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Text: Zhang Shiren
Editor: Zhang Shiren
Short stories are pure fiction, please watch them rationally, and do not sit in the right seats
My name is Jia Xingxing, this name is originally very good, but because of the surname "Jia", it is a bit ridiculous to connect it, and it is precisely because of this name that the first 20 years of my life have been fake happy, and I have endured it again and again for the sake of my family.
Because I was born in the countryside, at that time, the family was not rich, my four brothers were all boys, I was the eldest, and many burdens of the family were on my shoulders.
In order for my younger brothers to marry wives, I worked on the farm after graduating from high school, and a few years later, my family told me a matchmaker, which was the Zhen family in the next village!
The three daughters of the Zhen family urgently need to recruit a son-in-law, and if one of my four sons can get into the house, my father can take my share of the money to pay the bride price to the other three brothers, and they can all get wives.
My mother soaked hard for several months, and I finally had no choice but to nod my head in resignation, but my heart was mixed, and I finally realized that I might have been crushed by life in this life, and I would never go to school again.
In 1977, I was thinking about where to find a better job for myself, when I suddenly came with great news - the country was going to resume the college entrance examination!
You must not realize that for the people of our time, this is simply a "life-saving elixir", and being admitted to university does not mean a complete change of fate and walking out of this place with your eyebrows raised?
I was looking forward to a better university life in the future, and I wanted to review immediately, but as soon as I got home, I was ruthlessly poured cold water.
My dad rightly objected to me going to school, "You're well-fed, what do you want to go to college?" Wait for you to go to the next village, don't daydream! My mother also nagged, "If you go to school, what will our family do?" You are the boss, and you have to be the backbone of your younger brothers. "
My future father-in-law's family, who had not passed through the door, sneered at me, saying that I was trying to avoid responsibility, and that I was such an idle fellow, that even my little brothers were giggling on the side, making me embarrassed.
I could only force a smile, put away my dream for the time being, and resigned myself to "marrying" to the Zhen family, to be a son-in-law to others, I still went to work honestly during the day, and secretly reviewed my homework at home at night, but the effect was not ideal.
In 1978, when I took the college entrance examination for the first time, due to my poor foundation and long-term depression, I naturally got a mess in the exam, which was far from the ideal score line.
When I got home, everyone shouted and beat me, and even my wife scolded her, saying that she had just looked away, married such a fool, and didn't know how to make good money, but wanted to be a nerd.
My parents were afraid that Huang would be exposed to this family business, and the rich in-laws were angry, and they also rushed over to scold me, urging me to get my wife pregnant as soon as possible instead of studying, and "pass on the ancestry" to the Zhen family.
I couldn't stand this kind of traditional thinking, I felt that it was a great shame for men, and at that moment I was really desperate, seeing my dream getting farther and farther away from me, and at the same time, my wife was clamoring at home to get a divorce!
Since I don't succeed, I will become a benevolent, and since fate wants me to be so low, then I can only continue to work hard!
In 1979, I honestly reviewed at home for another year, and this time I was determined to break through in the next year's exam!
But coincidentally, when I was in the exam room that year, I actually met my high school classmate Li Tiantian, and I was good friends with her when I was a student, and even I sometimes had a little fantasy about her.
Her grades and family background are much better than mine, so everyone thought that she could soar to the sky, but I didn't expect the occasion of the reunion to be at my arduous college entrance examination.
Li Tiantian is different from me, she is not here to take the college entrance examination, but the college entrance examination examiner!
However, she didn't seem to care too much about the change in her identity, and when she saw me, she was still smiling and enthusiastic, and I was a little shy, because although she was from a good background, she never had the slightest arrogance with me, and I respected her very much.
Before the start of the exam, we secretly chatted for a few sentences, and I told me a rough idea of what I had experienced in the past few years, who knew that after she listened, her eyes were a little moist, obviously moved by my experience.
Later, after the college entrance examination, everyone left one after another, and I was about to pack up and go home, but at this moment she hurriedly ran back, stuffed me with an envelope and fled, I was confused.
When I got home, I opened the envelope, and inside was a heartfelt letter she had written to me, and my tears were flowing uncontrollably, because in the letter, she sincerely said four words to me: "I like you".
Li Tiantian unreservedly confided in her heart for me over the years, it turned out that in high school, she had a crush on me, but she just kept holding it back.
She said that she longed for my simplicity and kindness, admired my selfless dedication to my family, and was impressed by my dedication to my dreams.
But her family background is illustrious, and her parents naturally hope that she can find a boyfriend who can be born in life, so she can only hide her feelings silently in her heart back then, until later because of work, she was actually sent to our county as an examiner, and she finally decided to give it a go and confess her heart to me.
The letter was written in a simple and moving way, revealing a rare innocence and courage, as if it had crashed into my gloomy inner world with a pure and passionate force, and I was immersed in her affectionate confession for days and nights.
I seem to suddenly understand the meaning of the word "happy" - how can I not be happy to be cherished and supported by such an innocent person?
But what really pleased me was the last few sentences of the letter.
