[This content is an adaptation of a short fictional story, please watch it rationally, and do not sit in the right seat]
I was only eighteen years old that year, I had just escaped from the poor countryside of my hometown, and wandered to the city alone, and I had high hopes since I was a child, hoping to one day be able to help my family, but the reality was too cruel, I could not afford to read, so I could only pack my bags and go out to work like countless young people of the same age.
After coming to the city, I wandered like a headless fly, with a tenacious character and self-motivation, I soon found a general worker in a small factory, although the salary was meager, but I finally had a regular income, my colleagues in the factory called me Xiao Zhang, saying that I was a passionate, introverted but diligent, capable young man.
By chance, I met a girl, her name is Li Mengli, is the only daughter of the factory owner, the ancestral old house of the Li family is in the city, the façade is magnificent, the family wealth of several generations, Mengli was raised in the palm of her hand when she was young.
I also have a bit of pampered energy in my bones, not long after I joined the company, just in time for her to be at home on vacation, she saw me, a new guy, and couldn't help but joke: "Boy, how is the work?" ”
I was a little stunned by her question at the time, and immediately laughed: "It's okay, work hard to earn money to support your family, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mengli was quite amused by my answer, so we gradually became acquainted....
Just such a door-to-door son-in-law and everyone's beautiful story began, but Mengli's father, my father-in-law, an opinionated old stubborn, didn't have a good face for my son-in-law, and what happened later really made me unimaginable.
Speaking of my father-in-law, I still remember, it was the first time I stepped into the Li family's mansion that scene, that day I was led into the gate of her house by Mengli, what caught my eye was a brick and wood structure courtyard, carved beams and painted buildings, in the center of the courtyard is an ancient well, green trees, Mengli pulled me, through the corridor, towards the main hall in the middle.
"Dad, I'm bringing a friend to the house." Mengli shouted a greeting, and soon an old man came out of the room, it was my father-in-law, Mr. Li Wanfu, dressed in a long shirt and vest, with a dull face, his hands behind his back, and his steps were vigorous, he looked at me, his eyes were full of disdain and vigilance.
"Boy, what's your name? What do you do for a living? My father-in-law asked me coldly.
I replied tremblingly: "Zhang Li is my name, working as a general laborer in a factory in the city. ”
"Oh? A poor boy. My father-in-law looked at my outfit and snorted coldly, "How can there be such a subordinate person who still wants to enter the door of our Li family?" ”
"Father!" Mengli hurriedly relieved the siege on the side, "Zhang Li is my friend, why do you talk like this," the father-in-law didn't even want to pay attention to her, just turned around with a gloomy old face, and turned away, I was choked by his familiar resentment and couldn't speak.
Since then, every time I go to Li's house, my father-in-law looks at me with that kind of smiling eyes, and hurts me with mean words at every turn, I know that he definitely doesn't want to accept me as a son-in-law, but Mengli is waiting for me, how can I just give up casually? So I decided to try to change that.....
The days after marriage were not easy, and my father-in-law saw that my son-in-law entered the door at a young age, so he naturally became more and more unhappy, but I didn't complain, after all, it was a great grace for people to marry their most beloved daughter to me, a poor boy.
In order to please my father-in-law, I waited meticulously, hoping to conquer his mustard, but unfortunately the old man always looked painless, completely left me aside, once he was sick, I saw the blood and tried to save him, he glanced at me coldly, and did not say much.
The days have passed like this, I have worked hard, diligent and thrifty, and now I am a small owner, so that I can't even support my wife and daughter, Mengli said that I am her pride, but my husband always looks disapproving.
A little accident in the factory, I was accidentally seriously injured, this serious illness almost exhausted the family's savings, the old man was really a cold sweat for us at that time, but saw that I gradually improved, but also showed a little joy, nodded again and again to praise my hard work, since then, his attitude towards me has eased a lot.
I knew very well in my heart that one day I would always win the favor of the elderly, so I continued to work hard and made the family business bigger and bigger.
In this way, more than ten years have passed inadvertently, and no one could have imagined that just when everyone thought that my father-in-law had completely accepted me as a son-in-law, a sudden change completely opened the door between me and him.
