Subscribe Twitter Facebook

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Short story filial piety

 A touching story, hope you can finish reading it...


Title: none

Author: Unknown

Translator: Philip Chan

 

When he was 18 years old, he was sentenced to 6 years for murdering others.  No one has visited him since the day he was in prison.


His mother was a widow, and worked hard to raise him. She didn't expect that he had just graduated from high school, and this happened, and his mother was heartbroken.


He understood his mother had good reasons to hate him.


When he was in prison in each winter, he received a plush jacket with a plum flower embroidered on the bottom corner of the jacket, and a note pinned to the plum flower : "Make a good transformation. Mom is counting on you to take care of me at my elderly age.”


This note and the jacket made him burst into tears, although he had always been strong.  


His mother once said to him that a person should be like a winter plum flower, the colder the weather, the more delicate and beautiful the flowers bloomed. 


In the next four years, his mother didn’t came to see him, but every winter, she sent a plush jacket attached a piece of paper with the same words on it. 


In order to go out one year earlier, he behaved well for a commutation of his sentence.  Sure enough, in the fifth year, he was released early.


Carrying a bag with all his belongings-five jackets, he returned home.


There was a big rusty lock hanging on the door of the house. The roof grew a foot of thick thatch.  He was puzzled, wondering where did his  mother go?


Turning around, his neighbor looked at him in surprise, not believing him returning home one year earlier. 


He shook his head and asked, "Where is my mother?" The neighbor lowered his head and said that she was gone.


The answer was a thunder hitting on his head. His mother was still in her forties, how could she be gone?


In the 6th winter he also received her jacket and the note from the neighbor. 


The neighbor took him to an ancestral grave.  His mother’s grave appeared before his eyes. His eyes were red, and his mind was blank.


He asked the neighbor, what happened to his mother, The neighbor said that because of his murder, his mother borrowed money to pay for compensation of the injured family. 


To repay the money, his mother moved to work in a firecracker factory, about more than two hundred miles away, and never came back all year round.


His mother always asked someone to take those jackets home and forward them to him by his neighbor. 


During the Spring Festival last year, whilst the workers worked overtime to produce firecrackers, accidentally the factory caught fire.  The whole factory exploded. A dozen workers, the factory owner and his family all died.


Among them was his mother.  The neighbor took a breath and said that he still had a new sweater at home, which he planned to send to him in jail this coming winter.


In front of his mother's grave, he beat his chest and feet and cried bitterly.  He blamed himself for killing his mother. He was an unfilial son!  He should go to hell!


The next day, he sold the old house, carrying six sweaters and settling in another place. 


Time flew quickly, four years have passed in a flash.  He established a foothold in a new city and opened a small restaurant.


Soon, he married a country girl. The business was doing well, because of its high quality and low price, his hardship and his wife's enthusiasm.


Every morning, at three or four o'clock, he would get up early to go shopping. It was not until dawn that he brought home vegetables and meat he needed.


Husband and wife  did not hire any staff but worked on their own even thought they were as busy as spinning tops.  Many days, his eyes were red due to lack of sleep.

 

One day, an old woman pushing a tricycle came to his door.  She was hunched back, walked limpingly, and offered to provide him with fresh vegetables and fresh meat, at a cheap price. 


The old woman was dumb, her face was dusty, and the scars on her forehead and eyes made her look ugly.


The wife disagreed to buy goods from this ugly woman. However, he disregarded his wife's objection and agreed the deal. 


Somehow, the old woman reminded him of his mother. The old woman was very trustworthy, and everyday the vegetables and meat shipped were fresh.


Since then, at six o'clock every morning, a tricycle full of vegetables and meat were delivered to his restaurant on time.


He occasionally cooked  a bowl of noodles for the old woman. The elderly ate slowly and enjoyed it. She said that 

she could eat a bowl of noodles in the shop every day.


After finishing the noodle, she smiled and walked over limpingly.  He looked at her, and somehow she reminded him of his mother, and suddenly had an urge to cry.


Two years later, his noodle shop  became a big restaurant, and he made a considerable amount of money that he bought a house.


After another half a month, suddenly one day, he waited for a long time in front of the door, but the old woman did not show up. 


An hour has passed, and the old woman has not yet come.  He didn't have any way of contacting her, so helplessly, he had to use his own workers go shopping for groceries and meat.


