Text: Summer of Roses
Disclaimer: The story in this article is fictional, please do not sit in the opposite number
My uncle is a senior retiree, my mother has 7 brothers and sisters, and my uncle is the most educated and the most promising. Although he has a retirement salary of 13,000, he has worked hard and paid a lot in the post for decades, and when he reaches the age of retirement, his hair is gray.
Uncle has a bold personality and many friends, he used to rarely drink for work, and after retirement, he didn't have to be restrained to let go of himself, and went out to have dinner with old friends and drank two glasses in three days. In the words of the uncle, it is time to eat, to drink, and to live in vain all your life without eating or drinking.
My aunt doesn't have such a good temperament, she often talks in front of our family that my uncle is getting older, but the more people live, the more regressive they are. When my uncle was young, he worked day and night, and when he was old, he didn't take care of himself at home, and he either ate or drank every day, and he didn't touch the house all day long.
My aunt is really angry, I used to have a job and my aunt to control me, although my uncle likes to eat and drink, but he is modest, since he retired, my uncle has gained 19 pounds in half a year, and his blood pressure has gone up. My aunt said that he promised to be good, and he turned his head and forgot about it.
The community where my aunt lives is an old residential building, and the sound insulation is so poor that the sound insulation is not good. In the morning, before dawn, the car outside began to honk, and the sound was like an explosion in the ears, so noisy that people couldn't sleep well. The eldest aunt is old, and her sleep is light, and the noise is too loud, and after a long time, the aunt often has headaches because of poor sleep.
My uncle wants to change to a good community, but a good community is expensive, and the community they live in is now about 400,000 yuan, and if they go to a good community, it will cost about 1 million a set, and my aunt is reluctant to spend this money.
Some retired elderly people in the community choose to go back to their rural hometowns to care for the elderly, and see them planting flowers and raising grass in their small yards, which is called a leisurely life. My aunt was very envious when she saw it, and she said to her uncle: You see how comfortable people are, when can we be like this?
When my uncle didn't answer, my aunt called my mother and aunt, trying to persuade my uncle to go home for the elderly. Uncle was reluctant to give up those old friends, so naturally he didn't want to go back.
But once, he went fishing with a few retired friends, and after catching the fish, he went to drink, but because he drank too much and hurt his stomach, he was directly admitted to the hospital.
The eldest aunt is angry now, she sits in front of the hospital bed and is angry and aggrieved, crying while counting down the uncle: Look at you like this now, if you drink like this again, sooner or later your body will be drunk! I advise you not to drink and you don't listen, you said that if you don't wake up this time, people will still be doing well, but what will you let me do in the future?
Uncle knew that he was at a loss, and he didn't expect that he would be hospitalized by drinking, so he sighed while listening to his aunt's count, promising to change it in the future.
The eldest aunt was worried that the uncle would not be able to speak, and she wanted to go back to her hometown.
My uncle listened to my aunt talk about this every day, and after being discharged from the hospital, he said that he would go back to his hometown to stay in the hospital. The hometown has fresh air and few people, and there are not so many socials, which also helps him to recuperate.
When the eldest aunt heard this, a smile appeared on her face, she knew that since the eldest uncle had mentioned it, the matter was settled.
So the old couple began to go back to their hometown to renovate the courtyard. Uncle and aunt are both retirees, and their retirement salaries together are 20,000 yuan, and they usually don't have any big expenses, so they have some money in their hands.
My aunt found a lot of pictures of renovating the rural yard and discussed with my uncle how to renovate it. Uncle felt that the yard had to be made into a pavilion, so that he could enjoy the shade in summer and bask in the sun in winter.
My aunt wants a garden, so I have to plant some flowers and plants, and I look in a good mood. The two discussed and discussed, and finally settled on a plan.
As soon as the construction team entered the site, the whole yard became lively. My aunt was busy selecting seeds and saplings of flowers and plants, and whenever she had time, she would go to the flower and bird market and buy what she liked. It didn't take long for the gazebo to be erected, and there were two gardens in the courtyard, full of all kinds of flowers and plants, and the eldest aunt had planted a persimmon tree.
In addition to the yard, the house was also simply renovated, and the entire project cost hundreds of thousands. The eldest aunt was originally distressed about the money, but when she thought that she would have to retire in this yard in the future, her heart was balanced.
After the yard was renovated, it really had a different flavor. There are a few bamboo chairs and a small table in the pavilion where you can drink tea and chat, and my aunt also bought a few flower shelves, set up a rockery in the corner of the yard, and raised a few beautiful goldfish in the water.
They also specially made a small vegetable patch in the backyard and planted some seasonal vegetables. My aunt is an idle person, and she also likes to maintain health, so she feels that she can eat what she grows with confidence.
After my uncle and aunt moved back to their hometown, their circle of friends was also updated frequently, and they went to work in the vegetable field for a while in the morning, and basked in the sun in the pavilion after eating at noon. When the uncle was playing chess with the villagers, the aunt was knitting sweaters on the side.
After dinner in the evening, I either listened to the radio in the yard and watched the stars, or went out for a walk, and the days were very pleasant. My aunt often laments the pictures of the quiet years in the circle of friends, and sometimes posts them in the family group, which makes those of us who work hard in the workplace envious, and we can't wait to retire early to live this comfortable life.
However, the good times were short-lived. Within two or three months, my aunt's circle of friends became much quieter, and I rarely saw those photos and emotions full of life anymore. I wondered a little, did they live unsatisfactorily in the countryside? Or did they feel that it was good to always bask in the sun, which made others blush, so they stopped posting?
My mother is still very curious, my aunt likes stinky beauty, usually either dry beautiful clothes or some scenery, suddenly not often updated, it doesn't feel like her style.
