Dad and grandpa haven’t spoken to each other for decades.
Because of my grandfather’s character, and because he did something that made the whole family indignant!
Grandpa fled from Shandong to the Great Northern Wilderness of Heilongjiang. He was a lumberjack and lived on a hill.
My father said that when he was a child, passers-by often stayed at my grandfather's house.
Grandpa is a drinker, warm-hearted, and will not refuse anyone who comes, especially the poor. As long as he is in a hurry and passes by the door of his house, he will ask my grandma to greet others and give them a hot meal.
In that era, families were poor and there were not so many bed boards. If guests wanted to stay, they usually stayed in grandpa's firewood house for one night and left directly before dawn.
also came back to express gratitude. Two brothers from Shandong specially mailed some dried sweet potatoes from Shandong in order to thank their grandfather.
At that time, the war was raging, and my father and aunt were both very young. They both advised my grandfather not to entertain everyone. If he met gangsters...
My grandfather was stubborn and scolded my father and aunt, so that my father did not dare to say anything anymore.
Grandpa’s friend
When my father was a teenager, he went to school and worked at the same time.
A homeless man who was mending shoes everywhere was sick and about to starve to death. He passed by the door of his grandfather's house and could not move.
Grandpa found a doctor for him, arranged for him to live at home, and gave him food.
After the homeless man recovered from his illness, he went around mending shoes and came back to stay at his grandpa’s house at night.
Later, the homeless man was going back to his hometown in Shandong. Before leaving, he gave my grandma some eggs and said that she would cook them for him so that he could eat them on the way.
At that time, he mended shoes and collected eggs part-time.
After grandma cooked the eggs, the person disappeared.
A few days later, grandma found out that grandpa secretly lent someone 50 yuan, but they ran away without the money before leaving!
At that time, 50 yuan was enough for a large family to eat for a month.
Grandma was so angry that she couldn’t get up for several days.
Two strangers
One day, two strangers came to the house.
On that day, someone was serving wine in the village, and grandpa went to eat. When I came back in the evening, I saw two men in front of my grandfather’s house.
When my grandfather came back, he said, "Brother, can I stay at your house tonight?"
My grandpa asked if they had eaten, and they said they hadn’t.
Grandpa took out two rice dumplings (dry rice) wrapped in clothes and fried them for them to eat.
That rice dumpling was given to me by that family. It was originally intended to be used by my grandfather as food for my father.
Then, they fell asleep in the kitchen on the leaves of the tree that burned firewood. My grandfather's house didn't even have extra quilts...
At that time, it was said that there were murderers running around.
Dad said that he remembered clearly that he stayed awake that night, holding a sickle in his hand to protect his aunt.
The next day, just after dawn, they sneaked away. Later, everyone in the village guessed that he was a robber and murderer...
From then on, my father began to hate his grandfather.
Send a coffin
I heard my mother say that the reason for the holiday between my father and my grandfather was because of one thing.
Before grandma passed away, grandpa secretly gave grandma’s coffin away!
At that time, older people in the north were accustomed to building themselves a coffin in advance. I heard that it was difficult to make a coffin at that time!
With the wages my father saved over the past few months, he took advantage of the convenience of work and asked someone to get high-quality wood from the south.
A friend of grandpa's, who had no relatives and was a bachelor, passed away. There was no coffin, so grandpa secretly carried the family on his back and gave the coffin to someone for emergency...
Dad got angry with grandpa because of this incident, and he completely lost his feelings for grandpa. confidence.
One after another, the family savings that dad finally saved were all given up to his friends by grandpa... The family has been completely ruined by grandpa.
When my grandma passed away, it was difficult for the family to have enough food. She couldn’t afford a coffin, so she was buried wrapped in a few broken straw mats.
Dad and grandpa did not speak to each other for more than ten years.
Grandpa’s Grave
Grandpa was completely destitute at home.
Until my grandfather passed away, my father never spoke to his grandfather, and he felt very resentful.
Grandpa had a stubborn character during his lifetime. He never bowed his head to anyone or asked for help from anyone in his life.
Because his father would not talk to him, before his grandfather died (without any warning), he secretly entrusted my uncle to bury himself next to a solitary grave.
said that the lonely grave was his friend. If his uncle had more money in his pocket, he could give it to his friend and burn some paper money.
Grandpa knows that my uncle is kind-hearted and will not refuse.
At that time, my uncle was a teacher and was highly respected by my grandfather and father, so he agreed.
Grandpa’s Funeral
When Grandpa was about to die, my uncle conveyed Grandpa’s wishes to Dad.
Dad was anxious: No! It’s a miserable life for our family! Dead and placed next to an unknown person! The descendants of our family...
Grandpa passed away due to the stubbornness with his father.
Grandpa’s funeral took several days.
That day, a foreigner had been sitting on the big rock in front of my grandfather’s house. My father thought he was a casualty. In that era, many came here to earn a living.
