During the Dragon Boat Festival this year, I happened to pass uncle Su’s grocery store and found a group of single elderly people gathered there, just like a secret place for fellowship.
After deep understanding, by The permission of Uncle Su, I write this article.
1
Uncle Su’s grocery store is a block away from the school and business is slow. Although the goods were not selling well, many of his peers gathered to play cards and chat in the store, making many friends for Him. Zhang Hong, a 63-year-old laid-off worker, was one of them. And she and Li Chenggong are the first couple that Uncle Su made together.
Zhang Hong, 63, is a grinning, good-hearted woman who is popular at the grocery store.
A long time, The personal situation of Zhang Hong Su ye also a little bit clear: when her husband died of cancer at the age of 40, leaving her and her son, Zhang Hong by knitting toothpick box, ground saples, pull goose feather such odd jobs, the son for the university, married and have children. After that, I concentrate on my grandchildren at home.
Zhang hong often mentions her 4-year-old grandson, her dry face will burst into a bright smile, eyes bent.
At the end of the summer of 2017, Zhang Hong came to ask Uncle Su for help in introducing a decorator for the newly bought house she wanted to decorate. Su contacted his best friend li Chenggong, 57, and the two met at a grocery store.
Just begin to contact, two people disposition get along very well, decorate of all paragraph money also have no conflict, added Su big ye did intermediary, Li Sucess gave lowest price directly — the budget that decorates a company was lower than whole 5000 pieces.
When Zhang Hong went home to talk to his son, He smacked li chenggong’s eyes.
Li Chenggong’s ex-wife is a womanwho likes playing mahjong, eating in restaurants all day long and squandering her money. When they were still legally married, she eloped with a man three times before and after, both of whom were playing mahjong at the mahjong table. Seven or eight years ago, she ran away the third time, took all the money from the family, and never came back.
Uncle Su turned a corner to test him: “Her name is Zhang Hong. She is very popular in our street. Her husband died for more than 20 years and she brought up the children by herself, but she hasn’t got married yet.”
at the beginning to see Zhang Hong, Li Chenggong also just feel the affinity, but that Zhang Hong is also celibate, his heart of the stone some loose.
After uncle Su’s matchmaking, and Li Chenggong show enough sincerity and enthusiasm, before long, Li Chenggong and Zhang Hong are very close. Only there was always something between them, and this interval was another half a year.
Faced with this dilemma, Li had only one idea — to spend money on Zhang hong — and to spend the most money to express his love. But Zhang Hong refused, she said, so unwisely spent men’s money, is a very insecure thing.
Li Chenggong had no choice but to devote his attentions to Yu, zhang Hong’s grandson. Li Chenggong himself has a daughter, has been married for many years, but the family’s economic conditions are not good, sometimes also need Li Chenggong to help, so have no children. Yu seems to fill a missing piece in Lee’s success story, and his affection for her goes well beyond “love me, love my dog.”
From time to time, Li Chenggong would sigh with emotion to Uncle Su: “Children’s things are really expensive. There are dozens of toys and even hundreds of dollars for a pair of shoes.”
Uncle Su laughed and answered: “You buy cheap.”
Li Chenggong waved his hand, “That’s no good. A child doesn’t need to be made. I would be a high-end product if I wore a rough leather suit for 50 yuan.
But this series of action of Li Chenggong, let Zhang Hong get more nervous instead. More than once she expressed her concern to Uncle Su: What if her son and daughter-in-law didn’t support and understand? Besides, “my son which can let me walk, I walk this house broke a leg — A feather who take?”