Two hours later, the worker pulled the food back and he took a closer look, not pleased. The food was far inferior to the food delivered by the old woman.


The vegetables  sent by the old woman were all carefully selected. They were refresh. However, since that day, the old woman never appeared again.


Since it was Spring Festival time, he made dumplings and suddenly said to his wife that he wanted to give the old woman a bowl, and also wanted to see what happened to her, why she hadn’t delivered for a week? 


The wife nodded.  After cooking the dumplings, he carried it and repeatedly inquired in the neighborhood about a lame old delivery woman, and finally found out whereabout she lived. Her house was  in a alley, two streets away from his restaurant.


 He knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. The door was not knocked and he pushed it open.  In the dim and small room, the old woman was lying on the bed, 


When the old woman saw him, her eyes widened in surprise, and she wanted to sit up, but she had no strength to do so.


He put the dumplings by the bed side and asked the old woman if he was sick.  The old woman opened his mouth, trying to say something, but didn't say it.  He sat down and looked at the small room.


 Suddenly, a few pictures on the wall made him open his mouth in surprise.  It turned out to be photos of him and his mother!


Pictures of him when he was 5 years old, 10 years old, 17 years old... In the corner of the wall, a furoshiki wrapped in old cloth, on the furoshiki, was embroidered with a plum flower.


He turned his head, looked at the old woman blankly, and asked who she was.


The old woman was startled, and suddenly blurted out: "My son."


He was completely stunned!  The old woman in front of me was not dumb. The old woman who delivered him vegetables and meat for two years was his mother. 


Her hoarse voice was so familiar, who could it be if it wasn't his mother?


He was speechless, stepped forward, hugged his mother, weeping bitterly, and the tears of the mother and son were stained together.  


He didn't know how long he had been crying. He flashed back remembering standing In front of his mother's grave, thinking she had passed away, so he left home town. 


The mother wiped her tears, and told her son what happened. There was an explosion in the firecracker factory where she was working. She managed to survive but was disfigured and crippled.


Looking at her disfigured appearance, her son in prison, being poor, no money to marry a wife, how could he take care of her in the future, in order not to hinder him, she came up with the idea, saying that she had passed away, let him go far away, start a new career in another place, marry a wife and have children.


Knowing that her son had left his hometown, she returned to the village. 


She made a living by picking up tatters. She then started looking for him for four years, and finally found him opening a small restaurant.


She was ecstatic, watching her son busy, she felt a little heart broken. 

In order to see her son every day and help him lighten the burden, she began to sell vegetables and meat to him for two years.


Unfortunately her legs were not healthy now and she could’t get out of bed, so she could’t deliver him vegetables  and meat anymore.


There were tears in his eyes. Before his mother could finish speaking, he picked up his mother and took up her baggage and left the house. 


He carried his mother on his back, not realizing his home was so close to his mother's residence. Within twenty minutes they reached home.


His mother lived with him in his house for three days.  She said a lot to him. When he was in jail, she almost wanted to die. But thinking about his future of taking care of her, she decided not to die. 


After he was released from prison, she thought that she did not want to die till her son had a family and a business;

seeing that although her son had a family, she hadn't seen his grandson, she stayed alive again... She kept a smile on her face when she said this.


He also told his mother a lot, but he never told her the reason why he stabbed people’s back then. The real reason was because someone used the most vulgar language to insult her. 


In this life, he could bear her mother scolding him and even beating him, but he could never stand anyone insulting his mother.


Three days later, she died peacefully.  The doctor looked at him in distress and said softly, "Her bone cancer looks like more than ten years. It's almost a miracle for her to live to this day. So, you don't have to be too sad."


He raised his head blankly, not believing mother, actually suffering from bone cancer. 


He opened his mother’s bag. Inside he found neatly folded new plush clothes, for babies, wives, and his own, one by one, each with a bright red plum flower embroidered on it.


At the bottom of the bag is a medical certificate: bone cancer.  Time was the second year after his imprisonment.


His hands were trembling, and his heart felt painful. He asked himself where was his culture of good filial piety first!


The love of parents is forever!  The filial piety of children should also be forever!


