Liu Yong: Father’s Story (1)

I bought a new house in Liuzhou many years ago, and I just moved into it recently. There is a park in front of the new house, with green hills at its back. Many people say this is a geomantic treasure.

My father turns eighty-seven this year, and I don’t know how much time he has left in this world. When I returned to Rongan last week, I was eager to take my father to my new house to stay for a few days.

I think he didn’t go when the second brother moved into a new house in Liuzhou, and later when the eldest brother bought a house, he didn’t go either. This time I talked for a long time, but he still hesitated.

Actually, I know that he can’t let go of that aunt—my current stepmother.

My mother has been gone for several years, and my father has also been married for several years. When my aunt came in, my father and our three brothers were having some trouble.

My mother has been ill for several years, and my father has also been tortured for several years. It wasn't until the past two years that my father was able to live a better life. That aunt really took good care of him.

But the good times did not last long. Unforeseen circumstances brought unexpected events. On the eve of Qingming Festival last year, my aunt suffered a cerebral infarction and lost half of her life. Now I basically have to rely on my father to take care of things.

My father has become obviously older and more haggard in the past six months.

I guessed that my father was worried about his illness, so I suggested that he take my aunt with him. After seeing the new house, he would go directly to the hospital and let my aunt undergo rehabilitation and physical therapy.

So the trip was made immediately the next day. I took them to a new house in Liuzhou and stayed overnight. The next day, I helped them contact the Chinese medicine department of a tertiary hospital.

After the hospitalization procedures were completed, my father was unwilling to go back to the new house with me. He said he would stay with his aunt.

In fact, Auntie’s current condition is that her right hand and foot are numb and she can basically take care of herself when going to the toilet and bathing. I said that the companion bed is not something that ordinary people can sleep on.

Sure enough, on the third day, although Auntie’s symptoms had improved significantly, Dad’s condition took a turn for the worse.

The lowest blood pressure is over 80/30, which is terrifyingly low!

But my father still didn’t want to live with me at home.

Two days later, although the blood pressure had risen, after discussion, we decided to go back home and come to Liuzhou for treatment next time when my aunt’s daughter is free to take care of her. .

Thus, there was a careful conversation between the two men on the way back today.

Although my father is now in his twilight years and looks wretched, in fact, my father is a man with stories!

Along the way, I listened to him talk and tell his stories.

My father was a soldier in 1950. When the People's Liberation Army was passing through Rong'an to suppress bandits, he threw down his whip while helping the landlord guard cattle without telling his grandfather, and resolutely followed the army.

The army is a big school, and poor children can endure hardships.

With perseverance, my father fought and learned culture at the same time. Make meritorious deeds along the way and get promoted along the way.

In the end, my father was transferred to the General Staff of Beijing, and later married my mother when he was assigned to Weihai, Shandong Province as a military representative.

My father lost his mother when he was very young. It was my grandfather who raised the siblings up by pooping and peeing.

Originally, when his father changed jobs, he could apply to stay in Beijing or Shandong. Later, because he missed his old father, whom he had not seen for more than 20 years, he finally chose to return to his hometown in a remote rural area.

(It is not easy to code on the mobile phone, and my eyes are dim and painful. If you want to know what happened next, let me talk about it another day.)