If I had known that houses were so important to us, I would have bought two units when I had the ability, one for myself and the other for my sister. Because I never dreamed that we, who were so close, would now turn against each other for a hometown.
This is the story of my niece Ping who I admire for decades.
She has been so extraordinary since she was a child
Ping is two years younger than me, and this year she is 35 years younger than her. She also has a sister Yun, two years younger than her. We grew up together and have a good relationship. Although I am older than her and an elder, she is cheerful, steady, bold and meticulous. She will cook noodles, roast corn, and roast potatoes for us when adults are not in time to come back to cook, so she is actually more like an older sister.
Ping has been fascinated by making money since she was a child. When we were still rolling around to get a cent or two cents of pocket money, she would already cut the sour radish at home and mix it and take it to the entrance of the village to sell it to other children. We were busy playing with mud on weekends. She went to pick tea for the tea garden. After a month, she could save two or three dollars. She was a well-known "rich man" among us.
pictures are from the Internet
and we don’t have much time together after going to junior high school. First, we are two levels apart, and each has new friends. The most important thing is that Ping has expanded the "business". The vegetables, cabbage, peppers, and peaches, plums and pears in the vegetable garden are all her products. They are picked on Saturday evening and rode their bicycles to the market early on Sunday morning. After selling them, they will go to the neighbor's house to purchase them. At that time, everyone was poor and the vegetables were sold very cheaply. Ping didn't make much money, but she was still a capable child praised by her mothers for her own meat twice a month. Occasionally, she would buy some biscuits or candy, and then ask Yun to call me over and stuff her mouth quietly. At this time, Yun's eyes were full of envy and admiration for her sister.
After high school, because of the stress of studying, Ping only has time to consider making money during the holidays. She sells meat for jerky during the day and embroideres cross-stitch at night, and earns enough money for her tuition and living expenses in one month. Because of this, my mother praised her countless times and said that I was afraid of even asking for a way out. I have never been jealous of her, and I even felt a little sad that I couldn't explain.
Ping's father was the only formal teacher in several nearby villages back then. Unfortunately, the salary of primary school teachers in that era was very low, and his school was too far from home, so he could only come back once or twice a year. He could not give them enough fatherly love or bring them enough material. Her mother gets up early and goes to bed late every day, and still can only fill the family's stomach. I don't know if this is the reason why she falls in love with making money.
After going to college, we had almost no contact. We just heard that she went to a tourism school, and her sister Yun was admitted to the same university two years later. She has to bear all the expenses of the sisters, so she is still keen on making money during school.
Her story has never been dull
I got together again in 2020. Because of the epidemic, I took my daughter back to my hometown. At that time, they had been back for almost half a year. She still loves to talk and laugh, but many times I don’t feel calm when I see her smile. They are all people who have experienced too much, and I have not had too much spy and curiosity.
Until some time ago, my mother told me that Ping's family was split. My mother suddenly became ignorant for some reason, and she was petty with Yun and refused to give in at all. But I believe that Ping, who has been paying so many years, must have her last resort.
That day, she suddenly cried when she looked at the child playing crazy on the grass. After a while, she wiped her tears hard and said, "Bo, I regret it. If I had known that the house was so important, I would definitely buy two units when I had the ability." I hugged her gently and listened quietly to her telling the story of the past few years.
Ping had a boyfriend during college. He was from the north and was very nice and fit her very well. When the boy graduated, he wanted to go back to his hometown to develop, so Ping followed him to Beijing without saying a word. Because the school is not good and has no experience, Ping is hard to find a job, so she simply wholesales clothes and sets up a street stall.I thought life could go on like this, but two years later, Yun graduated and joined a local tourism company, which specialized in receiving overseas tourists. Her salary was very objective. When it was high, she could get 50,000 or 60,000 a month. Yun recommended Ping to the boss and tried her best to lobby her sister, and the boy also advised her to seize this opportunity. So Ping returned to the provincial capital and fought with her sister.
After returning, Ping was very busy with work. After a while, she found out that the boy had not contacted her for a long time. She called and asked and found out that the boy's family forced him to get married. He didn't know what to make a decision. Ping decisively chose to let go after crying. They survived the days of living in the basement to eat instant noodles together, but failed to withstand the test of long-distance relationship. After breaking up, Ping met her current husband. This man who seems to be a little unworthy of him to outsiders, but Ping believes that her husband's gentle and patient personality is very compatible with her strong and domineering self.
