In her previous life, Zhou Yuanyuan herself had jumped off a building because she was so disappointed with life. Now that she's been reborn, she's incredibly grateful to God for this gift.
But not everyone has the opportunity to be reborn. When a person dies, it is like a light going out. Everyone's life is a priceless treasure, representing their parents' beautiful expectations for them.
Did Aunt Gu want to commit suicide? Was it because she was so disappointed in her children?
"It's true, Yuanyuan. I found half a bottle of pesticide under my grandma's bed last night." Xiaocao's voice choked when she talked about this.
"Sister Xiaocao, half a bottle of pesticide doesn't mean anything. Maybe your grandparents are going to use it to kill insects on the crops!" Zhou Yuanyuan comforted Zhao Xiaocao.
Zhou Yuanyuan was a peasant woman in her previous life. She knew that in rural areas, pesticides are a must-have for every household.
Farming isn't just about sowing seeds in the fields; farmers also have to deal with the tedious tasks of weeding, pest control, and fertilizing. When insects infest the crops, farmers mix pesticides with water in a specific ratio and evenly spray them. Only through meticulous care and attention can a bountiful harvest be achieved.
"Yuanyuan, no, my grandparents haven't worked in the fields for a year or two. My family never keeps pesticides in the bedroom. I hope I'm overthinking it, but I'm really scared." Xiaocao said this, her body trembling slightly.
God knows how shocked Xiaocao was when she saw the bottle of pesticide under Aunt Gu's bed last night. Aunt Gu and Zhao the bamboo craftsman were no longer able to do farm work, so there was no need to use pesticides.
Zhao Xiaocao still clearly remembers that when she was five or six years old, Zhao Hongsheng came back from the fields and brought some unused pesticides from the brigade into the bedroom, and was scolded by Aunt Gu.
Auntie Gu said that the bedroom is a place to sleep, and dangerous items like pesticides should not be kept there. After all, there are several hardy children at home, and if they accidentally eat the pesticides without knowing what they are doing, it could be a matter of life and death.
So, when Xiaocao saw the bottle of pesticide under Aunt Gu's bed, the first thing that came to his mind was that Aunt Gu wanted to commit suicide.
"Sister Xiaocao, you should have a good talk with your grandma. If the old lady has any worries, you should help her resolve them." Zhou Yuanyuan suggested.
"Yuanyuan, ever since grandma fell ill years ago, my mom... has been rude to my grandparents, throwing things around and making indirect complaints at home every day. My grandpa is used to being controlled by grandma all his life, and he's deaf, so he probably doesn't feel that bad, but my grandma has always been very strong-willed. She'll definitely be upset by being treated like that by my mom..." Xiaocao felt depressed when she talked about these bad things in her family.
Zhao Xiaocao had secretly replaced the pesticide under Aunt Gu's bed with clean, non-toxic water last night. But if Aunt Gu was determined to die, how many times could Zhao Xiaocao prevent her?
After listening to Xiaocao's detailed account of the family affairs, Zhou Yuanyuan came to the conclusion that Aunt Gu was not someone who was willing to be bullied, and she might have suicidal tendencies because of her daughter-in-law's neglect.
However, birth, aging, illness, and death are beyond our control. If she had a choice, Aunt Gu would definitely not want to grow old or get sick. Aging means becoming a burden to the family, and sick rural elders are a heavy burden on the entire family.
"Sister Xiaocao, please persuade your mother! Everyone will grow old one day. If she does this, isn't she afraid that she will be treated like this by her son and daughter-in-law when she is old?" Zhou Yuanyuan said with a frown.
"Oh! Yuanyuan, although children should not criticize their parents, my mother is really a short-sighted shrew. In her eyes, apart from my father and several sons, no one else exists. When grandma had money, my mother didn't dare to do anything. But when grandma fell ill, the family's money was spent like water, and my mother became arrogant." Xiaocao sighed heavily and said.
"Sister Xiaocao, is life difficult for the elderly in rural areas?" Zhou Yuanyuan knew that Zhao Xiaocao's family conditions were not the worst in Zhaojiagou. If the children of such a family were not filial, what kind of life would the elderly in the village live?
"Yuanyuan, the life of elderly people in rural areas is really hard to describe. Last month, an old man from the neighboring village was bitten on his ankle by a snake while he was collecting firewood in the mountains. The old man knew some first aid himself and released the poisonous blood from the wound on the spot. After being carried home, a barefoot doctor came to see the patient and said that there were still some toxins remaining in the old man's body. The hospital in town had a kind of detoxifying serum, and the old man would be cured with just one injection. But... " Xiaocao felt so heartbroken that she couldn't breathe whenever she thought of the tragic incident that happened a month ago.
Xiaocao always felt that if her family affairs were left unattended, her mother would one day end up like the children of the old man in the neighboring village and be criticized by her ex-husband.
"What's the result?" Zhou Yuanyuan heard halfway before she realized that Xiaocao was too busy wiping her tears to continue.
"As a result, none of the old man's four sons and two daughters were willing to send him to the hospital. So many people would rather watch their old father lying on the bed groaning in pain than pay for the medicine. The barefoot doctor said that the detoxifying serum costs fifty yuan a bottle. The old man raised so many children, but none of them has a conscience." When Xiaocao said this, he couldn't help but stretched out his hand and pounded his chest, feeling suffocated and anxious.
"Six children, even if the cost is shared equally, each family would get less than ten yuan! How could they be so cruel?" Zhou Yuanyuan felt that what Xiaocao said was like a fairy tale. In today's society, although blind filial piety is not approved, compared with human life, is money still more important than life?
"The poison in the old man has not been cleared yet, his whole body is swollen, and he lay in bed in pain for three days before he died. A life was lost for dozens of dollars. The old man was not old, only in his sixties! Why are these people like this? They only care about money and don't think about the kindness of their parents who raised them with great difficulty..." When Xiaocao said this, she couldn't help crying.
Zhao Xiaocao grew up with her grandmother, Aunt Gu. The bond between her and Aunt Gu was much deeper than the mother-daughter bond between her and Zheng Qiulian. Whenever Xiaocao thought about Aunt Gu lying in bed waiting to die like the old man in the neighboring village, her heart would clench in pain.
"That's too much!" Zhou Yuanyuan clenched her fists. Ten yuan or so—even if the family was poor, they could borrow from friends and family. But watching an elderly person die in agony lying in bed—are they still children? They're enemies, right?
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