Dad ignored it. Grandpa had been giving alms all his life, which made Dad tired of it.
Until night, this person still hadn't left, sitting on the stone in a daze.
Out of courtesy, my uncle went up and handed the person a cigarette.
I found out after chatting with him that he came here by train.
It turned out that many years ago, on the train, his mother carried him to the northeast to find his father. He was so hungry that he was shaking, and his mother was so hungry that she could not hold the child.
Grandpa was transporting wood on the train at that time. Grandpa gave the mother and son more than a pound of fruits and thirty yuan.
His mother knelt down at that time, kowtowed, and begged grandpa: If you have the opportunity, help me find my husband. My family is grateful!
found him and sent me a message saying that my old mother was critically ill and she should go home quickly!
Grandpa agreed, but as a result, the address given was wrong.
But my grandfather had many friends, and he tried every possible means to inquire about the person’s whereabouts, and finally found him...
This man sat on a rock, with tears streaming down his face: When my father was dying, he gave me your home address...
For For you, it is a very simple thing now, but in those days, finding someone was very difficult!
Your old man is so down-to-earth. Not only did he help our family tide over the difficulties, he also used his own money to help our family find someone to help him!
If it hadn’t been for my uncle helping you find her, my dad wouldn’t have seen my grandma for the last time!
Many years after my grandfather passed away
After my grandfather passed away, with my uncle’s persuasion, my father seemed to have awakened a lot.
According to grandpa's last wish...
Every time my father burned paper money for grandpa during festivals, he would burn some paper money for the old man alone. When visiting the grave during Qingming Festival, he would also help remove the weeds on the grave...
The old man's grave is Next to my grandfather's grave, the shape of the grave is no longer visible, it is almost parallel to the ground.
Before his uncle passed away, he told his father this secret:
Grandpa told him that the man in the grave was named Luo Guozhang, and he was a bachelor. When his grandfather was fleeing from famine and passing through our village when he was young, he was so hungry that he fainted on the roadside. It was he who used his limited money. It took a little rice and several days of porridge to make grandpa recover.
From then on, grandpa recognized this bachelor as his elder brother.
Grandpa often secretly sent rice and noodles to Luo Guozhang. When he died, there was no coffin, so grandpa secretly took grandma's coffin...
Grandpa didn't tell anyone about this.
Many years after my grandparents passed away
My grandfather passed away. Several years later, a letter from my grandfather came by mail from Shandong with 50 yuan in it.
The letter was written by the homeless man who cobbled shoes, saying that his life was better now, but he couldn't afford the money back then, so he kowtowed to his grandfather and confessed! (He thought grandpa was still alive)
In the letter, he also said that if grandpa were to have a disaster, let our whole family go to them to take refuge. He also thanked my grandpa for saving his life.
Dad drank a lot of wine that day, holding the letter, his hands trembling, and crying in front of the stove, trembling all over.
On the tenth anniversary of my grandma’s death, a monument needs to be erected at home.
It took several days to set up the monument.
An old lady came over alone with a cloth bag and said, "I dreamed about my eldest sister. I feel bad, so I came here to have a look!" Who knew, my eldest sister has been gone for ten years!
The aunt was holding the crutches with both hands, and the ground was smoking. She blamed my father for not giving her a letter! makes her lose her conscience!
Her home is hundreds of kilometers away from mine, and the aunt took three buses... she has no connection with my family, and is not even my grandma's friend...
The aunt said that back then, she passed by our village begging for food, and my grandma gave her She bought half a bag of white flour from her house, and she took it back and ate it for several days.
Dad said politely, that was decades ago...
Auntie burst into tears: You didn’t exist at that time! You were still in your mother's belly. Your father didn't make any money cutting wood in the mountains at that time. Your mother couldn't even eat enough...
The author has something to say.
I still remember that at my grandfather's funeral, an old man drank too much. His face turned red and he said that my grandfather had given him some food stamps during the famine years. In those days, food had to be purchased with food stamps!
His family had a large population at that time and had no food to eat, so the neighbors helped him!
He can clearly remember whoever gave him two steamed buns!
As he spoke, tears burst from my eyes. I ran to the main room and kowtowed to my grandfather's portrait... He was as old as my grandfather.
Yes, people in that era were simple, lived truly, and especially remembered the kindness of others.
In the 1970s and 1980s, people would compare themselves to each other when dealing with situations, talk about endless things, talk about endless feelings...
In that era, the social style and behavior of the elderly are almost incomprehensible to us young people now.
Times are different now. In those days, people were on the road of worldly affairs and lived a worldly life.
Nowadays, life is full of life, and it lacks a little flavor.
I remember that when my uncle passed away, he made a comment to my grandfather: You don’t understand the old man’s thoughts. I think the old man is a real man in the world!
Dad squatted in front of his uncle's hospital bed, burying his head deeply into his shoulders.
cried with both shoulders shrugged.
