Mr. Huang Yongyu, a ghost genius in western Hunan, wrote a book called "Old Man Older than Me", which writes about the most outstanding cultural figures in contemporary China who Mr. Huang has interacted with, such as: Qian Zhong Books, Shen Congwen, Li Keran, Zhang Leping and everyone's little-known anecdotes. Similar in approach but similar in purpose, what I am talking about here is also the most remarkable person in every household in Songzi: the old man. My father-in-law, the father of our family.
Our old man was born on New Year’s Eve in 1945. His birthday was celebrated by everyone, but he suffered a lot in his childhood. The old man's mother died when he was nine years old, and his father left home and became an orphan. In the summer, I fish and catch shrimps, and in the autumn, I graze grass and herd cattle; when it rains, I don’t have shoes or clogs, so I make stilts made of bamboo poles and tie them to my legs; in winter, I look after the warehouse for the team, so I sleep in the cotton pile. Now the old man gives it to his grandchildren. Talking about feelings: Cotton is the warmest. Use two balls of cotton to plug your ears to prevent cottonworms from crawling in... With his tenacious vitality, the lonely old man learned all the skills in the countryside. The charm of life is that no matter how weak a life is, it will always be favored by fate. The turning point of the old man's fate was a story about "horse riding and blowing the trumpet". It is said that one day an official from the team came, probably the district chief, and asked the militiamen in the team to gather urgently. Without prior notice, everyone scattered in the fields. The old man who was working as a handyman in the team volunteered and said that he could get all the militiamen in the team together within fifteen minutes. The district chief was very curious about how this little teenage man could do it. After accepting the task, the little man turned over and mounted a horse in the team. He rode the horse with one hand and held the trumpet in the other hand. The horse's hooves burst and the horn sounded. Gather the militiamen from all places as scheduled. The old man's courage impressed the district chief, and he took the old man by his side as a correspondent. Later he joined the army in the North Sea Fleet, until he was transferred to the local area and worked in post and telecommunications all his life. The old man never complained about the hardships of his childhood. When talking about the past, he occasionally lamented: I would rather die as an official father than as a beggar.
Speaking of which, the first time I met the old man was when we had not even married. At that time, Changjiang and I were both working at the branch office in the town. I guess I heard something. One day, on my way back from taking out the trash in the duty room, I saw a fat old man standing in the corridor who looked like Maitreya Buddha. The computer room is an important area and cannot be entered by ordinary people. I asked: What can I do for you? The old man looked at me with a smile like Maitreya Buddha and said: I am Yangtze River’s father. I responded hastily and fled back to the duty room in three or two steps.
However, after I got married, I discovered that the old man who looked like Maitreya Buddha actually had a hot temper. I heard from my aunts that this was much better than when he was young. Not long after we got married, the old couple didn't stay with us and only came to stay for a while. Once, on the car returning from the old city, a thief nicked the old man's pocket and almost stole his mobile phone, but the old man found out. With a loud voice and anger, I gave the thief a good lesson in the car. At that time, he was probably in a hurry to teach the thief a lesson. He jumped up and cursed a few times before getting out of the car, threatening to do whatever he wanted. When we came back and heard about it, we all advised him From now on, he should control his temper outside. As he gets older, he should just avoid bad people when he encounters them.
The old man’s fiery temper, which has changed a lot, made me uncomfortable at first. In my natal family, my father had a good temper, and my father’s optimism and forbearance left a deep mark on me. In the new home, the different opinions between the old man and his son and daughter will cause a small smoke of gunpowder, but the smoke will dissipate as quickly as it comes. Basically, within a night, the old man will forget that it is Maitreya Buddha again. Gradually, I got used to this intense communication method and often acted as a mediator. In fact, once the old man said what was in his heart, nothing happened. In addition to the collision of different opinions, another conflict at home is that the old man often disagrees with the old man. For example, when it comes to fishing, the old man is now seventy years old, and he often rides his motorcycle to go fishing. Not only fishing, he also brings an old man in his seventies with him in the yard. The two old guys, who combined are almost 150 years old, often run away together. We tried to persuade him not to go fishing for more than ten miles.
