His name is Zhang Zhiyuan, and he went to the countryside as an educated youth at the age of 18. However, it was time to go home two years later, but the parents could not wait for the news of their son's return.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhiyuan, who was just 20 years old, gave up returning to his hometown, married a 31-year-old widow in the countryside, and raised 6 children who were not his own.
It is said that the reason why Zhang Zhiyuan married this widow was to repay the kindness of the widow's husband. What the hell is going on?
How is he doing now? Do you regret it?
The source of this article is from the literary magazine [Coconut City] Issue 3, 2018 (link attached at the end of the article). In order to improve the readability of the article, there may be polishing of the details, please read sensibly, for reference only!
The difficulty of educated youth going to the countryside
Zhang Zhiyuan was born in Chongqing into a family of intellectuals, his father was a university professor and his mother was a middle school teacher.
In 1972, Zhang Zhiyuan graduated from high school, just as the movement of intellectual youth to go to the mountains and countryside was in full swing. Zhang Zhiyuan, who cherished revolutionary ideals and enthusiasm, resolutely responded to the call.
He said goodbye to his parents, left the familiar city life, and stepped on the train to Nanjiang County, Sichuan Province.
However, when he first arrived in the township, Zhang Zhiyuan was faced with a completely new world.
Nanjiang County is located in a remote mountainous area, with inconvenient transportation and backward economy, so Zhang Zhiyuan was assigned to a small mountain village called Lugu to join the team.
The village was full of adobe houses, with no running water, no electric lights, and no washrooms and toilets to which he was accustomed in the city. The villagers work at sunrise and rest at sunset every day, living a farming life of slash-and-burn farming.
And this is a huge lifestyle change for Zhang Zhiyuan, who grew up in the city and has no worries about food and clothing.
The first problem he faced was accommodation.
The village gave him a simple adobe farmhouse with a leaky roof.
There was no furniture in the room except for a bed made of thick wooden planks.
At night, all kinds of mosquitoes swirled in his ears, and Zhang Zhiyuan had difficulty sleeping.
And the farm work made him suffer enough.
Zhang Zhiyuan had never worked in the field before, and when he picked up a hoe, he didn't even know the most basic movements.
When hoeing the soil, either you use too much force to turn up large pieces of soil, or the strength is not enough, and the hoe cannot go into the soil.
At the end of the day, everyone else was done, and his work had just begun.
At first, the villagers were able to give him patient guidance, but after a few days, they became impatient when they saw that he had not made any progress.
A kind family appeared
Zhang Zhiyuan felt very shameless, and secretly made up his mind that he must master the skills of farm work as soon as possible.
Fortunately, a villager named She Linhai gave him a lot of help.
The She family not only prepared a place for Zhang Zhiyuan, but She Linhai's wife, Hu Tingxiu, often sent him hot noodles.
She Linhai even taught Zhang Zhiyuan to do farm work, so that he quickly adapted to rural life.
Gradually, Zhang Zhiyuan and She Linhai became best friends.
Through contact with the She family, Zhang Zhiyuan also learned about the difficult situation of their family.
She Linhai has a family of 6 people, the old two plus 4 children.
The eldest son, She Yongfu, is 16 years old and is the pillar of the family.
The second son, She Yonggen, is 13 years old, which can be regarded as a half-grown child.
daughter She Fengying is 10 years old, and the youngest She Xiaoning is only 5 years old.
The family relied on She Linhai and his wife Hu Tingxiu, who worked diligently on a few acres of contracted land to make a living.
Although it is a few acres of land, the ground is half a stretch of stone and sand, and even if the wind and rain are smooth every year, the harvest is limited.
She Linhai also had to do some part-time jobs in other villages to earn some extra money, so that his family could barely maintain food and clothing.
Zhang Zhiyuan noticed that Hu Tingxiu's clothes were all patched old cotton clothes, and his shoes were worn out, and he didn't even make up for a new bottom.
The children go to school, and they can't even afford to buy new books and pencils. Seeing that the She family was so poor, Zhang Zhiyuan was deeply sympathetic.
As an educated youth from the city, although he lives a hard life, he has no worries about food and clothing.
He began to take the initiative to help the She family, share farm work, and buy gifts for the children, becoming the She family's closest friend.
However, misfortune struck suddenly.
She Linhai suddenly felt unbearable pain in his abdomen, so he went to the county hospital for examination. As soon as the results came out, it was like a bolt from the blue: pancreatic cancer was in the advanced stage.
Doctors told She that he might have only a few months left to live. She Linhai was deflated all of a sudden, his face turned pale, and he sat on the ground paralyzed.
He is not worried about himself, but for his family. Without him, what would happen to his wife and four young children? Who will take care of their lives?
After learning the bad news, Zhang Zhiyuan also hurried to the hospital.
On his deathbed, he entrusted his wife and children
Seeing She Linhai's depressed appearance, Zhang Zhiyuan felt very uncomfortable, but there was not much he could do.