Once, when Zhang Hong’s daughter-in-law was shopping at a grocery store, Uncle Su insinuated and inquired about her: “When we were playing cards, we joked that your mother-in-law should find a wife. She shook her head like a rattle and even said no, she had to take care of her grandson. Just as a joke, I envy your mother-in-law for having grandchildren. My grandchildren will grow up to be less needy…”
Zhang Hong’s daughter-in-law looked surprised and then helpless: “It would be great if my mother-in-law could find a wife, but she has no idea. Before we got married, my mother heard me talk about my mother-in-law and repeatedly told me to be filial to her. In fact, let her take care of the children at home is also a helpless move, otherwise she will always have to steal out to work. Uncle Su, please help me to persuade my mother-in-law. She has already spent most of her life on her son and can no longer spend it on her grandson.”
Uncle Su was shocked by Zhang Hong’s daughter-in-law’s understanding. He admired the young boy from the bottom of his heart, and then felt a little sad — if only his son and daughter-in-law could be like her.
Soon, Uncle Su invited Zhang Hong, Li Chenggong, And Zhang Hong’s son and daughter-in-law, as well as Li Chenggong’s daughter and son-in-law to the grocery store. When the family got together and told each other what they really thought, the whole thing worked out surprisingly easily — the younger generation supported the couple’s feelings, and the conversation went on without a trace of embarrassment.
Before long, the two sides of the children and even the wedding plans of the old talk about it.
Uncle Su is envious from the bottom of his heart.
2
Since ancient times his own knife can not cut their own handle. Uncle Su matchmaker do wind and water, but his feelings seem to have stopped in the mud.
Back to the year before the grocery store opened, in 2016, the conflict between Uncle Su and his children finally erupted after a long time of brewing
“Dad, you don’t want to be ashamed!” Fu Min, the big daughter-in-law, blocked the door and blocked Uncle Su in his bedroom. “You are so old,” she said firmly, “why are you talking to Old Mrs. Jiang? Where do you want our faces to go?”
The little daughter-in-law always does not want to offend people, let alone the old man, so she just gently poked her husband Su Xiaojun in the ribs, Su Xiaojun shouted in the living room: “If you move out, don’t come back!”
“Mom is alive paralysis of time don’t see you serve, now old Mrs. Jiang sick, you die to gather forward! Lao Mme. Chiang’s own three sons are all dead?” Fu Min shouted again.
Before things have not been revealed, Uncle Sue ready to psychological, at the moment the scene and his mind many times expected to overlap. His voice was still flat, barely flinching. “How many years do I have left at this age? I’ve made up my mind. None of you can stop me. I’m so proud of my old Mrs. Chiang now that I have to move in today.”
Fu Min was so angry that he walked back and forth in the living room. Then he said firmly, “You can make up your mind that if you want to get together with Old Mrs. Jiang, you shouldn’t ask us for anything serious or small. Little two I don’t know, but our family certainly won’t cough up a cent again! Old Mrs. Jiang’s head is exposed in the earth, immediately into the coffin of the person, the son later on you, you handle yourself!”
The dispute to Sue was 67 years old, he had exhausted, he scanned the pathos surrounded by a circle of his five people, no one understood him, more no one support him, and after a little hesitation, he picked up a backpack of clothes stood up, in the sight of children angry and helpless quietly across, from before they turn door handles, step out.
Uncle Su and old Mrs. Jiang’s chance encounter seems to be a deliberate arrangement of fate.
He has lived with his younger son’s family since the death of his first wife in 2013. He is in good health. He can take a smoke and drink a little wine at ordinary times. He is not satisfied with his old age.
That day, Uncle Su went out for a walk as usual after dinner. Suddenly, an old lady in the square stabbed into his eyes like a nail. “I recognized her at a glance. My mind went blank, and I felt a sudden lightness of heart and a renewed energy.”
Old Mrs. Jiang, whose big name is Jiang Xiu, is Uncle Su’s first love. 50 years ago, Su Big ye just graduated from junior high school, the boy of 17 years old looks handsome handsome, already had a lot of girls like him, but at that time he is still ignorant, met jiang Xiu of primary school teacher however. Jiang Xiu than Big ye Su 5 years older, the two people in the conversation had a crush on each other, so muddleheaded to talk about a love.