*******


好感人的故事希望您能看完它

 

 

18歲那年,他因為行兇傷人,被判了6年。從他入獄那天起,就沒人來看過他。


母親守寡,含辛茹苦地養大他,想不到他剛剛高中畢業,就發生這樣的事情,讓母親傷透了心。


他理解母親,母親有理由恨他。


入獄那年冬天,他收到了一件毛絨衣,毛絨衣的下角繡著一朵梅花,梅花上別著窄窄的紙條:「好好改造,媽指望著你養老呢。」


這張紙條,讓一向堅強的他淚流滿面。這是母親親手織的毛絨衣,一針一線,都是那麼熟悉。


母親曾對他說,一個人要像寒冬的臘梅,越是困苦,越要開出嬌艷的花 


以後的四年裡,母親仍舊沒來看過他,但每年冬天,她都寄來毛絨衣,還有那張張紙條。


為了早一天出去,他努力改造,爭取減刑。果然,就在第五個年頭,他被提前釋放了。


背著一個簡單的包裹,裡面是他所有的財物~五件毛絨衣,他回到了家。


家門掛著大鎖,大鎖已經生銹了。屋頂,也長出了一尺高的茅草。他感到疑惑,母親去哪兒了?


轉身找到鄰居,鄰居訝異地看著他,問他不是還有一年才回來嗎?

他搖頭,問:「我媽呢?」鄰居低下頭,說她走了。


他的頭上像響起一個炸雷,不可能!

母親才四十多歲,怎麼會走了?


冬天他還收到了她的毛絨衣,看到了她留下的紙條。


鄰居搖頭,帶他到祖墳。一個新堆出的土丘出現在他的眼前。

他紅著眼,腦子裡一片空白。


半晌,問問鄰居,他是怎麼走的?鄰居說因為他行兇傷人,母親借了債替傷者治療。


他進監獄後,母親便搬到離家兩百多哩的爆竹廠做工,常年不回來。


那幾件毛絨衣,母親怕他擔心,總是托人帶回家,由鄰居轉寄。


就在去年春節,工廠加班加點生產爆竹,不慎失火。整個工廠爆炸,裡面有十幾個做工的外地人,還有來幫忙的老闆全家人,都死了。


其中,就有他的母親。鄰居說著,吸了口氣,說自己家裡還有一件毛絨衣呢,預備今年冬天給他寄出去。


在母親的墳前,他捶胸頓足,痛哭不已。全都怪他,是他害死了母親,他真是個不孝子!他真該下地獄!