In the spring of that year, the old man suddenly fell ill, lying in bed for several months and did not recover, we called a famous doctor to see a doctor, but after all, the old man was old, and his health was deteriorating, and one day my father-in-law called me with a gloomy expression, and his tone was much gentler than before: "Tension, my old bones, I'm afraid it won't last long." ”
I hurriedly supported him: "Dad, you are happy, and your body will naturally be fine." ”
The old man shook his head slightly, his eyes were gloomy: "I'm old, it's time to die, but I have some regrets, and I have some things on my mind but ....." I was speechless for a while, just looked at him earnestly.
"Go into the study, and open the old box," he paused, and whispered, "There are all the answers in the box...", I don't know why, but I did so, and when I got back to the bedroom, the old man was already drowsy and sleepy.
For the next month, the old man had been boiling the medicine, and sometimes he would come to his senses and look at me with a wistful expression, as if there was something to be said, but after all, he did not mention the matter of the box.
Until that night, the old man left us completely, and before he died, he used his last strength to whisper something to me, but unfortunately, I could not hear those words clearly, and I could only vaguely see his lips squirming.
The old man left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to say goodbye, let alone ask questions, but when I was dealing with the funeral, I saw the box again, and it was placed in a very conspicuous place, as if there was a kind of wordless reminder and waiting.
After my father-in-law's funeral, the old box had been sitting in the study, and every time I passed by, I would unconsciously glance at it twice, the box looked old, the wooden boards were mottled and old, the corners were full of cracks, and the rusty iron ring buckled the lid, although it was somewhat broken, but it could still barely close.
There are also some vague totems carved on the body of the box, presumably it must have been made by a skilled craftsman, and Mengli saw that I looked at the box repeatedly, and also seemed a little puzzled: "You have to be careful with this box, maybe there is something in it, otherwise my father will not still hang it on his lips before he dies." ”
I nodded and secretly made a decision, I couldn't capture my father-in-law's last words, but after all, he regarded this box as his last wish, and I should give him an explanation.
That night I came to the study alone, opened the old box, only to see that the box was neatly placed stacks of yellowed diaries, and some other old things, I picked up the top diary, opened it and flipped through it, what caught my eye was my father-in-law's handwriting when he was young, the handwriting was slightly narrow and clumsy, but quite neat.
"Today is my mother's 60th birthday, and the family is lively and happy.....
I read it carefully, and the diary recorded in detail the various experiences and mental journeys of a young man after he became a son-in-law in someone else's home, and I could feel between the lines that the young man was generous to his father-in-law, but he also hid a little helplessness and resentment.
I couldn't help but cover my mouth, this young man, could it be the father-in-law back then? As if I had found a treasure, I carefully read the pages of the diary, and saw that the rest of the diary was more and more exciting, describing how he worked hard in the midst of hardships and hardships, and finally won the appreciation of his father-in-law and the family property.
It dawned on me that my father-in-law had been a door-to-door son-in-law all his life, and his benefactor was his father-in-law! He worked hard all his life, just to give us a good home in the future, and I was regarded by him as the same person I was back then.
Those of us who are sons-in-law are all oppressed by life and family and have to abandon their families and businesses and run around, but it is in this wandering process that we learn to bear hardships and stand hard work, perseverance, and my father-in-law said very insightfully: "If you want to survive on other people's territory, you must have excellent skills, and you have to be inferior to others, so that you can be valued." ”
Looking at the handwriting in the diary, I seemed to be able to see the figure of my father-in-law running around and working hard: he was doing things outside during the day, and he had to secretly read and study at night..... These bits and pieces all make me have infinite respect for this former son-in-law.
I put down my diary and secretly rejoiced that I finally witnessed my father-in-law's kindness to me, and I vowed to make his legacy his lifelong pursuit, to run this family business well, and never let down his hard work!
Since then, I have worked harder and harder, made the company bigger and bigger, and gained a lot, and now I am the largest entrepreneur in the county, with my children and grandchildren around my knees, and I only hope to pass on the family torch to benefit more future generations.
Every festive season, I will go to my father-in-law's grave to worship, remembering the past that belongs to him, often can't help but tears, at the same time, I also silently thank in my heart, it is the will and high hopes entrusted to him, so that I can be strong and indomitable.
[This story is purely fictional, the people and things in the story are fictional, the purpose is only necessary for the description of the plot, easy to read and understand, if there is any similarity, it is purely a coincidence]