On the left is my very cold early this morning, with cold feet, cold hands, cold ears, and the cold wind "cuts" my ears like a knife. It was a morning of minus 12℃, and I went out at 7 o'clock in the morning. At the age of seventy, I have experienced countless cold winters, but t

The one on the left is me

This morning, it was particularly cold, with cold feet, cold hands, and cold ears. The cold wind "cuts" my ears like a knife. It was a morning of minus 12℃, and I went out at 7 o'clock in the morning.

At the age of seventy, I have experienced countless cold winters, but that winter more than 60 years ago left me with warm memories. That was the warmth left to me by my nanny Zhou's mother, and it has never dissipated yet.

Before I was eleven years old, I had been living in Xiangtan, Hunan. Although the winter there was not as cold as Beijing, there was no heating in the south and the climate was humid, the wet and cold winter was the most difficult to bear. My hands, feet and ears often have frostbite, redness, swollenness and itchiness. When it is severe, blisters will appear. When the blisters break, they will become scabs. I often put my hands in my pockets of cotton trousers, but I still feel very cold.

In my memory, Zhou's mother always asked me to stuff my little hands into her pocket to keep warm, as if her pocket would be warmer. In fact, the temperature in my pocket is almost the same, but Zhou Ma's pocket is infused with her love, which makes me feel loved. The warmth does not come from my pocket, but flows out of my heart.

I can't remember how many times it took in the cold winter. My ears, which were red and swollen and scabbed, were cut by the cold wind, and I cried in pain. At this time, Ma Zhou would hug me, lift her clothes, and press my head tightly against her chest. Without the invasion of the cold wind, she would completely ignore the fact that she clamped my ears and face with her two breasts and rub them repeatedly. The only human body temperature of 36~7℃ quickly spread throughout my body, from my face to my heart. I stopped crying, and felt that with the care of Zhou Ma, I was not afraid of anything. Zhou Ma is my sky, my sunshine, and my guardian god. With Ma Zhou by my side, I won’t be cold or bullied.

Mom Zhou is not my biological mother, but she gave me the special warmth and care that my mother has never given me. Her unique way of care has kept me warm to this day. I don’t know which child in the world has experienced a simple way of heating - caressing the child’s frozen ears with the warmth of his breasts! That is great maternal love, which is beyond the mother's love. She gave her body temperature and love selflessly to other people's children, and she is just a working nanny who lives under someone else's roof.

It is natural for a mother to care for her children and is the most common love in nature. Not only humans have it, but all animals have it. However, if you care for the children you love like a mother, you are not born with your own children, and you are even caring for them. This is not an ordinary state or an ordinary emotion, so I can feel it until now.

The north wind was still blowing bitterly. I was walking in the cold wind, and I felt the warmth of Zhou Ma's chest again, and her kind smile and eyes appeared in front of me.

December 17, 2022 Zhang Tao