At that time, Uncle Su had just started his job and spent all his salary on Jiang Xiu. They often went to Play with Cao Dian whenever they had a holiday, or rode bikes to a distant place. “We rode hundreds of kilometers to a completely strange place, relying on and trusting each other completely, as if we were the only one.
Although this period of time is short, but in Uncle Su’s life weight is very heavy. He had planned to marry Jiang Xiu, but Jiang Jiang family is disgusted with uncle Sue is a rural registered permanent residence, Uncle Sue’s mother also did not xiangzhong Jiang Xiu, but took a look at a girl in the neighboring village, that is, Uncle Sue later the original wife.
Jiang Xiu and Uncle Sue secretly contact for two months, a crazy idea gradually formed in the hearts of two people – elopement. But before the idea was firmly established, Jiang Xiu was forcibly arranged by her family to go to Guangdong. In the following days, Uncle Su felt very depressed every day and even had the idea of dying. Until time makes it all right.
Uncle Su how also did not expect, oneself this survival can see Jiang Xiu again, two people also just live in the same community.
At the time, Jiang had been widowed for years and was suffering from severe kidney failure. This age together, are particularly cherish. When you learn that your partner is single, love starts pouring out.
“I don’t know what’s going on, the more times go by, the less room we have. The doctor said I had 20 years to live if I was well cared for, and I thought, forget it. He that is ill at ease lives an extra day. But ever since I met Jiang Xiu again, I have felt more comfortable and relaxed every day.”
On the day he moved into Jiang Xiu’s house, Uncle Su took only a bag of luggage and a single rose. He just entered the door, put the flowers in the water bottle, placed on the windowsill, repeatedly adjust the Angle, and clean the room clean again. Since then, cleaning the house, cooking and taking care of Jiang Xiu have become daily routines for Uncle Su.
“I feel decades younger,” she said. “I don’t feel the same way I did before, when I was just waiting to die.”
During this time, Uncle Su never went back to his younger son’s house, but sometimes went to see his grandson, Xiao Yan. small rock just graduated from junior high school, the practice of uncle Sue is also very dissatisfied, with jiang Xiu is more hostile. After a few encounters with his grandson, Uncle Su is rarely seen, even though he lives in a small community, as if he lives across a thousand mountains and rivers. If I really miss it, I will go to the school gate and take a long look at my grandson.
Jiang Xiu has two sons and one daughter. The sons almost only come back during the Spring Festival, and the daughter only comes back once in a few years. the end of spring, Fu Min put the matter to jiang Xiu children’s ears, three people rushed home, back to the first request is to move out of uncle Sue, then jiang Xiu will follow them to the city life.
Jiang Xiu resolutely refused, in her and Uncle Sue plan to ask the community to intervene that night, but a sudden illness, was admitted to the intensive care unit, Uncle Sue was also taken home by his daughter-in-law. Jiang Xiu’s condition developed rapidly. It took only 15 hours from the time he was admitted to the hospital to the time he died.
Jiang Xiu died of illness quickly spread to the ears of Uncle Sue, several children seem to deliberately tell uncle Sue this matter for the first time, in an attempt to eliminate some kind of care between the two people. That moment, su da the vitality of the whole body seems to be “hua” ground once again lost.
After moving back into his son’s house, his daughter-in-law and his grandson Xiaoyan both appear to be very happy, and the previous bad feelings have disappeared directly to some extent. But uncle Sue left a knot in his heart that no one knows.
Half a month later, he bought a grocery store and moved there by himself.
3
After Zhang Hong that pair became, small grocery store as if put on the cloak of a hidden fellowship.
Retired teacher Kong Xi and school logistics Guo Shouhuai are a pair of lovers, every day about to meet in the grocery store. The two have never shared their relationship with anyone close to them, which seems to be a pretty safe bet.
Uncle Su and two people had a talk, Kong Xi may come from the son’s opposition is not too worried, but afraid of “influence reputation”, be labeled as “old not serious” — this for a teacher for a lifetime, has been a very bad label; Guo Shouhuai was more relaxed. He had no children in his life and his wife had died more than ten years ago.