During the Qingming Festival, our family drove back to our hometown, our home was not far from my uncle's house, and my uncle knew that we were back, so he went to the market early in the morning to buy vegetables and let us eat at his house at noon.
That day, we were carrying gifts, and as soon as we entered the door, I was attracted by the small courtyard. The yard was kept clean and full of life by the aunt, and the son ran around happily by the pond to watch the fish.
My wife couldn't help but praise: Uncle, your pension life is really good, and when my in-laws are old in the future, I have to go back to my hometown to enjoy this life.
My parents also envied my uncle, but my uncle sighed, shook his head and said: We are a family, and I won't hide it from you. To tell you the truth, I advise you not to go back to the countryside, life here is not as good as you think.
My mother couldn't help but ask: "Big brother, are you talking the opposite, or are you sincere?" Aren't you living a good life in your hometown, I don't think there is anything wrong with buying things and taking a car that is not as convenient as in the city.
The uncle sighed again, and the aunt said that in fact, not only did the uncle regret it, but she also regretted going back to her hometown to care for the elderly.
My aunt and uncle confided a lot of worries about living in the countryside, and three of them left a deep impression on me.
The first thing was about her granddaughter. The eldest aunt said that her 4-year-old granddaughter Qingqing came to play at home during the holidays, and the uncle specially bought a pink bicycle for Qingqing. That day, Aunt Liu and her grandson in the village were also playing in front of her uncle's house, and the two children were riding bicycles together.
Qingqing said that one person will play for a while, and everyone will play together. Aunt Liu's grandson was a little strong, and he refused to get down when he got on the bicycle, and Aunt Liu asked him to come down, and he lay on the ground and lost his temper.
When it was time to eat, my aunt went to cook, and my uncle took Qingqing to the supermarket to buy delicious food, and when I came back, I found that the bicycle was missing.
The eldest aunt thought that it might be Aunt Liu's grandson who rode away, and thought that she would send it back in the afternoon. But before it was sent back in the afternoon, the eldest aunt went to Aunt Liu's house, and the door of Aunt Liu's house was locked. People in the village said that at noon, they saw Aunt Liu riding a bicycle in the yard with her grandson, and they didn't know why the door was closed.
In the evening, the eldest aunt went to Aunt Liu's house again, but Aunt Liu refused to admit it, and said in a strange way: Who took your car? Don't wronged people! You city people are really stingy, the richer you are, the more you pick the door, my grandson just rode a bicycle, and you wronged us for taking it, who rarely rides your car?
My aunt was so angry that she stomped her feet, but she was helpless. The next morning, the bike was left at the door, but one of the pedals was broken.
Things like bicycles just happen by chance, and the past is gone, but there is one thing that makes my uncle and aunt very distressed.
There is no bus in the village that goes directly to the town and the county seat, if you want to go to the county seat, you have to ride your own bicycle to the town to take the car, and the uncle drove a car when he returned to his hometown, and the car was usually placed at the door of his house.
The village is full of elderly people and left-behind children, sometimes they have to go to the county seat to see a doctor or go to the town to run errands, and feel that it is too troublesome to ride a bicycle or walk, so they will ask their uncle to help drive them. At first, my uncle thought it was a good deed, and he didn't think much about it. But gradually he noticed that things had taken a turn for the better.
The people in the village began to think that the uncle should be on call if he had a car, and then no matter who had something to do, no matter how big or small, he would trouble the uncle.
Some people bought a train in the early morning, and they didn't rush to the station in advance, but knocked on the door of their uncle's house in the middle of the night and asked their uncle to take them to the county seat, and said that they were in a hurry. My uncle has presbyopia, his vision is not good at night, his sleep is not good, it is not safe to drive, and his aunt is not at ease, but if he doesn't open the door, they keep knocking.
What's even more excessive is that the son of a family has just gotten his driver's license and wants to borrow his uncle's car to practice his hands. My aunt didn't agree to borrow a car because of safety issues, but they said that my uncle was not authentic and that if he had money, he would have no human touch. After a long time, the popularity of the uncle and aunt in the village is not good.
Uncle was originally out of kindness to help everyone, but he didn't expect to end up like this. When I heard this, I couldn't help but feel aggrieved and unjust for my uncle.
In addition to these things, interpersonal relationships in the countryside are also quite a headache.
No matter whose child is sick, has had his appendix cut, or has built a house at home, he will notify you, and you will be notified that you will have to visit when you know it, basically for a trip, you will have to pay 200 yuan.
Some people are old and hospitalized twice in three days, and as long as they are hospitalized, they have to visit, and they can't go empty-handed every time they go. Sometimes even some trivial things have to be given to you, such as who bought a new car, who added a big thing, and so on. I thought that I could save some expenses by retiring in my hometown, but I ended up spending more on favors than in the city.
The eldest aunt wanted to go back to the city, but she was reluctant to go back to the courtyard in the countryside, so she was very entangled.
I listened to my aunt's confession, and I was also full of emotion, saying that the city routine is deep, and I want to go back to the countryside, but I don't know that it is not so easy to live in the countryside.
Eventually, my uncle and aunt fled back to the city after living in their rural hometown for less than a year. In order to make them live more comfortably, my cousin specially replaced their doors and windows with soundproofing materials, although the cost of big cities is larger, but the interpersonal relationship is simple. Now my aunt and uncle go downstairs to dance the square dance when they have nothing to do, and my uncle plays chess and fishes with old friends, and the entertainment has decreased, and his sense of happiness has also improved.
I think that no matter where you live, there are pros and cons, and the key is to find a lifestyle that suits you.