An illiterate old man
Hot and humid sweltering heat.
The originally cool river breeze also succumbed to this heat demon, along the not-so-wide slope-shaped concrete seawall, gradually warming up, and by the time it blew onto people's skin, the initial comfort was already gone.
By the shore, in the protective forest within the Riverside Park.
An elderly man who looked like he had aged, rubbed his sleepy eyes. The bad weather interrupted his afternoon nap.
He slowly sat up from the hammock, using his feet to pull the book that had fallen to the ground over to him, and then, with great effort, he bent down and picked it up.
The book is new. It was bought back from the bookstore by this old man for more than a week, and the tadpole-like Chinese characters in the book have not seen their master's face yet.
I am a guest on the misty river, an illiterate old man. Overnight, the boat flies in the waves, and I sleep through many worries...
A passage in the book hints at the old man's identity: an illiterate old man who has experienced hardships and forgotten his worries.
On the cover of the book, there is a seal: Autumn Forest - Autumn Maple Forest.
In the Hundred Family Surnames, there doesn't seem to be a surname with the character "Qiu". Nobody knows why the old man gave himself such an unusual name.
Not far from the old man, a very exaggerated snoring sound came. If it was made by a man's throat, it wouldn't be unusual, but it just happened to come from a middle-aged woman's throat. The middle-aged woman lay on the stone table in the park, resting her head on her arms, and fell fast asleep.
The old man in the autumn forest originally wanted to wake her up, but later decided to wait a little longer. Disturbing others' rest is a very immoral thing. Immoral things, he didn't want to do. This was the old man's principle.
Next to the woman, on a thick trunk of camphor tree as big as a thigh, more than ten hammocks of various models were hung. Around her, every few steps away, between two adjacent large trees, five or six open hammocks were tied up. These all belonged to the middle-aged woman. She was the owner of these hammocks. Of course, she did not want this relationship between master and object to last too long, and she hoped that it would change as soon as possible.
She is a businesswoman who relies on this kind of relationship change to maintain her livelihood.
Looking at the woman's painful sleeping posture, the old man had once advised her, why not lie comfortably on those well-tied hammocks. The woman's response made Autumn Lin old man savor for a long time.
She said: If the guests knew that the hammock had been slept in by themselves, it would be hard to sell...
When the woman woke up, the old man walked over and handed her a one-yuan bill. This was their agreement: a deposit. After leaving every day, the woman would be responsible for helping to tidy up the old man's hammock, taking it back, and hanging it in its original position the next day, waiting for the old man to return. The one yuan was her labor fee.
After bidding farewell to the woman, with a book tucked under his arm, the old man slowly made his way back to his rented house. The two places were not far apart, just about ten minutes' walk away. Of course, this was calculated at the old man's pace; an ordinary person would not need that much time.
At around 3 or 4 pm, during the peak hour of workers getting off work, he entered the residential area and was greeted by neighbors who actively said hello to him. It can be seen that his interpersonal relationship is very good. Although, he is not an original resident of this community.
I have been living here for almost two years now.
The neighbors who interact with him on a daily basis have one word to describe Old Man Qiulin: awesome!
The old man was so pleased that every neighbor in the neighborhood had a detailed account in their hearts.
Since he moved in, in this riverside community, whenever there's a wedding or funeral in any resident's home, whether he knows them or not, the gift money is always delivered. Moreover, whenever something happens in their homes, you can see the old man's busy figure...
At first, he did this and made people confused. Why would someone who didn't know him want to give him red envelopes and help with his affairs? Wasn't this just a case of having too much money and energy to spare? When asked for the reason, the old man just smiled faintly and said: "Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. One more bit of care means one more bit of support." Between people, we can't become estranged just because we're on a higher floor or have anti-theft doors and nets installed.
It's nothing profound, everyone can understand it, and it's not even the old man's original words, many people have said it hundreds or thousands of times before, my ears are already numb from hearing it.
When the old man first said this, the listeners didn't take it seriously and just let it pass. But as time went by, seeing that Autumn Lin was always doing so, they began to think deeply about the meaning of the old man's words... Especially several times, seeing the old man dragging his sickly body, busy for the master's family, more people started to take the old man's words seriously.
At first, some kind-hearted people saw Old Man Qiulin helping out in a stranger's home. They watched and advised him to take care of his body, not to overexert himself, it wasn't worth it. Seeing the old man only nodding and smiling in response, expressing gratitude but not intending to stop what he was doing, they felt uneasy watching and took the initiative to step forward and lend a hand.
It's a bit tiring, but afterwards, the sincere gratitude of the person in need really warms the hearts of these kind people and gives them a great sense of satisfaction. The joy of helping others has finally been experienced... Unbeknownst to them, such kind-hearted and enthusiastic people have gradually increased in the neighborhood... Originally living together for over ten years, but not knowing each other's names, neighbors who were once strangers became familiar faces, then friends, and even close friends.
