001 Old Du's Worries
At the moment of his wife's death, Du Lianshan was unprepared and the whole person was silly. He had just held the wedding ceremony for his little son for less than three days, and the good days had not yet begun.
He was born in the late 1930s. His parents were business people. His family conditions were reasonable. When he was a child, he read books for several years, wrote a good hand, and played abacus smoothly. When he was young, he worked as a cashier for the landlord's family for a while. When the situation was tense, he turned the landlord's daughter Han Yuzhi and eloped. He went all the way north from Shandong, crossed the Shanhai Pass, and finally came to Malingshan Village to stabilize.
In the hard years, he did not suffer any crime by relying on the skills of the treasurer. He worked as an accountant in the village for more than 20 years, and returned to others as a bookkeeper at weddings and funerals, which is very respected by everyone. It is commendable that his wife Han Yuzhi, although born in a rich family, has no temper of a daughter. She is very fond of Du Lianshan. She keeps a close watch on him. After he finishes eating, the children can serve, and finally she herself. Every New Year, whether she has money or not, the first thing is to buy a new dress for Du Lianshan. It is the children's turn to have money, but she seldom adds new clothes.
People say that Han Yuzhi treats Du Lianshan as his ancestor and dotes on him as his grandson. Han Yuzhi always laughs at this statement. She always thinks that her man has the ability. If she hadn't caught up with the chaos of war, she would have become an official. The husband and wife raise eyebrows and respect each other like guests. They live a hard life, but they are also comfortable. As long as Du Lianshan decides on big things and small things, Han Yuzhi never objects. Du Lianshan acts like an emperor at home, opening his mouth and reaching out his clothes.
Han Yuzhi has grown up alone with four children. She didn't let Du Lianshan wash a diaper or coax her children for a day. At home and abroad, she can do all kinds of work clearly and neatly, ranging from driving cars to farming to repairing houses and beds. Sometimes Du Lianshan wants to help, but she refuses. She says that a scholar should look like a scholar. She can do all these hard work alone. As for washing and cooking, chopping firewood and burning fire, Du Lianshan won't touch a finger. Sometimes Du Lianshan just wants to help, but he can't find a place to start.
Du Lianshan gets up very early every day, turns around the house with his hands behind his back, washes his face and eats. After dinner, he lies on the rocking chair sucking a bag of cigarette pans and sleeps for half an hour. Han Yuzhi called him up on time, drank a bowl of freshly cooked bone soup, put on clean clothes, and went out with a straight waist, holding an iron abacus in his hand, while walking, he shook the abacus crackling.
On the 200 meter road from home to the village committee, many villagers politely greeted him and called him Mr. Du. Mr. Du nodded his head without squinting, and a mysterious smile hung on his mouth.
He likes this feeling. He thinks he is special and different from others.
The good day ended suddenly, which made Du Lianshan lose his sense of superiority for decades.
Han Yuzhi's death is not without signs. Since she was preparing to marry her youngest son, Du Jianshe, she has always felt chest pain, stuffiness, and sometimes even sweating with pain.
She is tough and grits her teeth.
Du Lianshan persuaded her several times to go to the hospital in the city, but she always wanted to finish the wedding of her youngest son first. Unexpectedly, the drag is getting worse and worse. She held a tight breath and married her little son in a beautiful way. After a worry, she lost her breath.
Du Lianshan knew that his wife had a bad heart and was seriously ill, but he never thought of it. When he woke up, his wife unexpectedly went there without leaving a word. When they watched the special program of Macao's return at night, he said half jokingly that he would save some money and take her to Macao. Han Yuzhi smiled like a little girl and murmured that she would be satisfied if she could go back to her hometown and have a look.
Du Lianshan hasn't had enough water and rice for three days in a row. On the day his wife went to the crematorium, he refused to go. But when the hearse left, he ran out crazily to chase it. He ran all the way from home to the crematorium, and his feet were covered with blisters.
Han Yuzhi's death took half his life.
But life has to go on. After finishing the funeral for his wife, a thorny problem was put in front of him. How can he live?
He can't light a fire. He doesn't even know where the firewood is; He can't cook. He doesn't even know whether to put oil or vegetables first; He can't wash clothes, farm, or take care of chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep in a yard. He can't even smoke a cigarette pot. He can't find tobacco anywhere. He feels he can't live without Han Yuzhi.
He has to face a very realistic problem, pension.
He is very traditional and pays attention to raising children to prevent old age, so it naturally falls to his two sons to provide for their old age. However, it is not appropriate to think about it.