The old man said: I have been riding this motorcycle for decades, what’s the problem? It turns out that when riding a bicycle, one bicycle can carry nine lives! I was very curious about the method of carrying the baggage. It turned out that when the old man was young, he had a bicycle with two aunts on the front rack. On the back seat, the mother hugged her husband and sat on a baggage basket. There were two piglets in one basket. Baby, you really have nine lives. The worried thing still happened. One time, the old man went fishing on his bicycle and chased the rear of a parked truck. Although he only suffered a little skin injury, it still scared the whole family. But after a while, the old man remained the same.
We advised him to go to a community college for the elderly, or go to the flower card parlor for the elderly under the bridge to kill time, but he refused to go, saying that the college for the elderly was restricted and not as comfortable as fishing; he was playing cards. , in addition to not wanting to sit for a long time, the main reason is that I don’t want to lose money. It’s not worthwhile to lose to outsiders. The old man had saved all his life and didn’t want to use any money he shouldn’t have. But he felt that the money needed should not be less. During the Chinese New Year, the New Year's money is always the richest. I often secretly buy it for my grandchildren, and when I come back, the children often still have traces of destruction on their mouths. They also keep asking us: Why don't we let Xiaobo learn piano? I'll buy him a piano!
The nemesis of the old man’s fiery temper is his granddaughter. When he was just born, it was his grandfather’s patent to wash diapers, claiming that the diapers he washed could be used to steam steamed buns; when he was a little older, it was his grandfather’s patent to make complementary foods, and he was an expert at stewing eggs; both children did not ride in strollers, but sat in baskets when they went out to play. The grandparents took turns carrying the car and said: There are many people in the car, and the bottom is full of dust and exhaust fumes. Now the children are picked up by their grandfather every day to do their homework, play chess and poker with them, or be monsters. The old man also has a tender side. Once when we were reporting on the Wenchuan earthquake, and on several occasions, I saw him secretly wiping tears in front of the TV. When I buy something that is extremely good and cheap, I find that it is a camera with low pixels or a PAD with simple functions. I do some research on it myself, but I can’t help but ask us about it. Last year, I gave the old man an entry-level smart phone. He was very happy and often played with it. If there was a problem, he would ask: Why are these pictures squatting on the screen? Maybe it was Xiaobo playing with it, right? Ask Lily: What is the password of this tweet?
The old man’s self-taught skills also include good cooking skills. When he was young, he helped the villagers celebrate weddings and weddings in his spare time and became a master chef. Now I show my skills at critical times, such as making traditional fish cakes during Chinese New Year. Every ingredient is made by myself, such as minced fish, minced meat, eggs, cake ingredients...Everything is easy to pick up, and the proportions and other matters depend on the feel. I looked at it mysteriously and decided to put the electronic cake making scale on it the next time I make cakes. On one side, weigh each material. If you don’t believe it, you can’t learn it. The old man advocates a life of spontaneity and does not pay attention to health preservation and conditioning. When eating with a large family, there must be hot pot every day. Probably because life is so good and I am getting older. In recent years, the blood lipids in the old man Maitreya Buddha's body have increased, and his blood sugar has also tended to rise. I often type in some health information, or buy some health books, and sometimes make grain soup for the old man to adjust. , If you can't eat it, you must stop it. My mother-in-law laughed: The old man is very obedient to you. I still feel a little proud. Thinking about it carefully, I seem to be somewhat influenced by the old man: I will express my thoughts to the old man loudly; if there is anything at home, I will take the initiative to communicate with my mother-in-law; if I don’t want to do something, I will frankly refuse; and once I yelled at the market " "Thief" (see "The Thief" who was wrongly accused)
I think it is very strange that the marriage of two people is not only a matter of two people, but also the fusion of one family and another, with different living habits. collision. For a woman to leave her parents and integrate into another family, she must have the power to convey love, and she must also have the ability to experience love. I'm lucky and content.
Originally, this was the topic composition that I agreed with my niece Lily during the Chinese New Year last year: I wrote about grandpa, but I never kept the promise. On Father's Day this year, I started by writing a few random words for the old man in our family. I wish the old man in our family health and longevity, and may our family be harmonious and happy!
On Father’s Day, June 21, 2015