Note: This article is a fictional novel, and the names of people and places are all apocryphal
In the winter of 1983, not long after I became an adult, I followed the village elders to this small remote mining area to make a living.
Unexpectedly, in the mining area, I took the lead in becoming a father before I got married, although there was a lot of discussion around, just because the child's mother was a widow!
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01
In those days, most families were poor, and I was no exception!
Although my family has a few acres of contracted land, the harvest is too small, and my parents are still unable to support a family of six, so in order to make money and marry a daughter-in-law, I can only temporarily leave my hometown and work in this small town.
However, he is still in charge of eating and living in the mine, although the conditions are simple, but as a single young man, it is already good.
Every day during the night shift, the whole mine is brightly lit, the machines rumble, and the lights go out until three or four o'clock in the morning to be quiet for a while.
I live with my companion Xu Liang, Xu Liang is an honest and honest guy, but also a bachelor, with a good temper, we have nothing to do in the dormitory to drink a little wine and chat.
When we are resting, we will also go to a small hotel nearby, but it is only a few dollars at a time, and it is not expensive.
After two years of working in this mine, I also saved some money, and one night that winter, Xu Liang and I were drinking and chatting in the dormitory as usual, and it was getting dark, and we turned off the lights and prepared for bed.
That night, around midnight, suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door outside, which startled Xu Liang and me.
"Who's knocking on the door so late?" Xu Liang muttered, got up and went to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, I saw a middle-aged woman in thin clothes standing outside the door, soaked by the cold rain, skinny, her eyes were red, her expression was panicked, as if she had just experienced something terrible.
"Help... Help me! Let me go in and hide," said the woman, trembling.
Xu Liang was taken aback by her embarrassed appearance, looked at me hesitantly, I nodded, and said to her, "Come in, you will catch a cold in so much rain."
When the woman came in obediently, we hurried to find a thick garment for her to put on, and when she looked under the lamp, she looked quite handsome, but she was described as haggard and ragged, and it was evident that the family was not well-off.
"Sister, what's wrong with you? Why is this point still raining outside? I asked with concern.
The woman gasped and seemed to have finally calmed down a little, her gaze wandering and saying, "I... I owe money to people... They're going to arrest me now..."
Xu Liang and I looked at each other, and there seemed to be something hidden in what she said.
"Don't talk about it yet, drink hot water to warm up." I handed her the teacup in my hand.
The woman held the cup in both hands and glanced around in fear, as if someone would rush in and grab her at any moment.
After taking a sip of hot water, the woman seemed to finally calm down a little and began to tell her story.
It turned out that her name was Zhao Yajun, and her husband was killed in a coal mining accident four years ago, leaving her and a 5-year-old daughter to rely on each other.
In addition, there is the debt left by her husband, because they are all miners, so I have heard a little about her husband, and his gambling is also well-known in the mine.
Usury is not as easy to talk about as a bank, and even if the debtor dies, the debt must be repaid, and the phrase "the father pays the debt" is the best explanation.
So these debts became the responsibility of Zhao Yajun's mother and daughter, and she could only go out to do odd jobs to survive, but her meager income was difficult to maintain the life of the mother and daughter.
In order to make ends meet, she had to start borrowing from friends and family.
Recently, the loan sharks have started to collect debts, and tonight she was dragged and beaten by a group of people, and finally escaped, all the way to our dormitory.
After listening to her story, Xu Liang and I both felt sympathy for her experience, it was not easy to live as a widow with children, and we had also tasted that kind of poor life.
So I said with sympathy: "Sister, you can stay with us tonight, and we will find a way tomorrow morning." ”
Xu Liang also nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, sister, don't be afraid that we are here, and we will never let those people hurt you!"
When Zhao Yajun heard this, tears welled up in her eyes again, and she whispered thank you.
That night, the three of us spent the time in a small 10-square-meter room, with women curled up in my bed, and Xu Liang and I lying side by side on the narrow floor.
Before I went to sleep, I said to Xu Liang, "We have to find a way to help this poor widow."
Xu Liang nodded and said, "Don't worry, there will be a way."
But at this moment, there was a sudden movement that startled several of us—the woman suddenly came out of the bed, looking pained, as if she had been tortured by something.
"Sister, what's wrong with you?" I asked hurriedly.
The woman didn't answer, just gasped, her face covered with cold sweat, and her hands clutched the placket of her chest...
02
Zhao Yajun's appearance startled me and Xu Liang, she seemed to have suffered some kind of torture, and was in great pain, I hurriedly supported her shaking body, and Xu Liang stood aside helplessly.
"Sister, what's wrong with you? Is there something uncomfortable? I asked with concern.
Zhao Yajun nodded, her face was pale, and her mouth kept moaning: "It hurts... It hurts... My stomach hurts..."
I realized that she might have suffered internal injuries when she was beaten a while ago, so I said to Xu Liang: "Hurry up, we have to take my sister to the hospital quickly!"
Xu Liang didn't say a word, quickly changed his clothes and was about to rush out, but at this moment, Zhao Yajun grabbed his arm and shook his head painfully.
"No... No need to go to the hospital... This is... It's the throes of having a baby," she said laboriously.
Xu Liang and I were both stunned by her words! Have a baby?! The widow was pregnant?
Later, in retrospect, it was the cold winter of Layue, and the people in the past were wearing thick clothes, and the reason why Xu Liang and I didn't see it was because of this reason.