Han Jianguo, the eldest son, is his heart. From childhood to adulthood, he has always been partial, not because the boy is rare, but mainly because when he first came to the northeast, his life was miserable. The eldest son was hit by a tree when he went up to cut firewood, broke his leg, fell ill, and walked limply. He and Han Yuzhi have always felt indebted, so they favor the eldest son in everything. Let's just talk about marriage. Du Jianguo married in 83 years. Du Lianshan gave a betrothal gift of 3000 yuan and built a new house. The old couple carried the famine of marriage, and didn't give a cent to their son and daughter-in-law. By the time Du Jianshe, the youngest son, became a family, although the betrothal gifts were also 3000 yuan, the purchasing power of 3000 yuan in 16 years was not comparable. The youngest son had no house when he got married, so he rented two rooms in the village to make do. The famine owed by his marriage was all his own, and the old man didn't care. Du Jianshe wants to be strong and doesn't care about these things, but his new daughter-in-law, Jin Ying, doesn't think so. She gnashes her teeth with hatred.
It is reasonable to say that the eldest son should provide for his old age. After all, the boss has taken advantage of all the advantages in the family. However, Du Jianguo was so poor that he could not even support his wife and children.
Du Jianguo is a bruise. Because of his disability, he has been silent. Except playing cards and meeting beautiful women, he can show a little spirit. In other times, he mostly looks sad, just like his dead father. Although he works hard, he still cannot get rid of poverty. When it comes to whether to support Lao Tzu or not, he doesn't count. Li Cuiling, his unruly wife, must nod her head. Du Lianshan is embarrassed to discuss with his daughter-in-law, and can only hint at Du Jianguo in a roundabout way. Du Jianguo has a bitter face. Like a sculpture, he has never said anything. Du Lianshan is furious.
He wanted to spend time with his little son, but when he thought of Jinlan's face, he felt that he could go there without shame, but he must be angry.
He has never been angry in his life. How can he bear it when he is old?
When he couldn't sleep, he also thought about two girls, which was really not good. His youngest daughter, Du Qiulan, can't be counted on. His son in law, Xu Erzhu, is so stingy that he looks down on her. In addition, Du Qiulan has no position in the Xu family, so he can't afford to go there himself. Du Qiulan also has a father-in-law and a deaf mother-in-law who are paralyzed on the kang. If they go, they will not be full of excitement?
The eldest daughter Du Qiumei's family should be the most suitable for retirement, because she married a foreigner, and her mother-in-law had died long ago. The son-in-law Liu Damin is a good person, reliable, always respected him, and the best place to go. However, Du Lianshan has a knot in his heart and doesn't want to open his mouth.
When Du Qiumei was young, she looked handsome. The people who proposed marriage in eight villages and ten miles were about to break through the threshold of the old Du family, but Du Qiumei didn't like any of them. Finally, she followed Liu Damin, a carpenter who ran errands. She was poor, and even had no parents in law to help. Du Lianshan was so angry at that time that he beat Du Qiumei for the first time in his life and didn't give her any responsibility.
Du Qiumei was stubborn by nature, and she just broke through the secular eyes and married Liu Damin. At that time, they set two tables of wine to invite relatives and friends to sit down, but no one came from noon to evening. Later I learned that it was his father Du Lianshan who said that anyone who dared to go there would never be allowed to step on Du's door again. Du Qiumei immediately slapped the table and got drunk with Liu Damin. She swore that she would behave herself and show Dad.
The house they borrowed at that time was bare and the most valuable property was probably a bed. Fortunately, Liu Damin is pragmatic and capable, and has a smart head. He has not only bought a house but also set up a small carpentry factory in the village. Rich has distant relatives in the mountains. When life gets better, the relationship between father and daughter will be relaxed. If we don't mention the past, we should call them father or father.
However, Du Lianshan felt headache and guilty at the sight of Du Qiumei. Du Qiumei has been used to by carpenters in recent years. She doesn't touch the spring water with her fingers. She swings around the house with her arms, like a savage princess. He didn't dare to tell Qiu Mei his ideas directly, so he had to change his ways and try to get words from Liu Damin. Liu Damin was honest, honest, and warm-hearted. He promised. Du Lianshan told him to go home and discuss it.
When Liu Damin came home, he said that although Du Qiumei was unhappy, he didn't say anything. After all, he was his own father, so he couldn't watch him starve to death.
Du Lianshan's heart fell to the ground. He looked at the calendar and was ready to move on an auspicious day.
But before he left, his youngest son Du Jianshe and his daughter-in-law Jin Ying carried their luggage.