Mother’s date and son Zhao Quan didn’t make a vigilance, a weekend until the spring of 2018, Zhao Quanhe wife about good to play in the wetland, want to give son Kong Xi care, when Zhao Quan find grocery stores, but saw Guo Shouhuai Kong Xi side, head instantly rang – about Kong Xi and humming Guo Shouhuai, Zhao Quan heard more than once, lenovo to Kong Xi test several times before, he suddenly see mother fixed at 7 o ‘clock in the morning to go out every day, home at 5 PM is all about.
In the standoff with his son for more than a month, Kong Xi still insisted on going to the grocery store every day, and came earlier, back later, so as to express an extremely resolute attitude. see mother so tough, Zhao Quan put the spearhead and anger all directed at Guo Shouhuai, Guo Shouhuai did not speak or refute, but as long as Kong Xi to the grocery store, he was never absent.
He runs a twilight romance refuge
“I have no children, and my relatives and friends are indifferent. All my life, I felt like a piece of wood floating in the water. With Kong Xi, I felt like I had finally landed.”
Such a plain disclosure moved Kong Xi, she finally decided to open his relationship with Guo Shouhuai. To her surprise, her previous worry was completely unnecessary. All she got was everyone’s blessing, hindering only her son.
Zhao quan even threatened Kong Xi: “You can’t see your grandson if you do.”
Kong Xi sneered: “Why can’t my grandson see me?”
but the relationship between the mother and two people can not always be so rigid, Kong Xi will entrust Uncle Sue to help persuade Zhao Quan. That day, Zhao Quan and Uncle Su sat by the flower bed in the community and talked for more than an hour, but the effect was not good. Zhao quan never showed a smile, and finally said coldly: “They are so old!”
Uncle Su has no good gas: “one not silly two not paralysis, age how? She gave birth to you, you gave birth to a son, can’t she live her life the way she wants? When you were young, she was in control of your thoughts so that you could have a good life later. Tell me, why are you in control of her thoughts now?”
Then, Uncle Su turned and left. On the way back to the grocery store, he was lost in thought, regretful for his rash speech — which would have deepened the conflict between Kong Xi and Zhao Quan.
Far away, Uncle Su saw Kong Xi and Guo Shouhuai under the pavilion. did not speak, Kong Xi can not wait to tell Uncle Sue, five minutes ago Zhao Quan came to the phone, the general meaning is to have a change of heart, you can try to contact. Uncle Su did not expect that his words played such a key role.
Three wrinkled old men burst into tears, and the hard battle had a happy ending.
4
From then on, Uncle Su’s life seems to have a new support, which makes his boring life gradually vivid. Every day, Uncle Su would put the spiritual vitality he got from the matchmaking and matchmaking and unreservedly put it back into the “career” of matchmaking and matchmaking, never feeling tired.
In the summer, the small grocery store houses are filled with people ranging in age from 50 to 71, and the old folks do nothing but gossip and play cards, sometimes calling before the doors open early in the morning.
Uncle Su was very happy to boil pot after pot of boiling water and cook pot after pot of sour plum juice. During the festival, a group of people will spontaneously bring ingredients, set up a pot in front of the grocery store, make dumplings and boil them, and sometimes simply steam two POTS of steamed bread and fry several dishes. The boisterous atmosphere was no less than that of young people’s parties, and the grocery store had become another place of ease.
“When I am young, I live for my parents. When I am middle-aged, I live for my family. When I am old, I live for myself. I never thought I could live like this in my 60s. It’s like a dead tree coming back to life.”
And one of the most important jobs of Uncle Su is always trying to do the ideological work of the children of both sides. Several times down, Uncle Su has experience, he has been able to deal with all kinds of opposition, even if the children are determined, will calm down and carefully consider their parents’ problems.
