In recent years, families have been living busy lives, often reuniting only during the Chinese New Year. When I was a child, my siblings used to play together, but since we got married, we have gradually become busy, and we rarely have the opportunity to get together. This year is an important day for Da Lin's mother to turn 80 years old, and Da Lin proposed to his eldest sister and eldest brother to go home early for the New Year, and celebrate this special birthday for his mother by the way. The eldest brother didn't care about this, and he rarely spent time with his mother for his birthday for many yearsThe eldest sister was a little hesitant at first, but finally agreed.
Since his father's death, Dalin has hardly gone out to work, often staying in the town or county to work, and returning home to take care of his mother when he has time. In contrast, the big brother and the eldest sister have more responsibilities and a busier career. Big brother's hair has turned gray due to work pressure. On his mother's birthday, the eldest brother generously took out a red envelope of 2,000 yuan to give to his mother, while the eldest sister only gave 200 yuan. In the evening, the eldest brother's emotions began to become uncontrollable.
The eldest sister got married early, and Dalin was still studying at that time. Her husband is a hard-working man, although the family is not wealthy, he works diligently to take care of the family's more than ten acres of land, busy with farm work during the day, and has to go out to work at night.
Soon after the marriage, the eldest sister welcomed two sons. In order to take care of the children and household chores, she gave up working outside the home and had to rely on her husband's hard work to support the family.
Over time, the two children were successfully admitted to university. Back then, Dalin and the eldest brother each gave 2,000 yuan to the eldest sister to celebrate the children's achievements.
However, people may not know that the eldest sister's life has not been easy in these years. Working alone to support two schooling children is facing tremendous financial pressure.
After the children entered college, the eldest sister also joined her husband to work outside. They work as casual laborers on construction sites, each with heavy manual labor. Although the eldest sister doesn't care about the hard work, as long as she can earn a salary.
In the village, people praised the eldest sister for her good fortune, and both children went to college, and the future will be happy. However, only Dalin knows that the eldest sister has also worked hard all these years.
In order to increase the family income, the eldest sister handed over more than a dozen acres of land in the family to her in-laws to cultivate. But this year, there was an accident, and the eldest sister's father-in-law accidentally injured his leg by a car while harvesting wheat, and the condition was serious.
Dalin visited on behalf of the eldest sister's family, but felt heartache. After so many years, the house where the eldest sister got married is still the same. Now the wall on the west side of the house has collapsed and has not been repaired.
Dalin wanted to help the eldest sister, but he was also strapped for money and couldn't give substantial help.
The eldest sister was anxious and longed to go home to take care of her husband, but the old man insisted on not letting her go back. He claimed that he only suffered a skin injury, and that his eldest sister was not worth worrying about, believing that earning money was more important.
The eldest sister trusted the old man's words.
Over the years, the eldest sister has been engaged in a variety of jobs, including carrying bricks, delivering takeaways, and doing manual work. She had hoped that her life would gradually improve, but a series of accidents occurred at home, first her mother-in-law suffered a cerebral infarction, and although she was saved, she needed continuous care.
The husband's mobility is limited, while the mother-in-law needs extra care, which exacerbates the pressure on the eldest sister.
Eventually, the eldest sister had to leave her job and go home from out of town to take care of her in-laws.
Once back home, the eldest sister is more diligent, especially after her father's death. She came home so often that she even considered taking her mother with her. After all, she has already taken care of two old people, and it will not hurt to have one more.
However, Dalin is still worried about his eldest sister. He came back from out of town and found odd jobs in his hometown, often accompanying his mother.
Every time the eldest sister comes back, she brings some gifts. Maybe bananas, pork belly, or even a chicken. The family knew that the mother liked to eat dumplings, so the eldest sister often prepared the dumpling filling at home, and then breaded the dumplings together. If there is no one at home and the mother doesn't want to cook, she leaves some dumplings in the refrigerator for her to eat.
Such a life lasted for several years. Subsequently, the eldest sister's father-in-law's physical condition improved, and she was allowed to go out to work. After all, she has two sons who need financial support for their future.
The eldest brother is usually not at home, but every time he tells the eldest sister that if her nephew needs money to get married, although she tells them that although big money may not help, small money can still support a little.
Although Dalin and the eldest brother have said these words many times, the eldest sister has never opened her mouth to borrow money for many years.
The eldest brother-in-law is honest and responsible, and the eldest sister does not want to cause trouble to the family.
Once, the eldest sister gave birth to her second child, and the child was in danger of life as soon as it was born, and the eldest brother-in-law was very anxious, but there was nothing left at home. In the end, it was her father-in-law who borrowed money from his hometown, so they hurried to the hospital, and finally raised enough money to save the child's life.
The mother blamed the eldest sister, why did she have to bear everything alone, why didn't she ask her family for help?
The eldest sister listened, but only sighed deeply.
Perhaps in the hearts of many people, once a girl gets married, there is only the distinction between her mother-in-law's family and her mother's family.
After many years, the eldest sister's eldest son finally got married, but he owed a lot of foreign debts. The eldest sister brought a lot of gifts with her mother during that visit, and before leaving, she told her mother that she might not be back until the end of the year because she needed to go out to work to earn money to pay off her debts. She also has a son who is not married.
The mother is very old, and she has no words to save her, but she repeatedly told the eldest sister to take care of her body and not to stay up all night.
After the eldest sister left, she often called her mother, but because of her mother's back of her ears, she couldn't hear clearly many times. So every time Dalin came home from work, the eldest sister would hurry up to call **, and Dalin was responsible for translating and conveying the meaning of the eldest sister to her mother.
