On July 6, 2016, in a villager's home in Simenwan, Tongshan County, Hubei Province, a weak voice suddenly attracted the attention of the sleepy man, Le Jianjiu.
He looked at the bed, where an old lady with wrinkled skin and a frosty face was lying. It was his mother, Meng Axiang . Seeing that his mother seemed to have something to say, Le Jianjiu quickly brought a bowl of water and fed it in small mouthfuls.
(Meng Axiang who was ill in bed)
His heart was full of worries - his mother had been in bed for many days, and she didn't even turn her eyes last night. Could it be that she wanted... Thinking of this, Le Jianjiu didn't dare to think about it any more.
Although his mother is ninety-two years old and can be considered a joyful and joyful place, he still dare not think about the rest.
, but very quickly, the choking sound of water pulled back his thoughts. While feeding water, Meng Axiang suddenly passed away. In just two minutes, Le Jianjiu lost her mother.
He stayed in place at a loss, suddenly pounced on his mother and started crying. How should I explain to my two brothers? Le Jianjiu's heart was filled with bitterness. He didn't know how to explain to his two brothers what death is and what departure is again. Because his two brothers... are mentally retarded.
Meng Axiang and 3 sons
To be precise, he has three mentally retarded brothers, but the eldest brother has passed away recently, perhaps because he was stimulated by his son's death. Meng Axiang has gone from taking care of three mentally retarded children for sixty years to a powerless old man lying in bed, dying in the wind.
Thinking of her brother's death, looking at the gradually cold body on the bed, Le Jianjiu's expression gradually became dazed, as if she recalled the story of her mother's tiring and great life...
Meng Axiang was born in Tongshan County, Hubei Province in 1924. She was in the turmoil of the country when she was young, but for Meng Axiang, who had been born and raised in a mountain village for the rest of her life, all this seemed like flowers in the mirror and moon in the water. Although she sounded passionate and indignant, she did not experience it personally.
Soon, Meng Axiang grew up. According to the customs of the countryside, teenage girls are about to get married to their family. Meng Axiang didn't know what free love is, nor did she know what relationship is or marriage is. With the greeting of her parents, she was confused and married to her cousin.
Old photos of rural girls
Yes, cousin, Meng Axiang's marriage is a regrettable marriage of close relatives.
That era was not enlightened. Before the establishment of New China, the harm of close relatives and marriage was just a joke on villagers when washing clothes and cooking. It is normal to get married. Meng Axiang lived with her cousin who had grown up with her since childhood, getting pregnant and having children.
Meng Axiang had three daughters and four sons in her life. This is undoubtedly a great blessing in the village of Duofushan. I don’t know how many villagers looked at Meng Axiang’s family with envy, hoping that they would have many children like her.
, the harm of close relatives getting married has appeared - Meng Axiang found that the son she gave birth to was a bit strange when she was taking care of her children. They react slowly and have slow learning ability, which looks different from other children.
Old photos in rural areas are not related to pictures and texts
Is there something wrong with it? But the small mountain village does not have medical resources, so what can I do if I am sick? Meng Axiang gave up on the idea of seeing a doctor. As the child grew older, Meng Axiang's heart suddenly became full of fear.
The first three sons of his own, the eldest, Le Jianrui, the second, Le Jianzuo, and the third, Le Jianjuan, are all mentally retarded! Even the Si Si Le Jianjiu, who has no intelligence problems, is weak and short!
This made the strong Meng Axiang a little unacceptable, especially after the gossip in the village came, Meng Axiang became even more painful.
(the picture and text are irrelevant)
One second before, I was still a blessed family that everyone envied, but the next second, I became the joke in the village, and Meng Axiang could not accept it at all.
She began to minimize the existence of her three sons. She knew that this could not be hidden from others. But for the sake of her own face, Meng Axiang still did this.
In the small mountain village, the biggest thing is weddings and funerals. Anyone who has a family of good or bad things has to put up a few tables, and the villagers are invited to have a good time.
(the seat in the village, irrelevant to the picture and text)
This is also the happiest time for most children, because there is always meat and noodles on the table, and there are many things that you can’t eat normally. But Meng Axiang does not allow her three sons to go. No matter whether it is a foreign or a casual incident, she will not allow her son to go to the table.
