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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 Li Feng, 48 years old this year, I have always been a poor person in my hometown, my wife left early, leaving me alone to drag the family with me.
At the beginning, my wife and I were childhood sweethearts, and the two had no guesses, but unfortunately her health has not been very good, and she was diagnosed with cancer in her early 30s, and finally died at home with a smile.
My wife is an orphan, she was adopted by her adoptive parents in her early years, and before she died, she always dreamed that her biological parents were living in the city, and I only thought that she was looking back and thinking wildly, but I never thought that five years later, I would actually meet my wife's biological parents in the city!
Before leaving, she stuffed me with the only thing of value on her body, a jade pendant, which looked ordinary, but she was an abandoned baby back then, and she relied on it to prove her background.
I didn't know anything anyway, but I just wore it around my neck as the last thing she left me.
After her death, I became alone, in addition to supporting myself, but also for my two sons to go to school, this day he is hard, I am a big man does not have a few brushes, so I can only rely on mental strength and physical strength for money to spend.
At the beginning, like all the old guys, I had a narrow-minded vision, and I ran errands in the city of this province, although it was stronger than my hometown, but the hundreds of dollars a month were barely enough to make ends meet, so how could I save any money to save?
Later, a fellow villager told me that if we were old men from other places, if we wanted to save money, we had to go to the big city, and I was a small county town at the time, poor and poor, but I was also very conceited, and I always thought that my job was the same everywhere.
But then I really went to the big city, only to find that I was too small, and at that moment I was like a piece of, and I was dragged awake step by step.
The first time I entered the city was in '95, and I remember carrying a worn-out fake Nike schoolbag, and I didn't bring anything except a few tattered clothes, so I traveled hundreds of miles to the provincial capital by myself.
I didn't know that a big city was so stuffy, I was dumbfounded as soon as I got out of the car, surrounded by tall buildings, cars on the streets, and pedestrians were much denser than we were there.
I was stunned and didn't react all of a sudden, I was swayed by those shuttled vehicles and people, and I was so stunned that my backpack had been stolen!
Fortunately, a kind person pulled me aside and showed me a clear way, but there was nothing left, only the jade pendant was still tied around my neck, I held it, gritted my teeth and followed the flow of people for several kilometers, and finally found a small broken hotel to rest.
The people are unfamiliar, and I don't dare to walk around rashly, so I suffocated in that small broken courtyard for a few days, thinking about what to do, but I was also afraid of being dragged to fish in troubled waters.
Alas, when my wife was still there, she didn't let me suffer this sin, so I spent so much that I didn't even have much money left to open a small stove, so I had to go out and find a job to do.
Fortunately, I didn't worry in vain, the streets and alleys were full of recruiters, and I had work to do as soon as I got started, and at the beginning it was all manual work, such as moving, demolishing houses, etc.
The old guys who went into the city have more or less done this business, saving trouble and making money, I didn't understand anything at the time, so I just made money first.
At that time, I was much more humble, and I didn't dislike any work, sometimes I was carrying bricks on the construction site as a small worker, sometimes I was washing dishes in a restaurant, and no matter how poor I was, I had to grit my teeth and get by.
I remember a while, I worked in a well-known restaurant for a while, cleaning sewage wells and sewers, and to be honest, it was dirty and smelly, but it paid well, and I made more money than other jobs, so I reluctantly took it.
At first, I was so sick looking at the black and dirty water that I almost turned around and left, but when I thought of the two sons at home who were waiting to go to school, I could only force myself to swallow that breath.
Gradually, I got used to it, and even became surprised by the rats that came out of the water, until one time, a strange job came to me, and a toilet in a high-end community was blocked, and I was asked to help dredge it.
I didn't work in a high-end community, but the family was recommended by the owner of the hotel, and I couldn't refute the face of others, so I went hard, but I didn't expect that it was this one that completely changed my fate.
When I arrived at the employer's house, it was simply high-end and not decent, the home was decorated like a European and American "palace", the floor was spotless, I didn't dare to get down, or the female head of the household found me two plastic bags to put on my feet, and I entered the door.
There are three bathrooms in the householder's house, each of which has a large bathtub, a large washing mirror and a sink, and the accident is one of the toilets, I immediately used my "professional means", and the tools were on and opened the drainage, because I did not dare to damage the decoration of the householder's house, I was extra careful, and I was sweating profusely after a while.
I simply took off my shirt and bare my shoulders, and concentrated on using an iron hook to clean the filth in the gutter, and unintentionally picked up a gold necklace!
I was frightened, this thing is worth a lot of money, I quickly fished it up and looked at it, the chain was very heavy to pick up, shiny, like a golden dog chain, when I found this thing, my heart was so happy, I wanted to sell it immediately, save this money and leave.
But if I think so, I wouldn't do this, I came out to work for so many years, my hands and feet are clean, and I earn solid money, not my own resolute don't.
So I immediately washed the gold necklace, didn't bother to put on clothes, and took it to the female head of the household when I went out of the toilet door, but I didn't expect the woman to be very excited, and even picked up the chain and stuffed it into my hand, saying that I deserve it, let me take it and change my life.
I was stunned, she was a rich person, how could she not give me such a valuable thing for no reason, right?
I hurriedly excused myself and said that I didn't dare to ask for it, but the girl had to ask me to take it, so I began to find out the root of it in my heart.
I was really flattered at the time, and the little ninety-nine in my heart was nothing more than that: This woman is not young this year, isn't it, isn't it that she has taken a fancy to me, an old comrade? Want to win my heart this way?