My mother always emphasized that the eldest sister should pay attention to her physical health, especially when she was working outside. Everyone's life is full of busyness and pressure, one debt after another, and the eldest sister has also borne a huge burden over the years, and her face is gradually aging.
This year, his mother is 80 years old, and Dalin and his eldest brother and sister are discussing going home early to celebrate their mother's birthday, after all, everyone has been busy all these years, and it may be time to reunite.
The eldest brother didn't say much, but the eldest sister seemed to be a little hesitant.
Dalin understands that the eldest sister wants to work outside more, especially during the Chinese New Year, the salary is higher than before, and the eldest sister does not want to miss such an opportunity.
Just as Dalin was about to back down, he heard the eldest sister say that she would go home on time.
On my mother's birthday, the house was bustling with activity, and I hadn't seen so many people gathered together for a long time.
The mother was smiling and happy, and wanted to shake hands with every child when she saw them. Perhaps this is the so-called "full house of children and grandchildren".
It wasn't until noon that the eldest sister and eldest brother-in-law hurried over, carrying a large number of gifts, including new clothes for their mother, toys for their eldest grandson, and clothes for Dalin's grandson. The two of them carried a lot of gifts in their hands, as if they couldn't finish them.
The eldest sister put down her things and busily went into the kitchen to help the rest of the family prepare meals. Although she was skilled in the kitchen, Dalin could see that the reason why she was so busy was more to create something for herself to do so as not to feel at a loss.
During the meal, the eldest brother handed his mother a red envelope and wished her a happy birthday, and Dalin also wanted to hand it over, but his mother politely refused. The eldest brother doesn't seem to want Da Lin to hand over red envelopes, after all, Da Lin has been the main pillar of the family to take care of his mother over the years.
During this dinner, the eldest sister saw that the eldest brother also took a red envelope, so she took out a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to her mother, but her expression was a little strange.
Dalin sensed the problem - the thickness of the red envelope.
The eldest brother's red envelope is obviously much thicker than the eldest sister's.
However, everyone knows that the important thing is to celebrate their mother's birthday, and the presence of people is the best blessing, and everything else is secondary.
The eldest brother and the eldest brother-in-law have a good relationship, after all, they are of the same age, and both families have two sons, which has become a common topic between them.
At the dinner table, the eldest brother-in-law kept sighing, while the eldest brother kept handing him cigarettes. Every time the eldest brother-in-law was drunk, the eldest brother accompanied him to drink.
Throughout the dinner, they could feel the hardships of the eldest sister over the years. She had just solved the famine in her eldest son and was now worried about her younger son's future. What's more, her mother-in-law's condition has deteriorated again, and the eldest sister may have to stay at home to take care of the elderly after the New Year. This means that household incomes may decrease again.
As they drank, they became a little drunk and went to bed.
The eldest brother was half-asleep when he heard his mother and eldest sister talking outside.
Xiaoling (eldest sister's name), you can take the 2,000 yuan, I can't use it, don't shirk it anymore, don't talk back to me!”
Mother, this is the money that the eldest brother gave you, how can I ask for it!”
Hearing this conversation, the eldest brother began to feel confused. I gave my 2,000 yuan to my eldest sister?What would my wife think if she found out about this?
At this time, my mother said: "I don't need this money, Dalin has been taking care of me at home, I really don't need money." You have difficulties at home but have never told your family, and it makes me feel very distressed to see you suffer all these years. ”
After the mother finished speaking, she stuffed the money into the eldest sister's bag.
The eldest sister couldn't help but cry and began to tell about the difficulties in her life recently. Seeing that it was not too early, she said goodbye to her mother and left.
The two brothers were quietly smoking cigarettes in front of their home, and after hearing a conversation, their hearts were silent.
That night, the sister-in-law was busy with things in the kitchen, and Dalin was accompanying her mother, when the eldest brother walked into the kitchen.
He told his sister-in-law what happened in the afternoon, and mentioned with concern the hard work of the eldest sister over the years and the plight of the family. He lamented that the eldest sister was getting older and could no longer take on too much work.
The eldest brother recalled that he was sent by his mother to deliver a few cabbages to the eldest sister, but at the entrance of the village, he saw the eldest sister easily helping a family with cement work. He sighed in his heart, this kind of easy work is rare, especially at the age of the eldest sister.
Once he wanted to leave a sum of money for his eldest sister, but was resolutely rejected by his eldest sister. The eldest sister never reached out to her family to ask for money, and was even more reluctant to accept their funding. But hearing the conversation between the eldest sister and her mother this time made the eldest brother feel conflicted in his heart.
So, after discussing with his daughter-in-law, the eldest brother and his daughter-in-law decided to take action together. They took out 30,000 yuan, bought some items, and drove to the door of the eldest sister's house.
The eldest sister was very surprised, her two younger brothers had never been to her home for many years, and the sudden visit at this moment made her confused.
When the eldest brother took out 30,000 yuan, the eldest sister felt that she couldn't accept this large amount of money, and she kept refusing. She insisted that her family was not well-off, so how could she accept so much money
However, the eldest sister eventually accepted the money. She promised that when she had the ability, she would repay it as soon as possible.
Dalin said that as brothers and sisters, don't say such things. Family affection is thicker than blood, and helping each other in times of difficulty is the true friendship between family members. After all, every family will encounter difficulties, and if someone reaches out to help, the difficulties can be overcome.