My father was hospitalized for surgery, and my uncle came to borrow money Brother borrowed me for emergency relief first, and you will go to the hospital slowly
My mother told me that my father's greatest concern in life was not her, nor our children, but his younger brother, my uncle.
If my uncle's family can't eat, I only have water on the dining table.
My father raised my uncle from an early age, and the relationship between them is like the innocent affection between a mother and a son.
Such a metaphor was chosen because only a mother's love for her son is selfless, and a mother's dedication to her son is unrequited.
And the father to the younger brother, just to achieve selflessness and not ask for anything in return.
When he was 10 years old, he lost his mother and was heard to have drowned in the water by accident.
After his grandmother's death, his grandfather left behind two sons.
My father was the eldest son, who had just turned 10 years old and was in the fourth grade of elementary school.
My uncle is the youngest son, only 6 years old.
Some people say that a child with a mother is a treasure, and a child without a mother is grass, and my father and my uncle have become two children who are not loved.
With two sons, one in the fourth grade and the other in the first grade, the grandfather had no choice but to make up his mind to go out to work and work hard to earn money to support them.
Whenever my grandfather went out to work, he would tell my father: "Boss, you are an older brother, you are already 10 years old, take good care of your younger brother, and don't let others bully him." ”
On the days when my grandfather was not at home, my father went to school with my uncle and came home to cook for my uncle.
In addition to this, he had to go to the fields, climb mountains to chop wood, and raise a few chickens in order to provide nutrition for his uncle's hard-boiled eggs.
Over time, my uncle and my dad took different paths.
My dad studied hard and was determined to get out of the life in the mountain village and pursue a better future.
In contrast, my uncle had little interest in books, and every time my dad urged him to read, he always made excuses, either with a stomachache or a headache, or even pretended to be asleep.
My uncle preferred to go up to the mountains to dig birds' nests and go down to the river to catch fish, and he always laughed at the stupidity of people who read, thinking that reading more would make them stupid. He often said, "Look at my brother, he can't climb trees, he can't swim, how stupid." ”
When my dad was admitted to university, my uncle dropped out of school to work, and his grades were always at the bottom of his class, and he couldn't continue his studies.
Mom recalls the moment she married my dad and thinks it was the stupidest decision of her life.
From the beginning, she knew that my father's family was poor, but it was not until after marriage that she realized that my father was shouldering selfless care and support for my uncle.
This discovery made her feel unbearable, but my father firmly told her that in his heart, the person he cared about most was not his wife or children, but his uncle.
Dad said that he and his uncle lost their mother when they were young and went through a difficult upbringing together.
My father made up the money for my uncle's marriageThe house in the township was borrowed by my father;My aunt paid for the baby, and my father paid in advance.
Ever since I was a child, I wondered why other people's parents had jobs, wore beautiful clothes, and always had pocket money in their pockets.
My sister and I spent our days wearing old clothes that other people had worn, while my dad and my mom were still tight on their hands despite working hard day and night.
It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that the reason why our family was so poor was because my dad basically gave his money to my uncle.
To put it bluntly, my dad is my uncle's ATM, and if you run out of money, you can withdraw some at any time.
Although my uncle's life has become more prosperous because of my father's generosity, my family's life has been quite difficult.
It was not easy for my mother to make money to support the family by herself.
My mom has a kind personality and understands that my dad's money has helped my uncle, and once complained a few words, but my dad didn't listen, and then she didn't bother to say more.
By the time we reached adulthood, our family was still poor. At that time, we hated the uncle who always opened his mouth to ask my dad for money.
He is like an insatiable vampire who builds his happiness on the misery of our family.
But my dad didn't think he was wrong and insisted that siblings were flesh and blood relatives and should help each other.
When commercial housing was fully liberalized, other families were buying big houses, but our family still lived in a small unit of more than 60 square meters.
My sister and I grew up in this environment and understood that we had to rely on ourselves for everything, and we couldn't rely on our parents.
We both studied diligently, got a job after graduating from college, got married, and bought a big house with our own efforts.
My uncle's two sons were quite lazy people, and they got married and had children, and the children were not angry.
My mother often blamed my father in her old age, saying that over the years, she had been giving money to my brother's family, not to help them, but to harm them.
My father didn't admit it, he took it for granted to help my uncle. He firmly believes that one day when he needs his uncle's help, his uncle's family will return the favor without hesitation.
It wasn't until he was 72 years old and was diagnosed with lung cancer and needed to be hospitalized that he gradually understood that he was the only one who felt sorry for his uncle, and his uncle didn't have the same distress.
My father has been a smoker all his life, and he is a veteran smoker for 48 years.
Because of his long-term smoking, he suffers from chronic bronchitis, which is accompanied by asthma and hissing in his throat, which worsens when the weather turns cold.
We have repeatedly advised him to quit smoking, telling him that the harmful substances in tobacco can cause cancer and that there is no harm in everything.
But my father disagreed, he thought that smoking could make life better, and it was his only hobby.
