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墨書 Inktalez
I handed the bank card to Aunt: "As we agreed, the betrothal gifts are all for you. Here is two hundred thousand."
Later, when we were renovating the house, Aunt took out the card: "I haven't touched a single cent of this money."
"You can use it for now. When we grow old, we'll come to ask you for it."
Wang Wei's family was well-off, and the wedding was held at a hotel in the Provincial Capital.
To my surprise, my biological mother came to me and said, "I'm your real mother. Let your husband serve us tea!"
I told her to get lost.
During the ceremony, the host asked us to serve tea to Uncle and Aunt.
Wang Wei respectfully called out, "Dad, Mom."
I followed suit: "Dad, Mom."
Uncle and Aunt were moved to tears, nodding repeatedly.
Dad held Wang Wei's hand: "She's my only precious sister. You must promise me to take good care of her for life."
Mom pulled out a thick red envelope from her pocket.
Her hair was freshly dyed, but the roots still showed some gray.
She handed the envelope to Wang Wei: "Shi Shi has suffered a lot since she was little. Now that you’ve married her, you mustn't let her suffer anymore, understand?"
With tears in my eyes, I bowed with Wang Wei to express our gratitude for their upbringing.
There is a debt of life and a debt of nurture.
For me, the debt of nurture far outweighs that of life.
When I was young, I often had nightmares where I was surrounded by countless cicada shells and couldn't escape.
Eventually, those nightmares faded away.
Perhaps it was during the hundredth time Uncle brought me snacks.
Or perhaps it was after countless scoldings from Aunt, yet she still left me warm meals.
It was their love and that of my brothers that helped me emerge from the dense forest of my four-year-old self and gave me an infinitely vast sky.
During college, a small incident occurred.
Sister Two is two years older than me. When I was studying, she worked outside. She didn't come back for my graduation celebration, but returned during the winter break of my freshman year. She gifted me a silver necklace to celebrate my acceptance into university. I accepted it without much thought.
A few days later, my biological mother came to visit relatives and claimed that the necklace was meant for her, that Sister Two had mistakenly given it to me. It was ridiculous how much she wanted it back, as if the necklace held any real value. I returned it to her, and from that moment on, my dislike for her only grew.
During my graduate studies, my mother turned sixty. I scrimped and saved while working part-time to buy her a gold necklace. My two older brothers simply gave her money without thinking too much about it. Aunt scolded me, saying, "What a waste of money! That necklace is too expensive."
After lunch, Sister Two put it on and flaunted it in the village. "Look at my sister Shi Shi! This little girl works so hard just to buy me a gold necklace."
"Can you believe how wasteful she is?"
"Does your sister buy you gold necklaces too?"
I ended up offending a whole bunch of aunts and mothers in the process. Later, when my biological mother saw the necklace, she was filled with jealousy. It was clear from her words that she wished she had one too.
I smiled and said, "Wasn't Sister Two the one who bought you a silver necklace that year?"
The smile on her face faded, and she walked away awkwardly.
All three of us siblings left the village, leaving our parents behind. They stayed mainly to help take care of the kids, though they occasionally came to the city for a few days. Most of the time, they preferred to remain in the countryside.
Fortunately, with WeChat, we could video call every day. Dad struggled with WeChat, but Mom was quite adept at it. She would send a bunch of random things in the family group chat every day.
She would share tips about New Year's Eve dinner etiquette, which three dishes should not be served. She warned parents to be cautious, as one wrong move could lead to disaster. She advised that a sip every day would prevent children from having digestive issues. She also suggested reasons why children might be crying...
Once, when Second Brother was on a business trip, I happened to be in Shenyang as well. Second Brother video called Mom, and during their conversation, he asked, "Where's Dad?"
The camera shifted, revealing Dad watching the news broadcast, waving his hand from a distance. Even in the remote mountains, he kept up with national affairs every day.
Second Brother then said, "Mom, I'm on a business trip with Shi Shi; we're having dinner."
In the video frame, Dad immediately stood up, his face almost pressed against the screen. "Shi Shi is there too? Where are you guys?"
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