Late one night, a villager's mobile phone in Minglangsi Village, Shixiang Town, suddenly rang - a WeChat voice call: "Dad, I saw the video introducing you, which reminds me of when I was a child, you carried a kit, razor, scissors, and went out to shave people's heads." Thank you for your dedication to us..."
It was none other than Li Jinde, the shaver in Minglang temple village. The voice call came from his eldest daughter, Li Na, who had worked in the United States for several years.
The eldest daughter, Li Na, works in the United States.
"I'm a monkey, 65 years old, I've been touching a razor since I was 14 years old, and I've been doing it for 51 years this year." Li Jinde said proudly, "It is by virtue of this humble old craft that I gave 3 children to 2 college students, one of whom is still a master's degree and works in the United States." The tasks of life are completed, worthy of parents and worthy of the next generation. Now that I think about it, my heart is very exciting! ”
Li Jinde relied on the art of shaving his head to raise 3 children into 2 college students.
At a young age, he was blinded and bullied, and the poor child was in charge of the family, and he learned the craft from his master at the age of 14
In rural areas, it is not very common for a family of 3 children to give up two college students, especially if one of them is still working in the United States. And such a story happened in the ordinary peasant family Li Jinde's home.
In front of the shaving head, by cutting hair, trimming faces to make a living, the income is meager, why can cultivate excellent offspring, this has to mention Li Jinde's childhood experience.
"My grandfather's generation was not good, and at that time, the family felt inferior everywhere they went." Li Jinde recalled that until now, he remembers that his family was blinded and bullied by others.
"Baby, you have to grow up quickly and support your family, or you will have a hard time in the future." His mother had told Lee Jinde this.
Catching up with the years when there was not enough to eat and wear, Li Jinde and his brothers and sisters understood early on that the children of the poor were in charge of the family early, and they must fight for anger and reduce the burden on the family as soon as possible.
At the age of 14, Li Jin had to follow his family to the ancient meeting, and he found that the art of shaving his head "had a way out".
"You don't need to do it, you can learn the craft." Carry a set of things, go wherever you go. Lee Jin had to think about it and decided to learn to shave his head.
"In order to make a living, I always take advantage of the time after school to learn my craft." Li Jinde introduced, "The master is tireless and teaches hand in hand. I am a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, and at the beginning I started shaking my hands, gritted my teeth and practiced a few times, and then I 'went on the road'. Because I was anxious, I could 'go to work' one day earlier and reduce the burden on my family one day earlier. ”
In this way, the 16-year-old Li Jin had to officially "go out of the school", which was 51 years.
Lee Jin had to trim and massage the customers.
"The fate of the previous generation, we can not control, the fate of the next generation can be changed through reading." Only by studying hard and working hard can the whole family have hope. ”
There are more old-fashioned shaving services than the current barbershop: cutting hair, washing hair, shaving face, trimming, shaving ears, massaging scalp, pounding shoulders, such a set of "super VIP" services to do, a customer will spend more than half an hour, but Li Jinde has never "cut corners".
It was through this craft that Li Jinde was introduced in 1995 and was "dug" to a coal mine in Qinghai Province as a full-time shaving master.
"Although I am thousands of miles away from home, I still want to break in for the sake of making a living." Li Jinde said that what he did not expect was that this experience had promoted a change in the fate of the entire family.
During the work, I saw the workers in the mining area living every day with their lives tied to the waistband of their pants, worrying about the days of fear, and even many people worried that they would never be able to return to the ground again. This situation made Li Jinde worry involuntarily.
"We who were born in the 50s, because of the times, experienced famine, were forced by life, and made a living early. What will the next generation of children do, and will they be like me, who can't get into the industry and make a living by selling their strength? Li Jinde had such a question in his heart. Soon after, he found the answer at a Spring Festival relative gathering.
When chatting with his brothers at home, Li Jinde learned that a cousin finished high school with pickles by relying on steamed buns, passed the college entrance examination and entered a prestigious university, realizing the "cold door out of the noble son". After graduation, he became a senior technical talent and entered an excellent work unit. The lucrative income suddenly changed the poor family situation.
The next generation of nephews and nieces are even more outstanding, some become university professors, some join the army in college, and their performance is exceptionally excellent.
The brother's words even more said to Li Jinde's heart: "The fate of the previous generation, we can not control, the fate of the next generation can be changed through reading." Only by studying hard and working hard can the whole family have hope. ”
When he got home, Li Jinde said to his children, "You must study hard, and wherever you read, I will provide for it!" ”
In order to earn the children's tuition, when he could not afford to buy bicycles at home, Li Jin had to carry a set of tools and washbasins, go out with the stars, go to Xinzheng and Kaifeng to catch up with the meeting, and arrive home late at night.
A set of guys Shi'er helped Li Jinde earn money to support his family.
A recliner has been following Li Jin for many years, and he is still reluctant to throw it away.
"My father always said that his family was poor and incapable of providing us with a superior living environment, but his words and deeds were the most precious assets of the family. His usual diligence, optimism and tenacity in difficult times have influenced me since I was a child, and when I was a teenager, I had my father as my example, and my hard work in getting up early and being greedy, and his every action he practiced was far better than a thousand sentences of nagging" Li Na said, the direction pointed out by his father made us take too many detours, and now, it turns out how wise my father was.
"If you love to read, can bear hardships, and dare to fight, not only can the family be revitalized, but the whole country will become strong."
"Although there are many ways to become a talent, studying and going to college is already the best one our generation has seen so far." Although reading is very hard, you can't stand the pain of reading, you have to suffer from life. Li Jinde said in a serious tone.
"With older brothers and sisters as role models, the whole extended family attaches great importance to education. In addition, the economic conditions of our family are not good, and the children also want to change the family, and they are very competitive and do their best to learn. Lee Jinde said.
In the end, both of the three children were admitted to higher education, the eldest daughter was hired by a large company as a graduate student to work in the United States, the younger daughter became an English teacher, and the younger son also started a successful business.
"Now, several of our old brothers sit together and chat, all sighing that from the former 'inferior' to the children now competing for talent, the big family of twenty or thirty people has got rid of the fate of sorrow and poverty, all because of the emphasis on education." Although we are from peasant backgrounds, we all understand that if we love to read, endure hardships, and dare to fight, not only can the family be revitalized, but the whole country will become strong. Li Jinde said that the country also has a history of humiliation, and now the whole society is advocating education, because everyone understands that backwardness will be beaten and bullied, and only education can strengthen the country, and the people can really stand up, get rich, and become strong!
Reporter | He Jingjing Proofreading | Book side
| Wang Rui, Chief Editor-in-Chief, | Zhao Fengli