But this does not mean that Meng Axiang doesn’t love them. On the contrary, Meng Axiang loved her children very much. As the saying goes, a piece of flesh that falls from one’s body. If your child doesn’t care about him, who will he feel? Meng Axiang began to shoulder more burdens, helping the family do farm work and taking care of the children...
With her husband, Meng Axiang supported this crumbling home. The three daughters grew up quickly. Meng Axiang looked at her three daughters getting married with tears on her face, and her family's life gradually improved.
But heaven seems to be unwilling to see this miserable woman live a good life. Soon, Meng Axiang's husband fell seriously ill. Because he had no money to pay for medical expenses, Meng Axiang could only watch his husband die.
Meng Axiang and three sons
The burden of the family suddenly overwhelmed Meng Axiang. He looked at the three silly smirking children in front of him, and they couldn't even say a complete sentence.
In order to keep his children alive, Meng Axiang took on all the work at home. Washing laundry and cooking, cleaning the farmland... No matter how hard life is, Meng Axiang gritted her teeth and walked forward desperately.
Whenever I see three sons around me who are unable to take care of themselves, Meng Axiang's body will produce infinite strength to keep moving forward.
The cold and the heat are coming and going, spring goes and winter hides, and it’s like this, decades have passed. Meng Axiang went from being a young and strong woman in her thirties to an old lady who was short and seemed to be blown down by a gust of wind. His three sons with intellectual defects have also become the "grandfather" in the eyes of ordinary people.
Meng Axiang and three sons
But nothing has changed. The condition of the three sons has not improved. It seems that this is the only way for the rest of their lives.
How long can you take care of them yourself? Meng Axiang thought. I am also an older man, and my health has been in trouble recently. I may not say which day... But what should they do if I leave?
It was quite difficult to do the heavy farm work by myself, but now I am old and I have to rest and stop, and I have not even half of the past one day. The fourth son found a job in the city, but it was just a drop in the bucket.
can't let them starve to death! With this idea, Meng Axiang began to consciously accumulate food.
It is also beneficial when you get older, your body functions are degenerated and you eat less. Eat less, leave more for the child and save more.
Meng Axiang’s grain
Just like that, Meng Axiang set up a large jar and put the stored millet into the jar. If something happened to him one day, the children would not starve to death.
One bowl, two bowls. One scoop, two scoops... If you are hungry, then go to the field to dig some wild vegetables to fill your stomach, but try to save the millet and pour it into the jar.
Slowly, the first jar of rice was full, and Meng Axiang set up the second large jar and continued to store it.
Just like that, until Meng Axiang was 92 years old, she saved three tanks of rice, a full thousand kilograms of rice! The three sons eat one pound a day, which is enough for them to eat for a year!
Meng Axiang’s grain
Not only that, because of the serious living problems in their family, the government also listed Meng Axiang’s family as a key target for poverty alleviation. The village invested 30,000 yuan, plus the 20,000 yuan raised by Lejia, totaling 50,000 yuan, and purchased a homestead.
The village also invested in hiring craftsmen to build a new house for the family, and the county will bear all the costs.
Looking at the three mentally retarded sons who have been taking care of since childhood and are still smirking, Meng Axiang felt sad and happy in her heart. Perhaps life will soon get better and she can feel relieved.
, but Meng Axiang, who was happy, didn't know that a bad news would soon come. On May 31, 2016, the 72-year-old boss Le Jianrui passed away. This news hit Meng Axiang's mind like a bolt from the blue.
Meng Axiang and 3 sons
She never expected that her son would actually take one step ahead of her.
This bad news was like a wind and snow, blowing out the flames in Meng Axiang's heart. She suddenly fell ill. The illness came like a mountain of falling, and this mother, who was as strong as steel, was eventually defeated in front of time.
Le Jianjiu, who learned that his mother was sick, rushed back to the mountain village. Looking at his mother who didn't eat or drink, Le Jianjiu felt distressed, but he had no choice.
The blessings never come in singular disasters. Meng Axiang, who lost her son, was a little dazed and was lying in bed. Fortunately, considering the elderly’s physical condition and two sons with intellectual disabilities, the government vacated an idle teaching point and allowed their family to move in.
Sick Meng Axiang
At the same time, the Legal Evening News, who learned about Meng Axiang's deeds, also launched a fundraising campaign for him, hoping that caring people in the society can lend a helping hand and help this poor family.