In the evening, when people left the grocery store one after another, Uncle Su would often sit on the stone stool at the door, thinking of his former self. “Would I have been too tough at that time, not only hurting the children’s hearts, but also making us passive? I was able to steady, slowly, the end may not be this ending. She (Jiang Xiu) is also suffering from an acute fever…”
At this time, Uncle Su seemed to have lost the vitality of the day, his eyes were no longer shining, and his face was listless.
There are exceptions to every rule, and not every persuasion of Uncle Su succeeds.
Mr. Su’s neighbor, Fang Lian, 62, a retired water Conservancy engineer, met Ms. Gong, 61, while in the hospital. One night, Gong Feng makes a heart attack, because cheng Fang is even before the wife died of myocardial infarction, he saw immediately put the quick remedy pill into Gong Feng mouth, and called the doctor on duty. After the event, Gong Feng said cheng Fang even saved her life.
Before leaving the hospital, Gong Feng even to cheng Fang address and contact, from time to time to buy food to cheng Fang even home cooking, cleaning up to show thanks, also quickly integrated into the circle of the grocery store resident.
Uncle Su asked gong Feng’s meaning, she said Cheng Fang Lian is a good man, if you can get together is a good thing.
Sue uncle asked cheng Fang lian meaning, Cheng Fang Lian is very shy, said Gong Feng good, but refused to admit to the feelings of Gong Feng. At that time, even Cheng Fang’s son and daughter-in-law are also over state to Uncle Su, support the two old people together.
In June 2018, Gong didn’t show up for several days, while Cheng wandered around the door and the house in a terrible hurry. Uncle Su deliberately frighten him: “I hear Gong Feng is picked up by niece blind date to go to.”
Cheng Fang lian jumped up from the chair at once: “Ah! I didn’t know… I’ll marry her, and what will she do! ‘
Uncle Sue laughed. “I fooled you,” he said. “I fooled you. Somebody else a female comrade, you still want a person how active!”
Cheng Fang even hurried to prepare the hardware and gift money, entrust Uncle Sue two days later to gong Feng home. But unexpectedly, Gong Feng did not agree this time.
Uncle Su saw Gong Feng, Gong Feng didn’t say two words but burst into tears: “Sue big brother, Cheng big brother is a good man, but I can’t go — my daughter don’t let ah, she said that if I and Cheng big brother married, don’t let me see my grandson……”
Uncle Su promised, “You will be at ease until you get married. Brother Cheng’s daughters-in-law have already made up their quilts outside. They also said that if you get married, you will hold a banquet next month. Don’t worry, I’ll help you with your daughter.”
Gong Feng’s daughter works in the city, at ordinary times the work is busy, but very filial piety, often buy gong Feng some rice noodles clothes snacks. Uncle Su and she through the phone for three times, early are very smooth, polite, logical, but when it comes to gong Feng and Cheng Fang lian things, just like a person, the attitude is very determined. The last time I even hung up the phone.
When everyone was in a panic, things finally turned around. Just a week before the wedding, Gong Feng read the grandson of the third year of high school suddenly called Uncle Sue, said that after their own efforts to persuade, his mother has agreed to the grandmother and Cheng Fang Lian.
Uncle Su thought it was more pleasant than he had said.
5
Gradually, Uncle Su found a problem: “When they met the right one, they took the initiative to chat with each other. They had a good chat, and soon they formed a pair in my grocery store. People who came to the grocery store knew about their relationship, but outside the door, they were just like ordinary friends. Some of them didn’t even say a word. It was only when we got to the grocery store that we got together again.”
Such people are not rare, Uncle Su summed up a few general reasons: “Some feel ashamed, some do not want to trouble their children, some think they are too old to remarry, and some have never thought about marriage at all. I feel that I can fill the void in my mind and I don’t have to fight with my children.”
The person who directly exposed this problem was Xu Jiang.