After getting married, Ping Fang, who was unwilling to give up her high-paying job, resolutely gave up her high-paying job and started her business. She chose the beauty industry that was easy to do at that time, and Yun silently put out most of her savings to support her. Everything was very good at the beginning, the store was well selected, the project had a competitive advantage, and the employees worked very hard. Ping started preparing for a new store in the second month of opening. At that time, the apprentice in her store had 5,000 yuan a month and was still packed with food and accommodation. The temptation was quite great. The girls in the village who didn't have diplomas and couldn't do anything, licked their faces and asked her to arrange them. Ping accepted them, and said in her words, "Who is not using it!" At that time, Ping was a shining existence in the village.
Ping and her team
made a million yuan. She spent less than a year. Her mother advised her to buy the house first, but Ping thought that it was barely enough to buy a house. How could her and Yun live in it? It’s better for her to work harder and buy two units in one or two years without the pressure of mortgage. Yun stood beside her sister and said she believed in her.
Ping said that if she knew what happened later, she would have listened to her mother at that time. Even if she couldn't buy a house in the provincial capital, it would be fine to buy two not-so-large houses in her hometown. Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in the world.
may be because of the pace that was too fast, the management was not in place, and employees changed jobs in every way, resulting in the service not keeping up. Most members asked for a refund, and the capital chain was broken, Ping's career collapsed. "Being too ambitious" and "no fortune" have become the oral words of my hometown when talking about her. But Ping was not desperate at that time. In her opinion, whose career was not ups and downs.
But life is sometimes like this. I always like to close your door and lock your window. While Ping was still busy looking for business opportunities, the epidemic came. Because there were no customers, her sister Yun was forced to go home and lay down. After discussing with her husband, she chose to return to her hometown. Ping thought carefully and decided to come back together to try it. But the impact of the epidemic is far more serious than imagined. In this remote small town with tourism as its main business, once there are no tourists, the economy will be almost paralyzed. Yun has no job, Ping works for two and a half days a week and receives a salary of 1,500 yuan. This amount of money is not enough to buy milk powder for her second child. Her husband's job was also greatly affected. In order to apply for job transfers frequently, his salary dropped from more than 7,000 to less than 4,000. Ping said that going from extravagance to frugality is actually quite simple, you can have a baby.
Ping, as the eldest daughter, recruits a son-in-law at home, and can get all the property while supporting her parents. And when my sister Yun gets married, she no longer enjoys these things. But Yun had a bad relationship with her mother-in-law and her husband's family conditions were also poor, so she wanted to come back. After her mother mentioned it to Ping, she agreed without thinking too much. She felt that although there were four children in total, they were all still young and could be squeezed to stay. But gradually the inconvenience and huge economic pressure caused by the increase in people made the atmosphere of the two sisters a little strange, and they seemed to deliberately avoid the topic of money.
But the window paper was still pierced. My father, who had been ineffective for almost his whole life, suddenly announced at the dinner table that the newly built house belongs to his sister Yun, the old house and a small foundation were given to Ping, and Yun subsidized her sister 200,000 yuan. Even though they knew that things could not be resolved like this, these words still caused huge waves in their hearts. Yun felt that paying a down payment of 200,000 yuan was more than enough, and Ping could not imagine how to live a life that she had to save up with her two children from brick to brick.
Ping's old house, which is about to become a dilapidated house, said that for the first time she was a little resentful of her father, and this family was like a hotel where he could live in peace without paying. His salary has been rising again and again in recent years, but he has never subsidized a penny for his family. The money for building a house was taken out by himself and added part of his mother's praise. His salary of more than 6,000 was spent on his enjoyment. He went out for a trip alone with the elderly group, and spent the rest of his time learning music, Hulusi , erhu, accordion, electronic piano, etc., to learn to buy a few instruments, which she could tolerate, but why did her father destroy the balance they carefully maintained in one sentence?
From that day to now, Ping hasn't spoken to Yun for nearly half a month, so I don't know how to speak. As the eldest daughter and sister, she should take a step back. This is how she has been through for so many years. But as a mother, she cannot let her children sleep in the open with her. Ping's ambition seems to have been wiped out by one cent in the past two years. When she talked about it, her face was confused.
There is no winner in this matter regardless of the outcome. However, they have supported each other for so many years, and I believe their relationship will not be so easily broken. And it is inevitable that Ping, who is so powerful, stand up again.
——This content comes from the personal experience of the author "Bobo"
Ordinary people, ordinary things. If you also have a real story that you want to share with you, you can send me a private message. Maybe the next article is your story.