第二天,他把老屋賣掉,背著裝了六

件毛線衣的包裹遠走他鄉,到外地闖蕩。


時間過得很快,一晃四年過去了。他在城市立足,開一家小飯館。


不久,娶了一個樸實的女孩做妻子。

小飯館的生意很好,因為物美價廉,因為他的謙和和妻子的熱情。


每天早晨,三四點鐘他就早早起來去採購,直到天亮才把所需要的蔬菜、鮮肉拉回家。

沒有雇人手,兩個人忙得像陀螺。

常常,因為缺乏睡眠,他的眼睛紅紅的。

不久,一個推著三輪車的老人來到他門前。她駝背,走路一跛一跛的,用手比畫著,想為他提供蔬菜和鮮肉,絕對新鮮,價格還便宜。


老人是個啞巴,臉上滿是灰塵,額角和眼邊的幾塊疤痕讓她看上去面目醜陋。

妻子不同意,老人的樣子,看上去實在不舒服。

可他卻不顧妻子的反對,答應下來。


不知怎的,眼前的老人讓他突然想起了母親。


老人很講信用,每次應他要求運來的蔬菜果然都是新鮮的。


於是,每天早晨六點鐘,滿滿一三輪車的菜準時送到他的飯館門前。


他偶爾也請老人吃碗麵,老人吃得很慢,很享受的樣子。


他心裡酸酸的,對老人說,她每天都可以在這個兒吃碗麵。

老人笑了,一跛一跛地走過來。他看著她,不知怎的,又想起了母親,突然有一種想哭的衝動。


一晃,兩年又過去了,他的飯館成了酒樓,他也有了一筆數目可觀的積蓄,買了房子。


可為他送菜的,依舊是那個老人。

又過了半個月,突然有一天,他在門前等了很久,卻一直等不到老人。


時間已經過了一個小時,老人還沒有來。他沒有她的連繫方式,無奈,只好讓工人去買菜。

兩小時後,工人拉回了菜,仔細看看,他心裡有了疙瘩,這車菜遠遠比不上老人送的菜。

老人送來的菜全經過精心挑選,幾乎沒有雜子,棵棵都清爽。

只是,從那天後,老人再未出現。


春節就要到了,他包著餃子,突然對妻子說想給老人送去一碗,順便看看她發生了什麼事。

怎麼一個星期都沒有送菜?這可是從沒有過的事。

妻子點頭。煮了餃子,他拎著,反複打聽一個跛腳的送菜老人,終於在離他酒樓兩個街道的胡同裡,打聽到她了。


他敲了半天門,無人應答。

門虛掩著,他順手推開。昏暗狹小的屋子裡,老人在床上躺著,骨瘦如柴。

老人看到他,訝異地睜大眼,想坐起來,卻無能為力。

他把餃子放到床邊,問老人是不是病了。老人張張嘴,想說什麼,卻沒說出來。他坐下來,打量這間小屋子。


突然,牆上的幾張照片讓他吃驚地張大嘴巴。竟然是他和媽媽的合影!


5歲時、10歲時、17歲時……,牆角,一只用舊布包著的包袱,包袱皮上,繡著一朵梅花。

他轉過頭,呆呆地看著老人,問她是誰。

老人怔怔地,突然脫口而出:「兒啊。」


他徹底驚呆了!眼前的老人,不是啞巴?為他送了兩年菜的老人,是他的母親?


那沙啞的聲音分明如此熟悉,不是他母親又能是誰?


他呆愣愣地,突然上前,一把抱住母親,號啕痛哭,母子倆的眼淚沾到了一起。不知哭了多久,他先抬起頭,哽咽著說看到了母親的墳,以為她去世了,所以才離開家。


母親擦擦眼淚,說是她讓鄰居這麼做的。她做工的爆竹廠發生爆炸,她僥倖活下來,卻毀了容,瘸了腿。

看看自己的模樣,想想兒子進過監獄,家裡又窮,以後他一定連媳婦都娶不上。

為了不拖累他,她想出了這個主意,說自己去世,讓他遠走他鄉,在異地生根,娶妻生子。


得知他離開了家鄉,她回到村子。輾轉打聽,才知道他來到了這個城市。


她以撿破爛為生,尋找他四年,終於在這家小飯館裡找到他。


她欣喜若狂,看著兒子忙碌,她又感到心痛。

為了每天見到兒子,幫他減輕負擔,她開始替他買菜,一買就是兩年。

可是現在,她的腿腳不利索,下不了床了,所以,再不能為他送菜。


他眼眶裡含著熱淚,沒等母親說完,背起母親拎起包袱就走。


他一直背著母親,他不知道,自己的家離母親的住處竟如此近。

他走了沒二十分鐘,就將母親背回家裡。

母親在他的新居裡住了三天。三天,她對他說了很多。

她說他入獄那會兒,她差點兒去見他父親。

可想想兒子還沒出獄,不能走,就又留了下來!

他出了獄,她又想著兒子還沒成家立業,還是不能走;

看到兒子成了家,又想著還沒見孫子,就又留了下來……她說這些時,臉上一直帶著笑。


他也跟母親說很多,但他始終沒有告訴母親,當年他之所以砍人,是因為有人污辱她,用最下流的語言。


在這個世界上,怎樣罵他打他,他都能忍受,但絕不能忍受有人污辱他的母親。


三天後,她安然去世。醫生看著悲慟欲絕的他,輕聲說,「她的骨癌看上去得有十多年了。能活到現在,幾乎是個奇蹟。

所以,你不用太傷心了。」

他呆呆地抬起頭,母親,居然患了骨癌?


打開那個包袱,裡面整整齊齊地疊著嶄新的毛絨衣,有嬰兒的,有妻子的,有自己的,一件又一件,每一件上都繡著一朵鮮紅的梅花。


包袱最下面,是一張診斷書:骨癌。時間,是他入獄後的第二年。


他的手顫抖著,心裡像插剜一剜地痛……百善孝為先!


父母的愛是永遠的!子女的孝也應該永遠!


*********

No comments:

Post a Comment

 
Powered by Blogger