Something you said.
It was originally just a polite phrase from a Spring Festival Gala sketch, but in the past year or two, it has gradually become a behavioral norm among residents of residential areas.
It was on this basis that five months ago, residents of the community did something that shook this old industrial city.
That morning, Old Qiulin found the neighborhood committee staff and said that an elderly person in the community who had children living elsewhere had died, asking them to go take a look.
The staff of the residents' committee said that they saw him walking around the street the night before, it's impossible. Later, unable to resist the old man's repeated requests, he followed along. When they arrived at the door of the lonely old man, they found the doors and windows tightly locked, and no one answered when they knocked on the door. They asked the neighbors, who said they hadn't seen the old man go out that morning, which made them realize something was wrong. They called the police to open the lock and discovered that the old man had indeed died at home.
The elderly man's children are away from home, with no relatives nearby and no work unit to rely on. They can only survive on the support of their children and social security relief funds. What can be done?! When the staff were in a dilemma, Old Man Qiulin said: I'll do it! He then began organizing people to handle the elderly man's funeral affairs.
The autumn forest didn't look for anyone, just talked to a few neighbors and got the whole community moving. Those who handled procedures handled procedures, those who issued certificates issued certificates, those who were busy with funeral arrangements made funeral arrangements, and those who set up mourning halls set up mourning halls... The residents of the community fully mobilized their various social relationships and completed all tasks within half a day. Then, at the entrance of the building, they set up a long canopy, arranged tables and chairs, lit fires, and under the open sky, sat together to hold a farewell banquet for the elderly, keeping vigil through the night. And the so-called "relatives" who were received were all neighbors from within the community.
When discussing how to undertake the expenses for the elderly funeral, everyone accepted Qiulin's idea and placed a large donation box at the entrance of the mourning hall. People who came did not register gifts, and it was enough to show their intention, if the funds were insufficient, the remaining part would be borne by Qiulin himself.
As soon as the news spread, there were people queuing up every day to put money into the donation box. The banquet tables were laid out for three days and two nights. Within these three days, almost everyone had a taste of the communal dining experience during the People's Commune era...
Really worth recalling!
On the day of the funeral, dozens of cars of all sizes lined up on the main street, forming a long dragon and shocking the residents along the way. At first, people thought it was for the funeral of some high-ranking official, but later they found out that it was actually for an elderly resident in the community. Everyone voluntarily came to attend the funeral, and no one had anything but praise for the community's sense of justice and compassion!
When the old man's children returned from abroad, the funeral had already been held. Hearing the rumors around them and seeing the autumn forest handed over to their hands, the remaining share of money donated by neighbors after deducting expenses, several children were moved to fall to the ground, kneeling for a long time! Thanked the neighbors present one by one! The scene made the onlookers remember it vividly even now.
Facing the autumn forest, they handed over 600,000 to 700,000 yuan in gifts. Several children secretly counted together and decided to build a merit monument at the entrance of the community to show the kindness of the neighbors. After asking for instructions from the residents' committee and obtaining their consent, a 1.5-meter-wide and 6-meter-high bluestone monument stood at the entrance of the community.
The good reputation of the residents of Xiaoyu Community has been widely spread in other communities over the past two months... Gradually, the original name of the community has faded from people's minds, replaced by a new name - Renshi Community!
What's even more peculiar is that this small community, which was originally far from the commercial center, now has housing prices that are increasingly rising to the level of downtown areas! Moreover, there are no houses for sale, and residents who originally wanted to move into new homes are unwilling to leave. People who want to move in have no source of housing, and housing prices still have a tendency to rise further...
Back in her small one-bedroom apartment, Autumn Lin started cooking dinner. The meal was simple: a bowl of white rice and a dish of pickled vegetables.
His eating habits had been repeatedly discussed by the residents of the community for a period of time. He was too stingy with himself! This stinginess also came with another "bad habit": the old man rarely accepted invitations to dinner parties. Many times, after finishing the host's tasks, when everyone sat down to eat together, his figure could hardly be found. Even if he was caught and invited to the table, it would just be a bowl of plain rice and a few green vegetables.
Isn't this a slap in the face? Can't we afford to buy food that suits your taste, old man? Someone once asked the old man, fueled by wine. The old man chuckled and said: No reason, I'm fasting!
It's come to this, what's the point of arguing. Later on, when they invited the old man out for dinner again, people noticed a detail: a separate bowl of plain rice was prepared just for him. Although it was a bit of trouble, at least it gave them peace of mind! The old man didn't decline either...
