In the early spring of rural Shandong, after the Spring Festival, the elders of the family will visit each other according to the tradition to make up for the unfinished thoughts of the year. An awkward silence in the family has lasted for more than ten years. Father and second uncle, the two eldest brothers who were originally close to each other, were strangers in a fierce dispute ten years ago because of their grandmother's support, and they never got in touch with each other again. This grudge makes me face an embarrassing choice every Spring Festival.
In the past ten years, the second uncle's family has become an existence that I have avoided. Even when I should have walked to their doorstep, I always chose to take a detour, for fear of meeting my second uncle and aunt and making each other feel embarrassed. And the father and the second uncle are even more in a posture of not getting along with each other. In the family's "family hall", the other brothers kowtow to the ancestors together, but the two eldest brothers take care of their own affairs. If the uncle sees his father in the house of the family, he turns his head and leaves.
Every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year, I would go back to my parents' house for two days to visit the elders of my family to show respect and New Year's greetings. In the past few years, other uncles and aunts have become the objects of my visits, but my own uncle's house has been bypassed by me. It made me feel very uncomfortable, but I was afraid that my father would be sad because of it.
On the evening of the second day of the Lunar New Year this year, a piece of news made me think deeply. According to others, the second uncle had a cerebral infarction last year, but fortunately, it was timely, so there were no sequelae. This news made me start to reflect, what is the resentment of more than ten years?Is the contradiction between the two flesh and blood brothers really worth keeping forever?
On the morning of my third year of junior high school, I decided to face this family embarrassment head-on. Making up a lie, I turned around to the supermarket at the head of the village, bought a mention of eggs, a mention of roast chicken and other gifts, and then set foot on the road I had never walked before, walking towards my second uncle's house.
On the way, all kinds of hesitations and worries are intertwined. I couldn't help but imagine all kinds of meeting scenarios, and I was worried that my second uncle would reproach me and even push me out of the door. Will my aunt be cold and ruthless to me?These worries made me more and more afraid to move forward, but at the same time, I got closer and closer to the door of my uncle's house.
When I came to my uncle's house, I hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to step into the door of the house that I had not entered for ten years. The second uncle was busy in the yard, chopping wood with a pickaxe. When he saw me, he froze!I hurriedly broke the silence, "Uncle, you're busy, Auntie is at home, right?"Although the uncle froze for a moment, he quickly threw the pickaxe in his hand on the ground, and said loudly as he walked over quickly, "Our niece is here, come up to the house, go up to the house!""My aunt was sweeping the floor in the house, and when she saw me coming, she was also stunned. I hurriedly took the broom and tried to sweep the floor, but my aunt snatched it away. She was so happy that she found sugar, melon seeds, meat floss cakes, and other snacks from the back room, and treated me warmly. The sugar was opened, the oranges were opened, and everything was bought by my brother and sister. This scene was unexpected, and I felt a sour nose, and although I was worried, I didn't expect it to be such a passionate scene.
During my conversation with my aunt and uncle, I learned about the living conditions of my younger brother and sister in my second uncle's family. When parting, my uncle took out a red envelope and stuffed it to me, saying that it was New Year's money for the child. I wanted to refuse, but my aunt insisted that it was for the child, and I had to accept it. There was 500 yuan in the red envelope, which was more than the gift I prepared. Uncle was obviously very excited and happy.
When I got home, I decided to tell my father all about it, because it was a long-standing reconciliation. When my father heard this, he was surprisingly calm, just took out a cigarette and lit it, and sat there to take a deep breath. After a while, he suddenly asked me, "Your uncle's legs and feet are out of the way, right?""This surprised me to find that my father also knew about my uncle's cerebral infarction, but all the time.