Xu Jiang, 57, went to live in the county town with her eldest son after her wife died of illness. As a stranger in a strange place, my son and daughter-in-law went out early and came back late. All day long, she had no one to talk to in the building. Children’s economic conditions are good, he does not need subsidies, usually he has little spending. Before he came to the grocery store, his only pleasure was to go on the street and chat with the sanitation workers.
Xu river are fascinated to grocery stores, also want to looking for a “soul mate” for their, marriage, but it never thought so did some shocking, but xu rivers through verbal skills, generous, have girls galore in grocery stores, often have the old lady because he quarrel bicker, sometimes almost became hostile relationship.
Before long, Xu Jiang and an old lady out in pairs. However, the uncertain relationship soon came to an end because of the promiscuous nature of Many rivers. Xu then hooked up with feng Guihua, a 56-year-old laid-off worker, but the relationship lasted only three months.
In the grocery store reputation, xu River still did not stop at this point, he went to the community activity room of a number of communities signed up for a number of interest classes, yangko team, square dance, aerobics, can see his figure.
More than half a year has passed, Xu Jiang is probably finally met the person who really likes, moved the idea of getting married. He returned to the grocery store, find Uncle Sue, want to ask him as a middleman and the children of the two sides talk. But to the date agreed to meet, Xu River and did not appear, Uncle Su also angrily left.
It was not until one day later that Uncle Su went to the county hospital for physical check-up that he saw Xu Jianghe again. Sitting in the infectious disease area, he had lost a ring of weight, his eyes were sunken and his eyes seemed dull. Xu Jianghe had just been diagnosed with AIDS.
He complained to Uncle Su, “That’s really not a place for people. The whole infectious diseases building is isolated. There are few people in one building. I really want to see my grandson, but my son won’t let me, saying that he won’t infect him, so I have to watch his videos on my mobile phone every day…”
Xu River whole person all withered, speak of oneself thing, sigh ceaselessly: “that day cheng ying’s children find my son’s home, make a scene, all dozen a piece. Cheng Ying asked her grandson to go to Hunan. I was going to look for her, but my son refused to do so. He said that if I went, I would never see my grandson again.”
Xu Jiang most love grandson, natural can not stand the threat of his son, and cheng ying married things can only give up.
But Cheng ying went away, again aroused by the physical and psychological needs, like a flame burning Xu River. This time, he did not choose to find a new partner, but went to a clearly priced place, a 50 to 70 yuan discount, and no emotional money transaction, in Xu’s opinion, is “not only to solve the need, but also to preserve the spiritual loyalty to Cheng Ying, and at the same time to his son’s provocation.”
This kind of bohemianism life style has continued to his continuous cold for a month, take medicine infusion has no effect, after the whole body examination, was found to be AIDS.
Xu Jianghe still couldn’t believe it. Over the years, he thought he might get cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, but he never thought he would get it. Xu’s son, on the other hand, finds it difficult to understand the relationship between “sexual needs” and “old people”.
For Xu, he will have to live in an infectious disease zone for the rest of his life, controlled by free state-distributed drugs. His only hope was that the disease would not explode until he died of natural causes.
The end of the
After the article was finished, I went to see Uncle Su again. When I talked about Xujiang river, Uncle Su was silent for a while and said, “When I went to see him in the hospital on the New Year’s Day, his son brought him dumplings. He threw them into the trash can, and his son pointed to his nose and scolded him as’ old and not decent ‘.”
The grocery store was still open, making ends meet, and Uncle Su was in good health, drinking a little wine now and then. It is mood son is weak only, active pull a line to also do little gradually, both sides hit it off and find him, he also can appear to look for bilateral children bargaining.
Over the years, Mr. Su’s thinking seems to have changed a little. Once encouraged the elderly to pursue a rich life and not live for their children, he began to advocate family happiness. He hoped that the union of the two old people would make the two families a happy family, rather than a chicken feather.
Turning round, the heart that had been so far away from his children came back. The only thing he could do for his son was to take care of himself, eat and drink without getting sick. But the father’s health is also the most important thing for the two sons in the difficult times.
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