My name is Li Ya, I am 40 years old and I am an ordinary housewife. I have an older brother named Li Ming, who is six years older than me and is a businessman. The two of us have not been very close since we were children, he always disliked me for being stupid, and I also thought he was selfish.
As we grew up, we got married, and we became even more estranged. He has been doing business outside the home and rarely comes home to see his parents. I also don't want to talk to him too much, I think he doesn't know how to be filial and grateful.
We hadn't been in touch for eighteen years, until one day, his son, Xiao Ming, suddenly came to my doorstep.
Hello aunt, I'm Xiao Ming. He laughs.
Xiao Ming? Are you Li Ming's son? I asked in surprise.
Yes, auntie, do you remember me? The last time we saw each other was at my grandparents' funeral. He said.
Oh, by the way, you were very young back then. "I recall that scene eighteen years ago. At that time, Li Ming returned with his wife and son to attend his parents' funeral, but he stayed for only one day and left in a hurry. He didn't even say hello to me, but said coldly, "Take care of yourself." ”
Auntie, I came to you for something I want to tell you. Xiao Ming said.
What's up? I asked.
Actually, ......Xiao Ming paused, his eyes flickering slightly, "It's actually about Dad." ”
About your dad? "My heart sank, did something happen to Li Ming?
yes, Dad's business is in big trouble. Xiao Ming said.
What's the trouble? I asked.
Dad invested in a project before, and he thought he could make a lot of money, but later found out that the project was a **. Dad was cheated out of tens of millions and owed a lot of debts. Now the creditors are collecting the debt, and our family is in danger of bankruptcy. Xiao Ming said.
Yes? So serious? I said in surprise.
Yes, aunt. We have now sold our house and car and taken all our possessions to pay off our debts. But it's not enough. We now live in a very small rental house and have a hard time every day. Xiao Ming said.
So what do you do? I asked.
Aunt ......Xiao Ming looked at me, a hint of anticipation flashed in his eyes, "Actually, I came to you to tell you about this." I hope you can help us. ”
Helping you? I was stunned.
Yes, aunt. You are our only relative. We have no one else to turn to. As long as you can lend us some money or help us find some job opportunities, we can hopefully get through this. Xiao Ming said.
Xiao Ming, it makes me very embarrassed when you say that. I said.
Auntie, I know there are some unpleasant things between you and your father, but that's all in the past. Now that we are a family, we should help each other and support each other. You're not going to die, are you? Xiao Ming said.
Xiao Ming, it's not that I don't want to help you, but you also know that I'm just a housewife, I don't have any money, and I don't have any ability. How can I help you? I said.
Auntie, don't say that. You have a good husband, he is a lawyer, and he earns a lot. You live a well-off life, you have a big house, and you have a good car. You must have extra money to lend us. Xiao Ming said.
Xiao Ming, it's not fair for you to say that. Our lives are not all smooth sailing either. We also have our own expenses and plans. We can't just lend money to others. I said.
Auntie, are you just unwilling to help us when you say that? Are you so ruthless? Aren't you afraid of retribution? Xiao Ming said.
Xiao Ming, don't talk like that. I didn't say I didn't want to help you, I just wanted to think about it. It's not that simple. I said.
Auntie, what are you considering? The longer you think about it, the more dangerous our situation becomes. The creditors have threatened us several times, saying that if we don't pay back, they will do it. Auntie, hurry up and agree, please. Xiao Ming said.
Looking at Xiao Ming's anxious and helpless face, my heart softened. He is, after all, my nephew, my blood relative. He's in such a big trouble now, can I leave it alone? Can I let them be bullied by their creditors like this? Can I just let them end up on the streets?
Okay, Xiao Ming. Since you have said so, I promise to help you. I said.
Really?Auntie, are you really willing to help us?Xiao Ming asked excitedly.
Yes, really. I said.
Great!Thank you so much!Auntie, you are such a wonderful person!Xiao Ming said happily.
Don't be so polite. We're family. I said.
So Auntie, how much can you lend us?Xiao Ming asked.
This ......I hesitated, "I'll have to talk to my husband." ”
Okay, okay. Discuss it with your husband as soon as possible. We urgently need money now. Xiao Ming said.
Okay, okay. Then you go back first. I'll get back to you when I've discussed it with him. I said.
Okay, okay. Goodbye to my aunt. Thank you!Xiao Ming left in a hurry after speaking.
Watching his back disappear outside the door, I felt a little apprehensive. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I don't know what happened to Li Ming. I don't know if he is really trustworthy and helpful.
But as his sister, as Xiao Ming's aunt, I decided to discuss this matter with my husband Zhang Qiang. Zhang Qiang is a lawyer, he is very busy with his work, but he is very good to me, and our marriage is very happy. We don't have children, so we treat each other as our closest mates.
I waited until he came home from work and told him about Xiao Ming's visit.
What?Your brother's son has come to you?Zhang Qiang asked in surprise.
Yes, he said that their family was in great difficulty and needed our help. I said.
What difficulty?Zhang Qiang asked.
He said they had been cheated out of tens of millions, owed a lot of debt, and the family was in danger of bankruptcy. I said.
Tens of millions?So much money?How could they be deceived?Zhang Qiang asked.
He said they invested in a project, and it turned out to be a **. I said.
What projects to invest in?Zhang Qiang asked.
I don't know, he didn't go into details. I said.
Do you believe that? Zhang Qiang asked.
Believe in what? I asked.
Is it true that they are having a hard time, or are they lying to you again? Zhang Qiang asked.