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shudder, quickly pushed the necklace on the table, and waved my hand again and again, saying that I treat everyone equally, and I will never do anything favoritism to her.
Before I could finish my sentence, the hostess burst out laughing, saying that I was too honest to understand her kindness.
She patted me on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Young man, you are so pitiful, don't you see the purpose of my gift of this chain?" If you look at the jade pendant around your neck, you'll understand.
When I heard it, I couldn't help but be stunned, because I usually carry this jade pendant, I have become accustomed to it, and I didn't expect it to have anything to do with this matter, but it was not as soon as the woman said it, I reacted, and quickly put my hand on my chest and felt out the pendant.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I got the jade pendant in my hand, the woman's eyes immediately stared at it tightly, and two beams of light shot out of her eyes, like two sharp knives poking straight at my heart.
She didn't say anything for a long time, just stared at the jade pendant in my hand, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.
At that moment a figure rushed out of the back room, and fell to my knees in front of me, and I was startled to see that it was an old woman, with white hair hanging down from her shoulders, and eyes staring at me with tears.
I looked at the two women in front of me, one old and one young, and was really frightened by their reactions, and when I was at a loss to guess their intentions, the woman finally spoke, and she said to me in a trembling voice:
"Young man, you are really a big joke that God played on me! Let me ask you, where did you get this jade pendant? Don't tell me it's your own! "
I was yelled at by her like this, my whole body trembled, my heart was finished, and I got into trouble again, and quickly lowered my head and explained: "Woman, this jade pendant is the only relic left to me by my deceased wife before she died, you should dissipate your anger first..."
"Your dead wife?!" The woman listened to my explanation, and became even more excited, she stared at me deadly, gasping for breath, and could not organize the language for a long time.
At this moment, the old woman who was kneeling on the ground suddenly raised her head, stared at me with her big cloudy eyes, and whispered, "You... You say, "Your wife is dead?" "
I nodded, thinking that these two mothers and daughters were really interesting, and would be interested in me, a down-and-out worker, only to hear the woman choke up, point to the jade pendant around my neck with a trembling hand, and say, "Young man, do you know the origin of this thing?" "
I quickly shook my head, and said in my heart that this time I could get into big trouble, didn't this mother and daughter recognize the wrong person? But just as I was about to quibble, the girl spoke again, and she said, "This jade pendant... This jade pendant... I know it! It's something I got when I was a kid! "
As soon as I heard this, I couldn't help but be shocked, this matter is really getting more and more secretive! Could it be that...?
Just when I was full of doubts, the woman finally broke out into a cry, she pointed to my jade pendant, and said with tears in her eyes: "Young man, do you know the origin of this jade pendant? This thing is actually my family's jade pendant, a birthday present from me to my twin daughters! "
"What? Twin daughters? I froze on the spot, unable to believe my ears for a moment.
The woman nodded and continued: "Yes, it is my wife and my two precious daughters, but unfortunately, our family was poor and was deceived by others, and was forced to abandon the two children in a dark alley... I was heartbroken, but I couldn't do anything about it. "
"Alas, we worked hard later, and finally succeeded in finding one of the daughters, but when we wanted to find the whereabouts of the other daughter, we couldn't find any clues, until today, I actually saw this jade pendant on you, and I realized that this is a joke on me!"
At this, the woman's tears welled up, and she threw herself over and hugged me tightly, muttering to herself, "Is it... Are you the husband of my long-lost daughter? "
I was dumbfounded, completely blinded by this sudden truth, it turned out that my wife actually had a sister, and the old woman in front of me turned out to be her biological mother!
I sighed, my heart pounding in my throat, and said, "She... She is no longer here, she died of illness five years ago, and before leaving, she left only this jade pendant for me. "
Hearing this, the woman and her daughter could not hold back any longer, and they wept bitterly, completely forgetting that I was still there, and just as I was at a loss, they suddenly pounced on me and hugged me tightly.
The woman sobbed and said, "Child, pity my daughter whom I have never met... It's a pity we missed too much..."
I didn't speak, but let the tears of the two of us wet my clothes, and I understood that at this moment there was a wonderful kinship between us like a trick of fate.
In this way, I found my wife's family again, and they also found the lost daughter in me.
Although my wife herself has passed away, I have made up for one of her regrets through a coincidence, and since then, I have moved into their house and lived a good life.
They had money and loved me, and gave me almost all their savings, and as compensation for the years, although I was over half a hundred years old, I was given a new lease of life because of my wife's family.
At this moment of great happiness, I brought my two sons to my side, and they felt so sorry for their two grandsons that they made up for the guilt they felt for their wives back then.
Not only did I transfer my children to the city, but I also chose the best school for them and received the best education, and after 10 years, my two sons were also very competitive, one entered a first-class university abroad, and the other studied in China, and I didn't have to worry about money at all.
However, after recognizing my relatives, I did not completely quit my job to enjoy life, because as a man, I still want to have some value and role.
It is not a long-term solution to spend the money of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, I quit my job as a sewer and found a security errand in my mother-in-law's high-end community, quietly guarding this home, and I can find out as soon as possible.
Once upon a time, I was just a poor man who worked quietly in the city, relying on the virtue of collecting money, but now, it is because of this honest quality that I have reunited with my wife and family.
When the jade pendant left to me by my wife returned to her relatives, I fully understood her intention to leave this token.
This is a kind of trust she has given me, a continuation of her love for us as husband and wife, and a wish that she hopes to find her relatives through me.
The road of life is bumpy, although there are many difficulties on the way, but as long as you have an honest and simple character, God will eventually return to you with better results.
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.