I'm 60 years old, and I've always been on my mind. Recently, recalling that time, I ran into the culprit of the year again.
I was born in a small town in the north, my mother was an educator and my father worked in a factory. As the only son in the family, I was bathed in the love of my parents since I was a child. Materially affluent, his parents have a relatively fixed monthly salary. Taught by them, I developed a frugal lifestyle.
In the city, I received a good education because my mother was a teacher, and she expected me to be able to enter the university and become a glorious façade. At that time, there were relatively few items, and I was looking forward to going to school, especially in English classes.
I had a great talent for languages, especially in the education system at the time, and it was not easy to learn English well, but I was able to pronounce it fluently. The teacher noticed my talent and communicated with my mother** and suggested that I be admitted to a foreign language school. My mother was overjoyed when she found out about it, and even prepared a reward for me with a big chicken leg that day.
However, my peaceful life was shattered when I was fifteen years old. The sudden visit of my uncle and my cousin completely changed the balance of the family. The reason why my mother became an excellent teacher was inseparable from my uncle's relationship.
My mother's family was not wealthy, my grandparents were farmers who depended on farm work for a living, they were illiterate, they also had feudal superstitions, and they favored boys very much. Since my mother was the youngest child in the family, she was uncared for since she was a child, and she was always taken care of by my eldest uncle. My uncle was 18 years older than my mother, and she was more like a father when she was growing up.
At that time, reading in the poor countryside was a luxury. Although my uncle had the opportunity to get an education, he chose to stay at home and work on the farm.
My mother felt helpless in the face of my uncle's temper, and coupled with the family's financial constraints, she finally failed to insist that he study.
With the passage of time, the life of my grandparents and grandmothers has improved slightly, and although the standard of living is average, it is no longer a poor situation of hunger and fullness.
Despite the family's growing wealth, my mother always had a thirst for knowledge and envied other children to go to school. However, the traditional beliefs of grandparents make them think that girls do not need to be educated, and that it is not worth investing in girls' education because sooner or later daughters will start a family.
My mother's wish was firmly opposed by my grandparents, and she cried for her studies, and the only one who supported her was my uncle. In order to raise money for tuition, the uncle resolutely decided to go out to work and strive for more opportunities for his mother.
Thanks to my uncle's hard work, my mother was able to successfully complete her studies and become a primary school teacher. However, due to my grandparents' patriarchal mentality, my mother was still treated indifferently at home, and she only came home every year to visit my uncle.
Although my mother's attitude towards my grandparents gradually faded, my uncle remained her support. However, as time went on, the uncle became selfish.
Despite my uncle's tremendous support when my mother was a child, his first marriage was not a happy one. The union of the uncle with the first wife was only because of the tradition of the village, and there was no real basis of affection between the two.
With the increase in the speed of information dissemination, the uncle's work outside the home has become the main economy of the family**. Not only did he bring back rich gifts for his mother and aunt, but he also made her curious about the outside world by telling her about her experiences outside.
My aunt went out to work with my uncle, but when I came back, I didn't return with my uncle. It turned out that in the city, my aunt met a man who was rich and liked by her. Eager for a better life, she decided not to return to the village.
All this made my mother's gratitude to my uncle even deeper, but as I got older, my uncle's attitude gradually changed and became more selfish.
That year, my uncle was 36 years old, divorced my aunt, and took away a son and a daughter.
My uncle fell into a long depression, but fortunately, my mother was successfully admitted to the junior college.
In my uncle's life, my mother became his only comfort. Watching my mom get good grades, his mood became happy.
Subsequently, my uncle re-entered into marriage and gave birth to my cousin.
It didn't take long for my mom to get married.
My second aunt was eight years younger than my uncle and was a shrewd and capable woman.
In the initial stage, the two families got along well because of my uncle's kindness to my mother.
However, in general, our family has been gradually improving, and my uncle is getting old and his body is gradually inadequate.
My aunt didn't know about my uncle's contribution to my mother at first, but she was very polite to my mother, and every time my mother sent something, she expressed her gratitude.
However, after mentioning the past at the dinner table, the eldest aunt seemed to be a different person.
The things in our home become taken for granted.
Although my uncle was kind and honest and asked my aunt not to always cause trouble to my family, my aunt always asked my mother to help in various ways.
My mother had a weak personality and my uncle was not wealthy, so she began to hide from my father and secretly provide financial support to my uncle's family.
My cousin and I are 3 years apart, and I have been doing well in my studies, and I was planning to go to a foreign Chinese school.
In contrast, my cousin was spoiled by my aunt and became a child who didn't like to read.
The eldest aunt longs for her cousin to have a career and understands that knowledge can change fate.
My cousin didn't drop out of school early like other children, but he kept going to school and even repeated grades because of grades.
