Chapter 1: Rebirth in the 1990s
"Yanlin?" Deng Xiuzhen called out tentatively. Tan Yanlin had passed away more than ten years ago. She had suffered so much all these years, and finally her three children had started families. The eldest daughter married in BJ, the second daughter married in Shenzhen, and the youngest son stayed in the county, but he also worked hard and passed the civil service exam.
Her daughter married well, her son passed the civil service exam, she herself had a pension and some savings. She originally thought that even if she couldn't enjoy the retirement life as others said, at least she could relax and have a leisurely life.
But who knew that the hard times seemed to have no end: first I worked hard to earn money to support the family, then I had to take care of my grandchildren. I took my eldest grandson to school, and my son gave birth to a younger grandson. The younger grandson took his daughter-in-law's surname, but I still had to take care of him myself...
It was fine at first. I was young and in good health, and I only had one grandson to take care of. I still had some hope in my heart, thinking that I could enjoy my old age after raising my grandson.
But who knows that it is popular to have a second child, one with the man's surname and the other with the woman's surname, so the son and daughter-in-law plan to have a second child. She is unwilling, but as a mother-in-law, a mother-in-law without a husband, a mother-in-law who has selflessly dedicated herself for decades, everyone is used to her dedication, and no one cares about her feelings and opinions.
She didn't dare to tell her daughter-in-law, but she mentioned it to her son once. Her son said that Fang Lin (daughter-in-law) was an only child, and her parents also wanted to have an heir, so they couldn't just think about themselves...
She only mentioned this, but her son said a lot. These were all trivial matters, but the bad thing was that her son actually told his wife, who gave her a cold shoulder for a long time.
Her in-laws even made her listen to their indirect complaints, saying that some people are selfish, their son married someone else's only daughter, and when they have their own children they don't think about others; some people are lazy, their children are born by other people's daughters, and other people's daughters don't complain about the hardship, but some people complain about the hardship even though they just help out.
Her relatives and friends also advised her not to be that foolish. When the child is born, the child will take her in-laws' surname, and her in-laws will definitely take the child. Since it will be their grandson, she will not suffer any loss.
Later, her in-laws said they would raise the baby, making her feel awkward both inside and outside.
Even her two daughters did not stand by her side and thought she was being hypocritical. Which mother-in-law does not help her children in this way? Which mother-in-law does not help take care of her grandchildren? Didn’t her own parents-in-law also help take care of their grandchildren? And they came from far away places, from their familiar hometowns, to unfamiliar BJ Shenzhen to take care of their grandchildren.
What else can she say? She can only support her son and daughter-in-law in having a second child.
After the matter was settled, she not only had to help her son take care of the child, but also occasionally had to help her daughter take care of the child. After all, nowadays is not the same as before. It is no longer popular for the old grandmother to take care of the grandchildren. It is now popular for the grandmother and the mother-in-law to divide the work of taking care of the grandchildren. Moreover, her daughter said that it was just that her parents-in-law had something to do back home, so she went to take over. The son and daughter could discuss it (she occasionally helped her daughter take care of the child, and in the future the two daughters would not fight over the family property, which would all belong to the son). How could she resist? Would resistance be effective?
As a result, she was running around. When her son had his second child, his in-laws came to take care of him for a while. The daughter-in-law said that the in-laws' cooking was not tasty, the clothes were not washed cleanly, and they did not take good care of the children. Then the in-laws left, and she started taking care of the two grandchildren.
She has to get up at five o'clock every morning to prepare breakfast for the family. Then her son, daughter-in-law and eldest grandson get up. After breakfast, her son and daughter-in-law go to work, and she carries the younger grandson to send the older grandson to school. When she can't carry him, she pushes the stroller or carries him on her back. Anyway, she has to take care of both grandsons.
I prepared dinner early in the afternoon, and while the younger grandson was sleeping, I hurried to pick up the older grandson from school.
Not only does she have no time for herself, but even when she is sick or injured, she has to keep busy before she fully recovers. Recently, she often suffers from dizziness, headaches, and fatigue. Sometimes she also feels tightness in her chest, and her waist feels as if it is about to break.
She said, hire a nanny and I’ll pay for it.
My wife said, it costs six or seven thousand to hire a nanny now, wouldn’t it be better to save the money for the child?
My son asked, "Why are you only thinking about yourself? If you don't want to take your child with you, that's fine. We won't force you. You can live alone."
My eldest daughter said that my mother-in-law has never mentioned hiring a nanny when taking care of her two grandchildren.
The youngest daughter said, my mother-in-law is taking care of three grandchildren.
Then she had no choice but to insist on taking care of the child herself, and this afternoon when she went to pick up her grandson from school, she collapsed on the road and she felt like she was going to die.
Am I dead? So I met my husband who had been dead for more than ten years? ! ! !
When this thought came to her mind, Deng Xiuzhen sat up suddenly and asked, "Yanlin, am I dead?"
"Xiuzhen, what's wrong with you? Why are you talking nonsense?" Qin Yanlin asked in a panic, and at the same time reached out to touch Deng Xiuzhen's forehead. He was worried that she had a fever and was talking nonsense.
