Struggle is the eternal melody of life

Source: People's Daily - People's Daily

The sunset shines on the white wall in the courtyard, and the mother accompanies the grandmother to watch a short video. More than 40 years ago, the life we looked forward to", "upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones", has not only become a reality, but also has the Internet, cars, and smart phones that make life more convenient and colorful. The smiles on the faces of the two old people are a true portrayal of the family's happy life through struggle.

In the 1970s, I was born in an ordinary village in Jiaodong. At that time, the family lived in the great-grandmother's old house of more than 50 square meters. Parents are busy taking care of the elderly while earning work. Due to the low labor, my family often owes the production team at the end of the year. The family's meals are tortillas with pickles all year round. After my sister was born, I was fostered at my grandfather's house. I remember that at that time, my grandfather often looked forward to a good life of "lighting lamps without oil and ploughing the land without cattle".

Later, his father served as the village secretary and led the villagers to open a hardware factory and run a construction team. After two or three years, the life of the villagers has improved a lot. Although there is no worry about eating and wearing, the house has always been the heart disease of parents. In 1981, I went back to the village to go to school, and my whole family was still hiding in the old house. My father cobbled together more than 2,000 yuan to build a new house. In order to pay off the debt, his father obtained the budgeter qualification certificate and resigned to work in the construction company. In less than 3 years, my father paid off his foreign debt and bought a motorcycle, color TV, refrigerator, and washing machine. Later, a small two-story building was built at home, a telephone was installed, and we lived a long-awaited life.

In those years, similar to my family, the lives of the villagers have improved greatly, and new houses in the village have been erected. The change of housing is not only a testimony to the fact that the villagers are getting better and better, but also proves that hard work can get rich, and struggle can create a better life.

Fast forward a few decades, and my parents have passed the age of obscurity. In her spare time, the mother would fiddle with the tablet that her nephew had eliminated and learn to dance square dance with the help of the Internet. The father also learned to use a smartphone with the help of his juniors. Usually, my father reads novels and learns health, and my mother watches short videos and practices dancing. The elderly enjoy the convenience brought by the Internet, and often look back on the years of hard struggle with their children and grandchildren, hoping that they will have a brilliant life through struggle. No struggle is not youth, struggle is the eternal melody of life.

Time passes, witness the changes of the times, and leave the footprints of struggle. Yesterday's struggle created today's well-off life; now's efforts are to reach a new height tomorrow. Our country and nation are creating one miracle after another in the course of struggle, and each of us should continue to achieve our dreams in the struggle.

(The author is a cadre of the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Longkou City, Shandong Province)

People's Daily ( 2021-08-25 07 edition)