Chapter 2400: Keeping One’s Promise (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Slowly. The water’s not hot, right? Don’t be in a hurry, Grandpa.”
His son had sacrificed himself early and was no longer around. He hadn’t married a wife and given birth to grandchildren.
Aside from his son’s sacrifice, his other siblings had their own homes. After the death of his son, he thought that he was going to live under a bridge for the rest of his old age. Who would expect that he could still enjoy this blessing today?
Upon thinking of those siblings who no longer kept in contact with him for fear that he would burden them, the old man said that they might not even be leading a life as good as his now, even though they had children.
He remembered back when nobody took care of him anymore, the government went to find his other relatives to take care of him on account that he was the family of a martyr. Those people who rejected him back then said, “I’ve long said that Bing Zi was a good child. When he was still around, he was so filial. We’ve long said it before. What’s so good about being a soldier? He wouldn’t earn much money and it’s dangerous. See? Bing Zi didn’t come back after he left. He didn’t even leave behind a child. You’re all alone. If you listened to us earlier and didn’t let Bing Zi become a soldier but an office worker instead, would you end up in such a state today? Why did you name him Bing Zi? I think you gave him the wrong name back then. It’s so inauspicious.”
Upon thinking about these words, the old man felt wronged.
What was wrong with Bing Zi being a soldier? How was it not good?
If nobody became a soldier, would the country have its day today? Would everyone be leading peaceful lives? Did they think he wanted to send Bing Zi to become a soldier? Back when Bing Zi was in school, his grades were good, especially those of the college entrance examination. However, he had no money and Bing Zi’s mom was in poor health. They had long used up all the money in the family for Bing Zi’s mom’s medical treatment.
There wasn’t any money at home. He wanted to borrow some so that his son could become a university student and find a good job upon graduation. Once he earned money, they would return all the debts.
Who would have thought that those relatives saw that their family’s conditions were poor and none of them were willing to help Bing Zi? They even asked Bing Zi to work and stop studying. What kind of work was it? To wash the dishes.
It wasn’t that the old man despised dishwashing workers. He just felt that his son’s grades were good and he was clever. Furthermore, the owner of the shop was the son’s biological aunt. Forget it that she wasn’t willing to lend money to them, but she even gave such a low salary to her nephew who could potentially go to a good university. The old man didn’t want his biological sister to bully his outstanding son. If he really accepted this job, they might not even be relatives in the future.
The old man was definitely not confused regarding this matter.
In the end, Bing Zi himself decided to be a soldier. He felt that since he was named Bing Zi, he should be a soldier. Otherwise, he would be letting his dad, who named him, down.
A dead son was a pain that the old man didn’t want to remember. However, those relatives even said unpleasant words. Even if the relatives were willing to take care of him due to external pressure, the old man refused.
He was already prepared to sleep under a bridge. Who knew that a beautiful girl brought him to a nursing home? Since then, he was well taken care of and had ample food and clothes. Compared to his life before, he really had nothing to say about the life he was leading after moving in.
Later, the old man realized that most of the old people who lived here were in similar situations as him. This nursing home was specially built for elders like them. As he lived in a new room, lay on the bed with a quilt covering his body, and looked at the snow-white ceiling, the old man cried on the first night.
Who said that it was a wrong decision for him to send Bing Zi to become a soldier? Who said that he deserved to have no son to take care of him when he was old after Bing Zi sacrificed himself? Who said that Bing Zi sacrificing for the country was stupid behavior? Who said that the country and people had already forgotten the contributions his Bing Zi made and the life he sacrificed?
No, all of these were not true.
There were still people who remembered!
The old man felt that him receiving such care where no reciprocity was expected was a form of affirmation and commemoration of his son’s sacrifice and contributions to the country and people. It was the right decision to agree to his son being a soldier back then. All the words his relatives said were untrue.
The nurses in the nursing home took care of people well and bore good attitudes. What made the old man happy was that there would be some university students doing volunteer work in the nursing home from time to time. Those university students loved listening to these elders sharing stories of their sacrificed sons. Every time he saw these university students having looks of admiration for his son, he felt particularly comforted and proud.
His son was a hero. Even if he had sacrificed his life, if there was a next life, he believed that he would still make the same decision and let his son walk the same path in life.
The old man felt that his life in the later years was getting better and he was enjoying it more. Upon thinking that all of these were due to the blessing of his son and the country and the people hadn’t forgotten about his son, the old man smiled every day. He knew that Qiao Nan was the one who brought him his life now and these three children belonged to Qiao Nan. The way he looked at the triplets was no different from how he looked at his own grandchildren.
“Drink.” San Bao brought water to the old man. “Grandpa, drink water. Drink more water. Good.”
Qiao Nan often said this sentence to the three children: Drinking more water was good for health.
The three children were learning how to speak now. After they became more able to understand the meaning in adults’ words, they liked to imitate how the adults spoke and what they did the most. At home, the three children were under Qiao Nan’s care. When they were outside, San Bao stood upright with her little chubby waist and expressed that drinking water was good and that these grandparents had to listen to her words as well.
“Alright, I’ll drink water. It’s good for health.” The old man took the cup from San Bao’s hands and drank a sip of water. It was as if he was drinking honey water. “Wow, the water poured by San Bao tastes so good. It’s so sweet. San Bao, did you put some sugar in the water for me?”
San Bao knew that the grandpa was complimenting her. As such, she revealed a row of neat and clean millet teeth, smiling cutely. Her red face was like an apple, and her smile was as brilliant as the sun.
The old man looked at her enviously. In the end, he reached out and touched San Bao’s head. “San Bao, shall I buy you flowers for your hair in the future?”
San Bao obediently nodded.. She smiled and didn’t say anything.