Every time, my aunt would compare my cousin to me, trying to make my mother feel guilty, and hoping that my mother would help my cousin get into a college through connections.
My mom is a diligent elementary school teacher, but she really doesn't have that kind of strength.
Seeing that my mother was unshakable, and that I had good grades, my aunt came up with a bad idea and wanted me to make up for my cousin's lessons.
At that time, I had just entered high school, and I was planning to follow my teacher's advice and specialize in English in the future.
However, my uncle suddenly brought my cousin to my house and offered to let me help my cousin study, calling me my eldest nephew with excellent grades and being a role model for my cousin.
I was busy with my studies and didn't have time to take care of my cousin's studies.
I shouted no, but I was beaten up for my mother's attitude towards my uncle.
I found that resistance was ineffective, and I had to reluctantly agree to let my cousin live in my house.
However, our family only has two bedrooms. I used to have a bed to myself, but now I have to give half of the space to my cousin, which makes me feel very uncomfortable.
And he hasn't done anything good since his cousin moved in.
Whenever I came home from school to get ready to do my homework, he always deliberately asked me to help him solve the problem, claiming that he didn't understand and pestering him repeatedly.
When I got impatient, he ran to the living room to complain. My mom would break into the bedroom and rebuke me, so I had to explain it to him again.
However, he simply wasted my time on purpose, causing me to write my homework late every day.
I feel very tired during the day, and I often fall asleep during class and am slapped with a board by the teacher.
To make matters worse, every night I packed my school bag, and my cousin would sometimes sneak out my homework and hide it in the closet.
The next day, if you find out that you didn't bring a book, you will inevitably be punished. I felt aggrieved, but every time I sued, my mother always said that it was my fault, and it must have been my carelessness and blamed my cousin.
My grades were rapidly declining due to my cousin's influence, and my teacher approached my mom and informed me about my school performance.
My mom was so angry that she came home and threw a tantrum at me. My cousin would comforted my mom sweetly at this time, and my mom would calm her anger.
My dad basically listened to my mom at home, and he was busy getting promoted to workshop director, so he didn't have time to take care of the family.
After a semester of tossing and turning like this, I felt physically and mentally exhausted and lost interest in the exam.
Suddenly, my cousin showed me kindness and said he wanted to take me to play. I thought to myself, I don't read anymore anyway, I might as well play outside at home.
So my cousin and I often went to the square to watch people dance. My cousin is very lively and handsome, and is often invited to be a dance partner.
Slowly, I also began to skip class to hang out with my cousin, and my studies slipped seriously, and the teacher no longer cared about me.
My mom had no idea what my cousin and I were doing at school, and thought we were studying hard every day.
Until the results of the college entrance examination came out, my cousin didn't get into anything. My aunt and uncle came to the house and blamed my mother, saying that I had brought my cousin badly.
My mom was very angry and pointed at me and asked what was going on?
At that time, it was a rebellious period, and my mother often misunderstood and wronged me, so I didn't explain it, and went straight back to the bedroom.
Outside the door, there was an insult from the aunt and all kinds of ugly words.
The next year, when I took the college entrance examination, unsurprisingly, I didn't pass anything.
My mom realized the problem, but she blamed it on me.
However, at this time, my dad happened to be promoted to workshop director, and there was one more recruitment quota in the factory this year, so my dad wanted me to work in the factory.
If you are admitted to university, you will have to work after graduation, and the salary is quite good.
Unexpectedly, just a few months after retirement, my cousin suddenly came to the door and asked me for help, hoping to arrange for his son to find a place in the company where I worked.
I sneered secretly in my heart, after so many years, he didn't seem to have changed at all. This incident brought back memories of the past and reminded me of that family turmoil.
Once, I had an unpleasant conflict with my uncle's family for a place in the factory. My aunt actually told my uncle what had happened, causing them to come to my house, half begging, half complaining, hoping that my mother would give up the spot to my cousin. Naturally, my father disagreed, because the job was limited and could not be assigned at will.
My parents had a big quarrel over this, and I felt very aggrieved, so I told my father about my efforts and experiences in the past two years. In the end, the misunderstanding was resolved, but the place to enter the factory was given to my cousin.
After all this happened, I felt very aggrieved, but my parents were deeply sorry when they learned the truth. In order to make up for the debt to me, my mother asked me to repeat my studies. However, I firmly decided to pursue the path of majoring in English.
After a year of hard work and talent, I was successfully accepted into a prestigious foreign Chinese college. After graduating, I worked for a multinational company. From then on, my mother no longer blindly followed my uncle's advice.
Now, I have retired early and receive a pension of 6,000 yuan a month. However, unexpectedly, my cousin came to me just a few months after I retired and tried to use my childhood affection to ask me to help his son find a place in the company where I worked. His plea made me sneer in my heart, as if he hadn't changed at all over the years.