But this cannot change Meng Axiang's painful heart. On July 6, 2016, this tenacious mother who raised three sons with intellectual disabilities for sixty years alone finally left this world full of pain and regret.
The sad Le Jianjiu buried her and her husband who had been dead for many years according to her mother's last wish. In order to let his mother, who has been suffering all her life, leave with glory, he also found someone to play and play instruments and perform rituals, which is also the last filial piety.
So what will happen to Meng Axiang’s remaining two mentally retarded sons after he died? Will they spend the rest of their life with three jars of rice just like Meng Axiang arranged, or will they be the only normal son, Le Jianjiu, who will hold on to the pressure to take care of his two brothers for his mother?
Meng Axiang's third son
After Meng Axiang's death, Le Jianjuan and Le Jianzuo lived in the teaching point vacated by the government. Considering the intellectual disability of the two, the government also moved a bed cabinet from the welfare home in the town for the two to use. Fortunately, the second brother Le Jianzuo gradually learned to cook and feed in decades of daily life. In this way, the two depended on the food left by their mother for their lives, and the fourth brother Le Jianjiu who came to help from time to time, and the life could continue.
Hemp rope is specially designed to break in fine places, and bad luck always seeks miserable people. On December 1st, Le Jianjiu suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door. He opened the door in confusion and found that the second brother Le Jianzuo who was outside the door was actually chewing and didn't know what to say.
What's wrong with this? Le Jianjiu was full of doubts. He followed Le Jianzuo's footsteps and found that Le Jianjuan fell ill in bed!
Le Jianjiu quickly fed some sugar water to let him lie down, and went to the town to buy some meat, wanting to nourish the three of them. But as soon as he came back, he received bad news - the third brother Le Jianjuan also left.
Meng Axiang’s old house
Just like that, Meng Axiang’s four sons were only two left. The only three children with intellectual disabilities she was concerned about were the second child Le Jianzuo.
In just over half a year, the family lost three relatives. Such a major blow made Le Jianjiu at a loss.
On December 3, with the help of the villagers, Le Jianjiu buried Le Jianzu next to his elder brother's grave. Taking into account the situation of this family, the government came forward to subsidize the funeral expenses of three or four thousand yuan per person for the three dead.
The life of four people is Le Jian himself. Perhaps intellectual disability became a good thing at this time. Le Jianzuo did not feel too sad, but continued his own life. He went to the old house to put chickens and feed them, and drove them back tonight, cook and eat by himself, and continued to live.
Meng Axiang's second son
He lives alone in an abandoned teaching site. This is a spacious but dilapidated courtyard with a huge dilapidated playground in the center. On both sides of the playground are brick houses, and Le Jianzuo lives in a house in the southwest corner.
This house was divided into two halves, one was the kitchen where Le Jian cooked, and the other half was the bedroom where he slept. A dark pot was supported in the kitchen, and a yellow copper spoon was hung in the air.
The fire pit is under the pot. Le Jianzuo usually adds firewood to the pot and cook for yourself.
(Le Jianzuo is cooking)
In the other half of the bedroom, the biggest one is a bed, and then there is a table and cabinet next to it. Le Jianzuo also hung a bamboo pole in the house so that the clothes that were usually washed can be hung on it and dried clean.
Mother left, Le Jianzuo could only farm with the help of others. Some simple things, such as digging the farm work, can also help. Sometimes, Le Jianzuo could meet an acquaintance. Although he couldn't speak, he would still wave his hands with a smile and make a mixed accent of um.
After my younger brother returned to the village, Le Jianzuo also had some entertainment life. Every night after washing pots and dishes and face, he would come to his younger brother's house to watch TV. This was something new that he had never seen in the first half of his life, which made Le Jianzuo very happy.
The new house built by the government for Lejia is also about to be built. When Le Jianzuo knew that he could live in this house in the future, his face couldn't help but show joy. Le Jianjiu was also very happy. His brother's life was solved and he could leave the countryside with confidence.
Lejianzuo, who goes to a new house every day,
After all, I also have my own life. Thinking of his son who was almost eighteen years old, Le Jianjiu sighed. He has spent a lot of savings in recent years. If his son wants to get married, he will have to need money.
He plans to let his second brother live on the subsidy card and the three tanks of grain left by his mother, and he will go back to the village to see his brother if he has time.
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