The temperature of Qin Yanlin's hand brought Deng Xiuzhen back to her senses. Dead people should be cold!
Looking at Tan Yanlin again, she found that his complexion was very good. He was not the gray complexion before dying from a long illness, nor was he the skinny look before death. Tan Yanlin looked much younger at this time, only in his thirties.
Thirty-something? Deng Xiuzhen was surprised again.
She didn't dare to speak, she just looked around. In front of her was a wooden door and white walls, with a calendar hanging next to the door, wooden windows with steel columns, a brown bed with newspapers on the side, a cement floor, and a red painted wooden cabinet next to her. Tan Yanlin was holding a stainless steel cup with steaming water in it. This was clearly the house she had lived in when she was in the supply and marketing cooperative!
Did she die and go to a certain time and space with her husband? Or was she reborn in the 1990s?
Deng Xiuzhen wasn't sure, she stared at Tan Yanlin blankly.
"Xiuzhen, what's wrong with you?" Tan Yanlin was also panicked. He had been with Deng Xiuzhen for twelve years and had never seen her like this.
"Mom!" With a crisp call, a girl ran in.
"Wen Jing?" Deng Xiuzhen finally came to her senses. She was reborn, really reborn in the 1990s!
She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and greeted her with a smile: "Jingjing, are you out of school?" Her tone was as enthusiastic as usual, but her eyes no longer had the usual doting look, but were a little cold instead.
Soon, the other two children, Wenxin and Wenyu, also came back. Like Wenjing, they shouted "Mom" loudly, rushed to Deng Xiuzhen's bed, and chattered about what happened at school today.
"I'll go cook." Qin Yanlin looked at his wife and children having fun, smiled and said, then turned around and went out to cook.
Deng Xiuzhen looked at Tan Yanlin's back, and her heart ached, and her eyes were red. This was her husband, who had been frugal all his life, and worked hard to make money for the family to live a good life, but he became sick from exhaustion and died early.
"Yanlin, I will make sure you are well! I will make sure you live a long life!" Deng Xiuzhen swore silently in her heart.
"Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you in pain somewhere?" Wen Jing, who was older, was the first to notice that something was wrong with Deng Xiuzhen.
"Mom, let me blow it for you." Wen Yu hurriedly hugged Deng Xiuzhen's hand.
"Mom, do you want some water?" Wen Xin asked in a low voice.
Deng Xiuzhen looked at the three children and was speechless.
Is the child not good? But the child in front of her clearly cares about her.
Is the child okay? But the suffering she endured for nearly twenty years was also true, and it was even more true that she died on the way to send her grandson away!
"I'm tired and want to take a nap. You guys go do your homework." Deng Xiuzhen waved her hand pretending to be tired.
The children also obediently went to do their homework.
The room fell silent. Deng Xiuzhen closed her eyes, wondering whether she should tell Tan Yanlin about her rebirth.
Finally, I decided that it was better not to tell him. After all, Tan Yanlin was a materialist. He would not believe in rebirth. Whether he believed in the child or not, it was not a good thing. He was a family-loving man who loved his wife and children and would risk his life for his family. Telling him that the child would be unfilial in the future would only add to his troubles. Besides, he probably didn't believe it, and telling him would affect the family relationship.
Then I can only rely on myself. Deng Xiuzhen tried hard to recall what happened during this period. Since she was reborn, she felt that she should seize the opportunity, take fewer detours, make life easier, and prevent her husband from hurting his body due to overwork.
I don’t remember many things that happened a long time ago, and the details are even more vague. But there is one thing Deng Xiuzhen remembers, that is, they bought the land next to the supply and marketing cooperative to build a house, but it was later bought by the team, and they had no choice but to go to the city to do business. During this incident, her husband had a dispute with someone and was injured in the waist and abdomen. Because he did not rest well, he later developed tuberculosis.
Deng Xiuzhen quickly got up and looked at the calendar. September 8, 1993, the 22nd day of the seventh lunar month, a Wednesday.
"Not bad! Not bad!" Deng Xiuzhen felt relieved. The dispute over the foundation in the previous life would be resolved tomorrow. It was not too late. She was really afraid that Tan Yanlin had been injured. Although the injury was not serious, and the tuberculosis was caused by not recuperating well, she was reluctant to let Tan Yanlin get hurt after realizing that the only reliable and the only person who treated her well in the world was her husband. She didn't care about others, but Tan Yanlin couldn't get hurt. She loved her husband.
Thinking of how she had watched other old couples laughing and talking, loving each other many times in her past life, and how she envied them but had no one to rely on, Deng Xiuzhen immediately went out to meet Tan Yanlin, but bumped into the door.
If it had been a while ago, I would probably have been injured and my old bones would have been of little use.
Now I don’t feel anything when I touch it. Being young is different, Deng Xiuzhen sighed sincerely.
She moved her arms and legs, twisted her waist, took a deep breath, and felt full of strength. Deng Xiuzhen was filled with joy: it feels so good to be healthy! In her previous life, her waist was always in pain and she couldn't stand up straight. Her whole body was either in pain or she couldn't move. Especially before she died, she felt like a heavy stone was pressing on her chest. The feeling of being unable to breathe was really uncomfortable and desperate.
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