I am 75 years old, my son graduated from graduate school and is a teacher in a high school in Shenzhen. My daughter graduated with a bachelor's degree and is a business manager of a company in Guangzhou, and she travels a lot, spending most of her time on planes and trains.
I don't see either of them all year round. worked hard to pull them up, tired all their lives, but the only thing they were with was their wife, a thin old man who couldn't read big characters and was only 1.65 meters tall.
My husband and I were introduced by a matchmaker. Before I got married, I just glanced at him a few times from the far ridge. At that time, my family composition was not very good, many people stayed away from us, and my husband's family was a third-generation poor farmer.
When I got married, there was only an adobe house and an old mother who had lost her eyes. My husband has never entered the school, although he doesn't know how to read, but it doesn't affect the ability to earn work and eat, and he is especially able to endure hardships.
At that time, every household washed the rice early in the morning, added water and put it in a basin, and brought it to the village boiler room to steam. After getting off work, I went back with a pot of porridge, cooked a large plate of pumpkin soup, and ate a meal.
After we got married, we had a son. Since he had to earn work every day, he had to put him in the cradle and let his blind mother-in-law help carry him.
When the child would run around, we locked him and his mother-in-law in the house to prevent him from running out, and the mother-in-law couldn't keep up with him.
My son has been very smart since he was a child, and when other children do addition within 10 and need to pull their fingers and toes, he already knows how to add and subtract within 100.
Many adults in the village still don't believe it, and when they finish work and enjoy the shade under the tree, they especially like to test him, and they really admire this kid at first glance.
Then we had another daughter. The son was so happy that he said that he had a little sister. He took care of his sister every day for his grandmother.
When his sister could walk, he took his sister everywhere every day to show off his might, saying that he would protect his sister in the future and prevent her from being bullied.
When my brother was doing his homework when I was a child, my sister studied with him, so we never worried about the study of our two children, and we didn't care about it. We're just going to earn money for them to go to school.
But the family is too poor, my husband and I earn work, have to support 5 people, and have to provide for 2 children to study, and life is tight.
Later, it was finally divided into households. My husband worked as a mason to earn money, and I farmed the land alone at home.
After my mother-in-law died, I was left with a woman with two young children. Those jobs that should be done by men, plowing the fields and picking rice, are all done by one person. As long as you can earn money to study for your son and daughter, no matter how hard and tired you are, it is worth it.
lived up to expectations, and his son was admitted to a 985 university and was sent to graduate school. Not to be outdone, my daughter was admitted to one. The villagers said that there was green smoke on our ancestral grave, and that my wife and I had raised such two children who were so promising, and my wife and I had a very bright face.
After graduating, my son went to Shenzhen to work as a teacher, and met a local girl, and they got married and settled down there. Five years later, my son was promoted to Dean of Teaching, and his work became even busier.
Her daughter works as a salesperson for a company in Guangzhou, and she spends all her energy on work. Because of his outstanding performance and good English, he was promoted to business manager after two years. Often flying around outside, flying from country to country.
The son-in-law is a doctor, and I heard that the salary is tens of thousands of yuan a month, and they also bought a house in Guangzhou and settled down.
Seeing that the two children are so promising, every time the wife chats with others in the village, she always takes out her son and daughter to brag about it, and the whole village is very envious, and the wife smiles from ear to ear.
But our troubles also came, as our son and daughter started a family outside the home, and gave birth to another child. Not only do they have to take care of their loved ones' parents, but they also have to take care of their children, help them with their homework, etc. They can't take care of us anymore.
My son and daughter once asked us to live in Shenzhen or Guangzhou, but we didn't want to go there, we didn't know anyone, and we didn't have a hometown to live at.
My son and daughter used to call me once a week, but as they got busier, the frequency of calls changed from one week to two weeks, then to one month, and now I haven't been videotaped in months.
However, they are still very filial, they will give us money every year, so that we can live without worry.
My wife and I are still farming, and we grow rice, vegetables, fruits, and rapeseed oil at home, and we only need to use money to buy some meat vegetables and daily necessities.
Now the rural policy is good, each elderly person has 1,500 yuan a year for living expenses, and my wife and I can receive 3,000 yuan a year. If you are sick, there is also NCMS, which can reimburse most of the medical expenses.
The Chinese New Year is coming next month, and the old black in the village said that his son's family will come back on the 26th of the lunar month, and he will come back with his daughter-in-law and grandchildren for the New Year. His son is also in Shenzhen, working as an engineer in a private company.
Lao Guang said that his daughter and son-in-law's family drove back on the 28th of the lunar month and would bring their two grandsons back for New Year's dinner. His daughter works as a seamstress in a garment factory in Zhejiang.
My wife and I were so envious of them that we called our son and daughter in the evening and asked them to come back for the Chinese New Year this year. They haven't been at home for 3 years.
After the phone was connected, my son said, "Mom, I may not be able to go back this year, the school has given me a new topic, and now I am doing preliminary research, and I have to hold meetings every day." Your grandson Wang Lei is in his third year of high school, and the school only has a week's vacation during the winter vacation, and we have to cook for him. ”
The son then said: "You and Dad buy more food during the New Year, and I'll give you 5,000 yuan later, you can buy whatever you want to eat, don't be reluctant to pay." Take care of yourself, I'll hang up first, and I still have to write teaching and research topics. ”
After answering his son's call, his wife sat on the side, looking very lost.
I hurriedly comforted him and said, "Don't we still have a daughter? I'll call my daughter right now and ask her family to come back for the New Year." ”
So, I called my daughter's phone, but no one answered. After waiting for more than an hour, my daughter called back, she said that she was having dinner with a customer just now, and her mobile phone was on mute, making it inconvenient to answer the phone.
I said, my wife and I want them to come back for the Chinese New Year, and let her bring our two grandchildren back to show us, we haven't seen them for two years.
The daughter didn't speak for a long time, paused, and said: "Mom, the general manager of our company, arrange for me to fly to Europe next week, there is a project to land there, and now is the critical moment for quotation, I want to go over to talk about cooperation with customers." ”
My wife listened to it and said unhappily: "You can't turn around if your company leaves, can't you send someone else over?"
The daughter said: "I have worked hard to win this project, and there must be no problems, otherwise my performance this year will be gone." ”
The daughter then said, "Dad, Mom, when I am on summer vacation this year, I will bring your two grandsons back to see you." Wait a minute, I'll give you 5,000 yuan, you can eat and buy whatever you want. If you don't have enough money, tell me and I'll call you right away. ”
After answering the phone calls from my son and daughter, my wife and I sat on the sofa for a long time without saying a word.
My eyes were moist, and I desperately tried to keep the tears from flowing out of my eyes.
The wife turned her face away and secretly wiped her tears.
The air in the room was suffocating......
After a long time, my wife finally stood up slowly, he walked over with a hobbled step, patted my shoulder with a hand full of earthworm-like blood vessels and calluses, and choked up: "Old woman, it seems that my son and daughter can't be counted on, and the only one you can count on in the future is me." I'm trying to live a little longer, to walk behind you, so that I can take care of you. ”
Looking at his wife's white hair, her face is covered with dense wrinkles, and her body is bent by the thin years.
At the age of 75, I realized that when people are old, their wives are relied on, and whether they are raising children or daughters, they are all raised for others.
Did you have a son or a daughter? or did you have it for someone else?
Dictation: Wang Xiangxiang / Written by: October sister next door
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