The sound of the bells far away
◎Lin Chenggong
On the morning after the Mid-Autumn Festival, I went for a walk in Fenghuangling and saw that the long chairs in a nursing home in Lunan were filled with elderly people of men and women. In the gloomy weather and cool breeze, they looked outside the garden intently, as if waiting for something. The black and fancy iron doors are tightly isolated from the outside world, and their spiritless and turbid eyes are filled with sadness and depression. I suddenly remembered that the years have come to Double Ninth Festival on September 9th, and the expectations of these old people are self-evident. I think, who are looking forward to their children, can some of these elderly people continue to sit here at this time next year? Can you still wait for your children here? Looking at this somewhat depressing and even sad scene, my mind couldn't help but linger with the passing bell.
——Preface
In April 1975, Qixia County was preparing to hold a county-wide industrial production exchange and advanced commendation meeting on May 1st Labor Day. The County Industrial Bureau appointed me to a silk enterprise located in the commune's headquarters to write a speech by a workshop director Ai Shang.
Due to the need for interviews, accompanied by relevant staff in the factory, I went directly to the employee's residence to learn about the situation of the workshop director. Looking at the decorations at their homes, I saw that there were clocks on the tables in each household, and I could see the time at a glance. The clock became an indispensable timekeeping tool in Jiaodong rural areas at that time and was also a kind of home decoration.
During that time, I met many employees, some even became friends. Later, due to various reasons, the factory went bankrupt. The county arranged some employees to live in the city according to personal wishes. Coincidentally, their residential building was on the south side of my house, becoming a neighbor who "hears the sound of chickens and dogs", and often saw people they were familiar with back then.
After these employees entered the city, their timing tools were still bringing those clocks. Because the two buildings are close together, the jingling bells coming from the South Building are endless at night. At first, I was a little disgusted with the sound of the bell because it affected my rest. But later I gradually got used to it. In the dark night, I didn’t need to look at the clock, and the loud bells told me time.
As time goes by, the bells in the South Building are becoming increasingly sparse, and later few bells ring. Friends there told me that many elderly people have "left", and even the workshop director I wrote about at the beginning also died of illness. I was very surprised by their departure. After more than 40 years, they actually "farewell without saying goodbye", which is really sad.
I like to bask in the sun. Every spring, autumn and winter afternoons, I am used to receiving the favor of the sun on my balcony. Inadvertently, I often see some elderly people in the South Building opening the windows and looking out. I often see some elderly people coming downstairs with crutches and sitting silently. They didn't say a word, but they looked at passers-by from time to time, as if they were welcoming someone's arrival. I once saw an old man motionless in the cold wind and snow. The snowflakes wrapped around his clothes and pale hair, but the old man was still stubbornly guarding the intersection where few people had passed. As the lights first started, the old man stood up reluctantly and left.
After frequent observation and speculation, I finally realized that they are looking forward to their children going home, to see their descendants who are longing for the day and night. However, this kind of hope is often a luxury. Watching the elderly people closing the windows helplessly; watching them stagger with disappointment and loss, walking and returning home with difficulty, I can’t help but feel sad. For these elderly people who are already in their twilight years, it is so difficult to satisfy their "cheap" wishes and hopes!
The pendulum is like an annual ring, and the sound of the bells urges people to grow old. These old people, including the dead, were also full of energy and vigor. Under the urging and inspiration of the bell, I worked diligently for my family and children to get up early and go to bed late, just like a clockwork that was on the strings. The unstoppable pendulum "swayed" them from youth to old age; the 24-hour bells sent them from black to gray hair; the hour-to-minute hand that constantly changed time also "turned" these people from their prime to their twilight years. In the end, some old people could no longer hear the familiar bell.
Life has been like this decades, from Yaya learning to getting married and having children to managing the family business, working hard for a livelihood. When children are young, they are regarded as treasures. When children become adults, they care about their studies and work, worry about their living conditions, and tighten their belts to save money and spend money to buy a house. Nowadays, after entering his old age, he still has to spend his energy and energy on care for his children and picking up and dropping off at school. When he completes all the "tasks", he will reach the twilight years of his life with many diseases and many diseases.
The wind and rain are leaning against the poor family, the cold stove and the cooking bed are not warm, the past has been filled with joy, but now the white hair is guarding the dusk. Three hundred and sixty-five years a year, waiting for the descendants every day. In theory, what the elderly at this time need most is the care of their children, they need to wind the "clock" of their twilight years of life, and they need spiritual comfort. They do not demand how much their children will make contributions, nor do they require material conditions such as food, drink, or even good clothes and use. The elderly who have not been easy in their lives will seek a happy family life, hoping for the happiness of family life with their children and grandchildren. As children, can’t we take our children home often to see them? Even if it’s a joke or a chat with your parents. Although I am busy with work and have a lot of pressure in life, I don’t have time to visit my parents? Why do you have the heart to let your parents look forward to their children so eagerly? Although I don’t understand the actual situation of their respective families, the desire eyes of the elderly show that their children are not doing enough.