During the new crown epidemic, he went to the hospital for examination because of difficulty breathing, fever, and severe cough, and the result was a positive nucleic acid test and he was infected with the new coronavirus.
At that time, there was a shortage of hospital beds, and the situation was not critical and it was impossible to be hospitalized. The doctor arranged for my father to have an outpatient intravenous drip** for three consecutive days, and the fever subsided and the cough subsided.
More than a week later, when the nucleic acid test result was negative, my dad still felt poor breathing and had a cough. We were worried that it might be white lung, so we took him to the hospital again and asked the doctor for a CT scan. It turned out that he had a large nodule in his lung, and due to the irregular shape, the doctor ordered a puncture examination, which was eventually confirmed to be lung cancer.
The moment he learned that his father had lung cancer, he silently finished the cigarette in his hand, and then threw away all the rest without saying anything.
It costs a lot to treat the disease, but my father's savings over the years have been selflessly used to support my uncle, and we are now relying on my mother's meager pension to make ends meet, and we have no savings at all.
My sister and I pooled together $50,000 to pay for my father's hospitalization and surgery.
Just then, my uncle came to visit, carrying 20 eggs and some dried chilies.
I thought my father had told my uncle about his illness, but my father shook his head and denied it, saying that he didn't say it.
After sitting down for a cup of tea, the uncle suddenly borrowed money from his father, claiming that his eldest grandson had a credit card debt for gambling and could go to jail if he didn't pay it.
The father asked the uncle how much money he needed to borrow.
The uncle stretched out a finger, at first the father thought it was 10,000 yuan, but the uncle shook his head and said no, he explained that his eldest grandson had applied for several bank credit cards, all of which were overdrawn and needed 100,000 yuan to pay off.
The father was silent for a moment, and then said: "I can't help you this time, I myself have a disease, the examination showed that it is lung cancer, I haven't been able to save all these years, tomorrow I will go to the hospital for surgery, and the 100,000 yuan needed is made up by the two children." ”
Hearing 100,000 yuan, a glint flashed in his uncle's eyes, and he said excitedly: "Brother, isn't this good?"You lend me the 100,000 yuan first, and I'll help my eldest grandson pay off the overdrawn bank money, so he won't have to go to jail. ”
The mother felt very angry when she heard this, and she said: "You actually took your brother's life-saving money to save your eldest grandson, so won't your brother's lung cancer be delayed?"It's a matter of life and death. ”
My uncle glanced at my dad and said expressionlessly: "Brother's illness is not a one-time occurrence, besides, he is already 72 years old, and it is not bad to live to this age. ”
Can you pay back the money slowly?How long will it take?Father asked with a displeased expression.
The uncle shook his head and said: "Brother, I'm 68 years old, I definitely can't pay back your money, but my son and grandson will definitely pay you back when they earn money, it's really not good, you let your nephews and nieces make up again, anyway, they have good conditions, and they are not bad for these money." ”
100,000 yuan came from my uncle's mouth to say that it was these money, and I originally wanted to blame him, after all, since it was a few dollars, why did I go to the township to borrow money.
However, my mother glared at me and motioned for me not to interject.
I thought silently in my heart, after listening to my uncle's words, my father's heart must have mixed feelings, and in the face of such a serious illness, there was no greeting for his care and support for many years.
What's even more disappointing is that in order to save their father, the children made up the money Uncle borrowed to pay off gambling debts, and even suggested that his father postpone **, which made him feel deeply disappointed.
The father's face was changeable, and his expression was both complicated and full of disappointment. To his younger brother, who has been loving and helping him for many years, he said with emotion: "This is my life-saving money, and I will not lend it to anyone." Your sons and grandchildren's problems, you solve them yourself, I have paid for you for decades, so that my wife and children also suffer, when I am sick and need money to save my life, I can only hope for them. ”
He took out this month's retirement salary of 5,800 yuan from his pocket, handed it to his uncle and said, "You have come from afar, I can't let you return empty-handed." This is my retirement salary for this month, you can take it. This is also the last time I will give you money, I am sick, and the future money must be reserved for my own healing. ”
When the uncle heard this, he was very angry and asked his father why he was so determined. He said, "Why are you so ruthless, do you still think you are the eldest brother?"Are you so indifferent to my eldest grandson in prison?”
With a wave of his father's hand to leave, he went back to his room and closed the door.
I stood up and said to my uncle, "Uncle, I'll invite you to eat outside and take you to the station." ”
The uncle replied angrily: "What to send, I can go myself." Relatives like you, I really can't climb high, and I will never come again. ”
When they parted, he stuffed the 5,800 yuan my father had given him into his trouser pocket, walked straight to the door, and returned to his room, taking the 20 eggs on the coffee table and some dried chili peppers he had brought.
Do your best and go with the flow. Human hands are only so big that they can't hold too many things, everything in the world is empty, and nothing really belongs to your ......”
Therefore, when you are old and weak, some seemingly useless family affection may not hesitate to make a "break".