She said in the letter that from childhood to adulthood, I was one of the few people she saw who maintained ideals and perseverance, and everyone had been smoothed out by the difficulties of life, but I gritted my teeth and lived tenaciously, never giving up on pursuing my dreams, which made her admire.
She sincerely hopes that I can not give up and continue to work hard to achieve my ideals, no matter what kind of resistance and pressure lie ahead, as long as I keep going, she will always support me, both mentally and materially.
And she also said that no matter whether I am admitted to university or not, she hopes to be with me and share the hardships of life together.
Oh my God, I almost fainted from crying, but this was the first time someone had supported me so wholeheartedly, encouraged me, and given me so much motivation and reason to pursue my dreams, I felt as if I had come back to life, and the enthusiasm and hope in my heart were completely ignited by her words.
I clutched the letter tightly in my bosom and made up my mind to make the person who wrote it proud!
Sure enough, in the 1980 college entrance examination, I was admitted to a key university in Beijing with excellent results, and about a week after I got the admission letter, Li Tiantian also found me and told me that she had been transferred to Beijing by her employer.
We all looked at each other in disbelief, as if we were facing the so-called calamity and fate.
In the most difficult period of my life, God seemed to have given me an unexpected gift, Li Tiantian not only inspired me with practical actions to move forward, and walked side by side with me through the darkest and hopeful days, but also accompanied me intimately, witnessed my ascension all the way, blessed and cheered for me, and overcame one difficulty after another one by one.
We just looked at each other and smiled, and started a new life in Beijing.
For me, coming to Beijing is like being reborn for the second time, and Li Tiantian has become the guide of my rebirth.
If my previous life was oppressed by life, now I really understand the meaning of the word "happy".
The days after I came to Beijing were like opening the door to a new world for me, the city gave me infinite vitality and made me feel uplifted, as if life had really begun.
Everything is so new and interesting, and as a native of the countryside, I feel new to everything here, high-rise buildings, busy traffic, and fashion-forward young people, all of which make me dizzy.
Fortunately, Li Tiantian has been by my side as a guide, patiently and meticulously introducing me to this new environment, with her company, I adapted quickly, and the strangeness and anxiety of the first arrival have also decreased a lot.
She not only helped me contact a temporary small suite to live in, but also carefully recommended me various life tips and precautions, sometimes, the two of us are like a little couple in love, everything to talk about, you and me.
The university life was smooth sailing, and it was the happiest and happiest time of my life, and the days when I had suffered so much in my hometown and were buried by my nest seemed to be just a dream.
My relationship with Li Tiantian is also a matter of course, and in my sophomore year, I finally threw away my burden and officially proposed to her. She readily agreed, and we got married.
After we got married, we were both diligent and thrifty, barely living on school subsidies, and from time to time she would use part of her savings to support me and pay for some extra expenses for me, saving me from having to work outside.
I have never seen the world, but through these four years, I have not only increased my knowledge, but more importantly, I have found myself and established a new concept of life.
After graduating from university, Li Tiantian and I were both assigned to work in a state-owned unit in Beijing, and although I am no longer a student, I still maintain the habit of reading and studying, and use my spare time to enrich myself.
The work was soon on the right track, and we finally had a decent income, and according to the policy at the time, the unit also gave us a small bachelor apartment, although the area is not large, but it is enough for us to settle down.
My parents, who were far away from home, heard that I was doing well in Beijing, and always hoped that my younger brothers would come to me, but I refused all, and it was better to count on others than on myself.
And the old Zhen family in the next village heard that I, the former son-in-law, were now so promising, and couldn't help but pat their thighs and feel sorry, feeling that they had missed my potential stock.
However, there is no regret medicine in the world, it is said that after my ex-wife divorced, she couldn't find a partner in the village, and it was delayed for a long time, and finally she couldn't find a door-to-door son-in-law like me, and finally married a widowed butcher, who helped kill pigs and sell pork at home every day for a living.
At that time, it was already a blessing to have a regular job and a decent social status.
But Tiantian and I are not satisfied with this, we still have higher pursuits and dreams, we want to make life more colorful and happier.
Therefore, we use the holidays to travel everywhere to sketch the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers, we watch all kinds of books and movies, to feel the power of art, and we also participate in after-school training classes to learn new skills and constantly broaden our horizons.
From time to time, we would get carried away and walk on the streets and talk about our hearts, thinking about various philosophies about happiness.
Many years later, every time I look back on the past, I can't help but sigh how fortunate I am to meet Li Tiantian, an angel, in the darkest moment, she illuminated the way forward for me, gave me the courage and meaning to be reborn, and we can live such a life today, how much is due to the firmness and strength she gave me back then.
So happiness and happiness often come so coincidentally and thrillingly, like some providence that came to the intersection of fate, and Li Tiantian and I finally hugged each other like this, and walked happily all the way through the biggest exam question of life.
Disclaimer:
This content is a fictional short story, and any name, place name, or other aspect involved in the text has nothing to do with reality (without any implications). If there is any similarity, it is purely a coincidence, please read it rationally.