I like Lu Opera , and I often hear the songs of Lu Opera from the South Building. It is a helplessness for the lonely and helpless elderly people to relieve loneliness and pass the time. Once downstairs, I saw an old man tremblingly holding a small recording machine and sitting at the intersection listening to the Lu opera "The Wall Story". When I sang one of the passages: "It's hard to be old, it's hard to be old, it's useless to be old...", the old man's eyes were first filled with tears, and then he burst into tears...
The old man's tears fell on the shiny clothes along his vicissitudes of cheeks and long beard, which really made me not expect how it would be. I don’t know what grievances or sorrows in the old man’s heart, which made him cry on the street. I asked the insider why, saying that the old man had two sons and one daughter, and his wife died early, and the old man did not reconcile for his children. After his later years, he once took turns living in three families, but his children, daughters and son-in-law both despised the elderly and drove their father back to their original residence for various reasons. The elderly who had poor self-care ability were hungry and full and suffered from time to time, and their children rarely went home to take care of them.
One morning, an old worker from the old man went to deliver some food. He knocked on the door for a long time without a reply. The old worker felt something was different and hurriedly opened the door with the key. The old man gave his friend a key because of his poor memory in case of emergency. But seeing the old man curled up on the cold earthen kang, he had long lost his breath. On the plate on the kang, there were half a steamed bun and half a bowl of polenta . Accompanied him, there was an old-fashioned TV that had not been opened for a long time, covered with thick dust and a big butt, and a clock that had been shut down. The old man's mobile phone was also unrecognizable because the deceased's hand trembled during his lifetime. The miserable old man left quietly, walking on a snowy night. Who can imagine how this old man can pass on the lonely and cold time in such an environment? Seeing that the old worker was so miserable, my friend couldn't help but shed tears of sadness.
Listening to the old man’s friend’s story made me very angry, and I remembered the poem by a poet in the Qing Dynasty: "A tragic night in the middle of the woods, it is better to have a son than not." What made the old man’s friend even more angry was that after the children buried the old man in front of their father’s and colleagues, the three children were so disdainful that they were quarreling over the battle for the inheritance, and almost fought and staged a modern version of "The Story of the Wall". If the old man knew about it underground, the originally cold heart would definitely be even worse.
Some young parents treat their children very much and treat parents who have raising grace, which is a huge difference.Along the way to my residential building is a kindergarten. Every morning and evening, when I see my children's parents picking up their children, I can be said to be careful and caring. I can really hold it in my hands and fear falling, and I hold it in my mouth for fear of melting, and take care of it meticulously. When the child had already entered the kindergarten, he was still standing outside the iron gate and pouring his attention and pampering eyes, and was reluctant to leave for a long time. At this time, the child's parents were looking in. Looking at this familiar "landscape", my thoughts immediately turned to the nursing home, where the elderly people often looked out through the iron gate. After some children send their parents in, they have removed their burdens and rarely visit them again. At this time, the elderly may not have much food problems, but they still need spiritual care and the warmth of family affection, but some elderly people find it difficult to get what they want. Once, I went to the nursing home to visit my friend's father and saw an old man holding a rice bowl in his hand. He choked and cried while swallowing the unsweet food. They don't just need to solve the problem of food and clothing. Standing in the tightly barrier-free nursing home, looking at the outside world, the hearts of the elderly were as cold as this heavy iron gate! How much they want to see their children who are raised by one hand! If these elderly children show a few percent tenderness to their children and take care of their parents, they will not make the elderly so sad!
lists so many "negative" examples, which seem to be a generalization. Of course, there are also many people who are filial to their parents and give great care and care. Respect and love for the elderly is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation and a principle that every child should follow. It is completely a duty, it should be done, and it is not worth showing off. We don’t need to repeat these familiar and well-known principles. But understanding, knowing, and understanding is not proportional to whether you can do it. There are many people who are different from each other and do what they say. What I want to say is that these people also have time to grow old and the day they "fall" under their children. If you don't do a good job of role models, the children will be influenced by them. Maybe the same ending will be waiting for you. If there really is that day, are you guilt, regretful or willing? The bitter fruit you cultivate yourself must be swallowed by yourself.
The son wants to raise his parents but his parents are not waiting. During the Double Ninth Festival, I sat on the balcony and enjoyed the sun again, but I never saw the old man who opened the window on the south building and looked at it again, nor did I see the old aunt who often sat on the street... Where have they been? Have you left with the disappearing bell? In front of my eyes, the figures of the old man seemed to be shaking, and they gradually drifted away with the passing bell...
Author profile
Lin Chengcheng , a descendant of Qixia Temple. Born in a poor family, growing up in a deep mountain village. Because of his family's influence, he has loved liberal arts since childhood. Although he is a little talented and knowledgeable, he has an original mood and complex. He works for Qixia Tobacco and is engaged in copywriting and writing. Be indifferent and low-key in dealing with the world and pursue a safe life. If you occasionally have a clumsy work, you will inevitably be innocent and shallow. There is nothing else to do, just to be happy. Member of Yantai Prose Society.
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