Xu Liang hurriedly said, "That... What about your family? I need to get my family here quickly! ”
Zhao Yajun said helplessly: "I... I haven't seen my family in two years, and you... Just help me for the time being..."
I felt at a loss, this is a tricky situation! A pregnant woman is about to give birth, but there is no preparation at home, how can we two rough people deliver babies?
But seeing Zhao Yajun's painful appearance, we can't take care of it so much. So I said to Xu Liang: "Quick, go find someone to help!" I'm here with my sister. ”
Xu Liang rushed out without saying a word, while I helped Zhao Yajun sit on the edge of the bed and took a wet towel to wipe her sweat.
The labor pain became more and more intense, Zhao Yajun couldn't straighten her waist in pain, and I was also frightened by her screams.
Fortunately, Xu Liang quickly found a few experienced women, and they quickly began to arrange everything, letting me go out first for the time being, and I had to stand outside the door and wait, always worried about the situation in the house.
After about half an hour, Xu Liang poked his head out and said to me excitedly, "It's born!" It's a girl! ”
I breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly rushed into the house, only to see Zhao Yajun gasping on the bed, with a small baby lying beside her, already wrapped in sheets by the women.
"Thank you... You..."Zhao Yajun said weakly, and I hurriedly asked her not to speak and have a good rest.
In this way, in Xu Liang's house and me, a new life was born! Although the process was tortuous, we are sincerely happy to witness this scene.
Early the next morning, Xu Liang and I invited a few masters from the mine, and everyone also sent some small gifts to congratulate the birth of this little life.
"Give this little guy a name." An old miner patted me on the shoulder and said.
After some discussion, we finally named the girl "Ah Li", which had no meaning, just because she was born at dawn.
Just a few days after giving birth, Xu Liang and I were almost requisitioned, especially when I couldn't take care of going to work at all, and took care of Zhao Yajun and Ali in the house.
However, this behavior also caused a ridicule from the miners, who all thought I was crazy, otherwise how could I be willing to take care of a widow, and the child is not mine!
But every day when I look at Alley's innocent appearance, I feel a sense of happiness that I have never felt before, and this happiness does not seem to be brought by money.
But I am also very sensible, a week after Zhao Yajun gave birth, I began to shift my focus to work, after all, people in that era, especially women, were not as delicate as they are now.
There is no confinement center, and even some women have to work in the field the next day after giving birth, so I am very relieved of Zhao Yajun's state.
Just a month later, Ali suddenly started crying, the crying was very loud and heartbreaking, I hurriedly hugged her, but she just couldn't stop crying.
Zhao Yajun said worriedly: "She may be hungry, you can warm the prepared milk for her to drink."
I did so, but Ali was still crying after drinking the milk powder, and I had no choice but to hold her and pat her on the back.
Suddenly, a strange thought popped into my mind, could it be that my body was too cold when I just came back from outside? Babies have a higher body temperature than us, and if the ambient temperature is not enough, of course they will cry non-stop.
So I took off my coat, hugged Ali tightly in my arms, and warmed her with my own body heat, and sure enough, after about half an hour, Ali finally stopped crying and fell asleep quietly.
Looking at her cute little face, I couldn't help but feel a fever in my heart, and even though we had been together for less than a month, I had dedicated most of my time to taking care of her, as if she were already my own daughter.
03
From that day on, I had a fatherly love for Ali that I had never felt before, and I began to see myself as her father.
I enjoyed lulling her to sleep and playing with her every day, and just like that, a month passed quickly.
One day, Zhao Yajun suddenly said to me: "Li Dawei, Ali has been so obedient these days, it is all thanks to your care, I am so grateful to you!"
I waved my hand again and again, saying that this was all as it should be.
"No, you have a regenerative grace for me." Zhao Yajun said: "I don't plan to run away, my husband owes money, I decided to find his family to negotiate, but Ah Li and I are not suitable to disturb you here." ”
"David, in addition to thanking you, I have a request!"
Seeing Zhao Yajun's somewhat hesitant look, I first said my heart: "Yajun, you say, as long as I can do it, I will promise you!" ”
Zhao Yajun saw that I was so happy, so she said, "I want Ah Li to recognize you as a godfather, after all, you have a life-saving grace for her." ”
In the face of this request, my heart was simply happy, I thought that my fate with Ali could only end on the day when their mother and daughter left, but I didn't expect Yajun to have such thoughts.
So I readily agreed, after all, I already have a deep affection for Ali, and then I asked Yajun where I was going next, and Yajun said that he had already contacted his mother's family and was going to go back to his parents' house next.
But I didn't expect that before our conversation was over, Yajun's mother's family came, and although I was reluctant to practice, I still handed over the child to Yajun.
And Yajun also gave me a note with the address and contact information of her mother's home, which was not far from the mine, and I would go to see Ali almost once every two months after that.
This experience has become something I will never forget in my life, and even though Ali is now married and has children, we still see each other often, after all, I am her titular godfather.
There is no bloody plot in the TV series, and I don't have the help that I only have because I like Zhao Yajun like the gossip of the employees of the mine, after all, rumors are just rumors, and people are watching things every day!
It's good to have a clear conscience in this life!
Note: This story is purely fictional, the names and events in the story are fictional, and the purpose of using place names is only for the purpose of describing the plot and making it easy to read and understand
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