drive his mother, the mother was so quietly lying on his wide back, the younger son Zhou Yue tightly tugged on the corner of his mother's clothes, afraid that his mother would give up, they crossed the city of Jinan, the sons deliberately let the mother see the scenery of Jinan.

Surgery was done, but the cancer cells have metastasized. In September 1992, a second surgery was performed. After that, every day, Zhou Ting rode his mother to the Western Cancer Hospital on a bicycle, a journey of more than two hours back and forth. It was the best and most comfortable time for a mother, and she could rest her tired head on her son's solid and broad back, day after day. She suddenly felt that she had relied on ——— and this was a gap of 12 years! She remembers that when her son was young, every day was a mother lying on the window waiting for work, especially in the cold winter evening, the brothers snuggled closely under the dim street lamp, watching their mother's return. When they saw the figure of their mother, the little brothers pounced on it, one of them grabbed one of their mother's hands, and the mother and daughter walked home intimately, year after year, month after month, day after day, that endless affection! Mother and son had many exchanges on the way to the cancer hospital, and the most talked about was life and death. Once my mother looked at the blue sky with great affection and said to herself, "I really want to live, but I am also satisfied, I have lived very well." The son immediately shook his mother's hand: "Mom, we can't live without you, your heart is good, and you will live to be a hundred years old!" The mother gently patted her son and said very firmly: "Mom will definitely be able to hold on, and her greatest wish in life is to live to see you marry your daughter-in-law."

This became the mother's life expectation, and she gritted her teeth and stood up. Her condition improved, her mother became religious, went to church every Sunday, and in a glimmer of mercy, she prayerfully wished all ordinary people peace in their lives. Countless chemotherapy, radiation therapy, the mother stood up; Vomiting violently, hair falling off like straw, the mother lived with amazing perseverance. She didn't have the slightest bit of decadence and sorrow.

She went, there was her beloved husband and eldest son On September 3, 1993, Sun Zhaolan staggered home, his pale face leaning on the door frame, and said "Yue'er, Ting'er is burned" and passed out. Disaster has once again befallen the family.

Zhou Ting was working in the workshop this day, when he suddenly heard a "bang", the fire filled the entire workshop, and people rushed to the door in terror. Zhou Ting, who had already run out, heard someone shouting, saw that there were several female workers inside, and did not even think about it and rushed into the fire again. He saw an oil drum, if it exploded, it must be a bigger disaster, he desperately moved the oil drum to no one's place, but the oil drum still exploded, he was swept away by the high heat wave... Zhou Ting's burns covered an area of 98, leaving only the skin on the top of his head and the center of his feet.

After Sun Zhaolan woke up, she struggled to rush to the hospital, where her son lay with hope in life. The medical staff did not let her see her son's tragic condition, she could only watch in the corridor outside her son's ward all night, who advised her not to leave, she held the cold wall and whimpered: "Son, you must hold on, your mother must watch you get married, otherwise your mother will not be blind!" Zhou Yueyi watched his brother day and night, and the child was precocious, as if he had become an adult, and he comforted his mother from time to time and brought her some "good" news. He said, Mom, don't worry about your brother's fever, the doctor said that the fever is a good sign, indicating that he still has resistance. When Zhou Ting was sober, he always talked about his mother and grandmother, and he said, "Brother, you told my mother that I can't use my bicycle to see a doctor for the time being, and my illness will be better immediately, so let my mother wait." He also said: "When I can move, I will go to recuperation, take my mother with me, let her enjoy the blessings of her son..." These words were sent to the mother's ear again and again, and the mother stopped crying, she said: "Son, your illness will be fine, your mother can't leave you, and my mother still has to hold her grandson!" Zhou Ting was really homesick, and he often said over and over again: "Brother Yue, put on my pants, I want to go home." Seeing that he was really thinking bitterly, Zhou Yue moved his legs, "Get dressed." In this way, Zhou Ting could be quiet for a while, like returning to his dream home. Going home, becoming Zhou Ting's analgesic, even the doctor wondered about the weight of home in Zhou Ting's heart.

However, the situation is getting worse and worse every day, and the doctor tells Zhou Yue the bad news again and again: the infection has expanded, the body temperature has dropped... Zhou Ting's eyes widened, the most he talked about his brother was his mother, what Zhou Yue was touched by was that his brother buried so much shame in his heart at the last moment of his life, he said that he could not cure his mother's last words were: "I am about to fall to the bottom!" On November 2, 1993, Zhou Ting left. To this day, the people he once loved and loved him can't forget him. His girlfriend had not been able to come out of her grief for a long time and had not been in love. It was the night zhou ting left that my mother knelt down all night and said to Zhou Yue with tears: "The more you are, the more you are left." This word was like a prophecy to Zhou Yue. Unable to withstand the blow, the mother underwent a third operation, but the hateful cancer cells were already piling up in the chest cavity, fissioning wildly, devouring a woman's life. In her final days, she resolutely returned home to spend her last days with her mother and son. She said: "Such a good life is not long, let me be a good daughter and a good mother!" But she couldn't get better, the summer was hot, her skin began to fester, the tumor invaded the trachea, and she could only sit all day, and finally she couldn't even get a drip. She knew that the last moment had arrived, so she cried and said to her mother, "Mom, I am afraid that my daughter will not be able to fulfill her filial piety in this life, let me repay you in the next life!" She said to her younger son, "Yue'er, your mother has left you nothing in this life, and your mother can only go to heaven to bless you!" Zhou Yue knelt down: "Mom, the love you left me, I can't use it in my life" On the day of my mother's third surgery, Zhou Yue's friends and classmates automatically organized and lined up, and every day someone was waiting by her side, they said: "Let's all share the mother's love, and let the mother have more children's feelings!" On August 8, 1994, her mother, Sun Zhaolan, left, and her last words were: "It's good to be alive!" She entered the kingdom of heaven, where she had her beloved husband and son. Zhou Yue buried his father, mother and brother together in the Changshenglin Cemetery on the eastern outskirts of Jinan City, and he brought some refined bronze chariots and aircraft models to his brother who liked weapons——— which were indispensable toys for the brothers since childhood.

In the days that followed, Zhou Yue and his grandmother depended on each other. He and his friends repainted the house, as white as new. Every day he helped his grandmother walk slowly down the street, and everyone around him said that this was really a careful and kind man. Zhou Yue never nagged others about the injustice of fate, he just said: "What life is, is to go forward and succeed, is to feel the love of the world to the fullest, people cannot come to the world in vain, I want to be like my parents and brothers, bring love to the world."