Zhang Zhiyuan did farm work during the day, and stayed in front of She Linhai's hospital bed at night, tirelessly helping She Linhai turn over, change dressings, feed him water and food, and even help him clean up his urine.
She Linhai woke up in the middle of the night, and Zhang Zhiyuan stayed by the bedside to stay up with him until he fell asleep again.
For several months, Zhang Zhiyuan almost never closed his eyes.
He lost a lot of weight, and he was haggard. However, such dedicated care only allowed She Linhai to persist for a short time.
Before dying, She Linhai took Zhang Zhiyuan's hand, and his voice was weak:
"Zhiyuan, Tingxiu is uneducated, and she is simple in doing things, it is definitely not easy for her to bring a few babies by herself.
Yongfu and Yonggen have to go to school, and their families need their help in farming. Xiao Fengying and Xiao Ning are too young and not sensible.
I can't worry about them......"
Zhang Zhiyuan held back tears, squeezed She Linhai's hand, and gave his promise.
"Brother Lin Hai, don't worry, they are my family. "
From then on, in Zhang Zhiyuan's heart, the She family was his second home.
Taking care of Hu Tingxiu and his 4 children is his commitment to his best friend, and it is his lifelong responsibility.
After She Linhai died of illness, Hu Tingxiu, who lost his support at home, fell into desperate pain.
Fortunately, Zhang Zhiyuan did not break his promise and continued to live in their house, taking care of the four young children with Hu Tingxiu.
At first, Hu Tingxiu was a little wary of this young man.
She Linhai was very grateful to her when she was alive, but she was inevitably worried about whether Zhang Zhiyuan was planning to do wrong.
But soon, she found that Zhang Zhiyuan's meticulous care of the children made her very relieved.
Zhang Zhiyuan does farm work for the She family during the day, and happily tells stories to the children at night, making them happy, and treats these four children as his own flesh and blood.
Gradually, Hu Tingxiu opened his heart to Zhang Zhiyuan. She found that Zhang Zhiyuan was not only simple and hardworking, but also gentle and considerate.
Every time Hu Tingxiu was too tired to cook, Zhang Zhiyuan always took the initiative to help her rub her sour shoulders. Zhang Zhiyuan also often reminded her to care more about herself and not to overwork.
The two got along for a long time, and Hu Tingxiu gradually relied on Zhang Zhiyuan's care. She would blush and call him "Zhiyuan" instead of the previous "Captain Zhang".
Educated youths ask to marry widows
Every time Zhang Zhiyuan went out, she was worried that he would be hungry and left food for him to keep warm.
But some people in the village couldn't get used to this "widow and boy" thing, and they talked about it.
But they don't care about these rumors, and working together to raise these 4 children to grow up is the greatest wish of the deceased She Linhai before his death.
In order to protect Hu Tingxiu's reputation, Zhang Zhiyuan proposed to marry Hu Tingxiu.
Hu Tingxiu was moved by Zhang Zhiyuan's sincerity and agreed to the marriage. After getting married, the two ran the home side by side.
Although life is still poor, under Zhang Zhiyuan's careful care, the children have grown up healthily, and Hu Tingxiu has a smile on his face.
Unexpectedly, in 1978, the opportunity for educated youths to return to the city on a large scale came, and Zhang Zhiyuan could go home.
At this time, Zhang Zhiyuan hesitated.
He couldn't bear to leave Hu Tingxiu and the children behind, and after careful consideration, he decided to hide the news and continue to stay in Nanjiang.
When someone from the county confirmed his decision to stay or go, Zhang Zhiyuan was also very firm, which also made Hu Tingxiu even more moved.
In this way, Zhang Zhiyuan gave up the opportunity to return to the city and took root in Nanjiang. He saved money for his children to study.
It's just that Zhang Zhiyuan's parents, who are waiting for their son to come home in Chongqing, how will they react?
When Zhang Zhiyuan frankly told his parents that he had decided to stay in the She family to take care of She Linhai's wife and children, his parents were stunned at first.
They knew that their son had always been kind, but they didn't expect him to make such a big decision.
After all, it was a 31-year-old widow with several children.
And their son is only 20 years old, which is the age to start a family.
"Mom and Dad, I promised Brother Lin Hai that I would take care of his family. "
They understood that the child already had a certain number in his heart, and it would be futile to persuade him.
My son is living up to his commitments and responsibilities in his own way.
And this responsibility also makes them feel proud as parents.
epilogue
In 2019, someone interviewed Zhang Zhiyuan, who is 65 years old and still lives in the mountains.
Decades have passed, Zhang Zhiyuan's hair is gray, and his face is full of wrinkles. But the smile on his face is still as pure as it was back then.
Zhang Zhiyuan fulfilled his promise without regrets and dedicated his life to this family formed by fate.
His story has touched countless people......
After reading Zhang Zhiyuan's story, what do you think in front of the screen? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area......
Resources
[1] [Coconut City] Literary Magazine - "The Love of Bashan" ("Coconut City" 2019, Issue 9, 69-75, 7 pages)
https://qikan.cqvip.com/Qikan/Article/Detail?id=89676978504849574857484957