How could you lie to me? Xiao Ming looks very sincere. I said.
Sincere? Do you know? Was your brother involved in a scandal involving fraud? Zhang Qiang said.
What scandal? I asked.
It's the hot news a few years ago. Your brother partnered with a man named Wang to start a company specializing in online finance. They use false advertising and propaganda to attract a lot of investors and borrowers. As a result, they took all the money and ran away. That Wang was caught by **, but your brother escaped. Don't you know? Zhang Qiang said.
I haven't heard about it. I don't know what you're hearing from **. Do you have proof? I said.
Evidence? If you don't believe me, you can check it on the Internet yourself. This incident caused a sensation in our legal profession at that time, and many ** reported it. Your brother's name and ** have been**. How could you not know? Zhang Qiang said.
I ......I don't really know. I said.
Forget it, forget it. You don't have to defend your brother anymore. He's a**, an unscrupulous **. Not only did he deceive others, but he also deceived you. He doesn't care about you at all, he just wants to take advantage of you. Zhang Qiang said.
No, it won't. He's my older brother and he's not going to do that. I said.
Are you still kidding yourself? Think about it, why did he suddenly let his son come to you? Why didn't he come to you personally? Why didn't he hit ** to you? Why didn't he send you WeChat? Why didn't he text you? Why would he contact you in this way? Zhang Qiang asked.
This ......"I'm speechless.
Let me tell you, he is afraid of being recognized, afraid of being held accountable, afraid of being exposed. He wants to use his son to touch your heart, make you sympathize with them, and make you lend them money. Then he will take the money and disappear again, never to return it to you. It's his trick, it's his means. Zhang Qiang said.
Impossible, impossible. I shook my head in denial.
Probably, quite possibly. "And even if he really encounters difficulties, even if he really needs our help, we are not obligated to help him." We don't have anything to do with him anymore. We haven't been in touch for eighteen years. We've taken him for a stranger. Why should we pay for a stranger? Why would we risk lending money to a stranger? Why should we sacrifice our own interests to meet the needs of a stranger? ”
Because ......Because we're a family. I said.
Family? How could a family treat a family like this? How could a family not be in touch for eighteen years? How could a family leave in a hurry after the death of their parents? How can a family think of their relatives when they are in trouble? Zhang Qiang said.
Maybe it's because of ......Because there was some misunderstanding. I said.
Misunderstand? What misunderstanding? Can the misunderstanding last eighteen years? Can misunderstandings make a person so cold and unforgiving? Zhang Qiang said.
Maybe it's because of ......For a number of reasons. I said.
Cause? What's with? Can the reason make a person forget family affection and conscience? Zhang Qiang said.
Maybe it's because of ......"I can't go on.
Alright, alright. Stop making excuses. I know you still have some worries and feelings in your heart. But you have to be sober and sensible. You can't be blinded by feelings, you can't be deceived by their lies. You have to think for yourself, for us. You have to understand that we are the people closest to you, and we are the people you should care about and love the most. You can't hurt us for the sake of someone who doesn't deserve it. Zhang Qiang said.
I ......I know. I bowed my head.
Then you don't think about helping them anymore. You treat them as if they weren't there, as if they were people who never existed. You just erase them from your life and erase them from your memory. You treat them like a nightmare, a nightmare. Just forget about them. Zhang Qiang said.
I ......I'll try it. I said.
Good, good. I'm relieved when you say that. Don't worry, I'll be with you all the time. We will live well together, very happy, very happy. Zhang Qiang said.
Thank you, thank you. I said.
No thanks, no thanks. This is what I should do. Zhang Qiang said.
He hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. I felt his warmth and security. I thought, maybe he's right. Maybe I should really forget about Li Ming and Xiao Ming. Maybe I really should only care about Zhang Qiang and myself. Maybe that's the best option.
However, there was an indescribable dull pain in my heart.
I tried to do what Zhang Qiang said, I tried to forget about Li Ming and Xiao Ming, I tried not to think about them anymore, I didn't contact them anymore. I try to focus my attention on Zhang Qiang and my own life, I try to make myself happy.
However, I found that I couldn't. I found that I still had a thorn in my heart, and I still had a scar. I find that every time I see a report on a scam on the news, every time I hear someone talk about family relationships, every time I see someone begging or wandering on the street, I think of them. I wonder how they're doing. Are they still safe? Is there still hope for them? Do they remember me?
I know that these thoughts are superfluous, useless, and dangerous. But I couldn't control myself. I can't shake these thoughts. I can't erase those memories.
Until one day, I received a letter.
It was a normal envelope, without any logo or address. Just my name and a postmark.
I opened the envelope and inside was a note. There were only a few lines on the note:
Auntie, how are you? We miss you so much. We thank you very much. We're sorry. We have paid off all our debts. We have started a new life all over again. We have reformed ourselves. We have found a job and a place to live. We have returned to normalcy and happiness. We have achieved our dreams and goals. We have become people you can be proud of. We hope you do well, too. We hope you are happy too. We hope you can forgive us. We hope you remember us. We love you forever. ”
Here are two signatures: Li Ming and Xiao Ming.
Looking at the letter, tears flowed involuntarily from my eyes.
Is this letter genuine? Are they really doing well? Have they really reformed themselves? Have they really become people to be proud of?
Or is this another a**? Are they lying to me again? Are they using me again? Are they playing with my feelings again?
I don't know the answer. I don't know who to trust. I don't know what to do.
However, there is an indescribable warmth and emotion in my heart.