Grandma Meng Junrong: The story of an elderly woman working in a brick factory and carrying bricks
The other workers start at 6 am, but Grandma Meng arrives at the construction site at 5 am. "I'm old and can't do much, but I don't want to take advantage of my coworkers. Since I work slowly, I just need to work longer," she says.
As her granddaughters grew up, going to school became a heavy burden for the family. To alleviate the pressure, grandma took on the responsibility of paying for her older granddaughter's education. After the college entrance exam, grandma had a disagreement with the children's parents about sending the girls to university. "Their mom said, why go to school? Most girls in the village get married at this age, and her in-laws will take care of her. But I insisted on sending her to school. People in the village without education work hard all day and still earn little money. I'd rather suffer myself so that the children can go to university," grandma firmly said.
However, good times didn't last long, and people gradually had opinions. There were four men and two women in the factory, all more capable than grandma. Everyone felt that grandma being there was a burden, slowing down their work rhythm. When reporters came before, some workers quietly complained to them.
Xiaoman and Xiaoqian are her granddaughters. In Hebei's rural areas, grandparents often refer to their grandchildren as nephews or nieces. Since the couple only has one daughter and the daughter is not in good health, they have been living with their daughter and son-in-law, so they are very close to the two granddaughters. "My nieces study very hard and have always performed well academically. The younger one ranked first in the liberal arts at her school this year and even received a scholarship," grandma proudly said. The two granddaughters are usually studying away from home and only come back on weekends. Once home, they hurry to help with laundry and cooking. "I'm happy, but the girls are already tired from school. How can I let them do all the housework? I wash clothes on the same day; they rarely cook as it doesn't taste good," grandma smiled and said.
Grandma's daughter stopped attending school after junior high and worked at a printing factory in the county town. There was a young man at the factory whose family lived in the county town. Grandma Meng looked out the window and fell into deep thought, "They were both in their twenties then, at the prime of their youth. That young man was tall and started dating my daughter. I didn't approve and arranged a marriage within the village for her instead. Because of this, I ruined my daughter's life," tears welled up in the old lady's eyes. Due to stress, she developed a blood blister on her lip, which she constantly pressed while trying to suppress her overwhelming emotions.
1 Regret and Responsibility:
This educated and insightful person made a mistake regarding her daughter's marriage.
Intern reporter Sun Lei and intern Mei Jingxian wrote this article with photos.
When we saw grandma again, she was wearing an extra long-sleeved shirt, and the blood blister on her lips had healed. Her spirits were much better. However, we wonder how long grandma's job can continue and how far her aging body can support this family?
Recently, the weather turned cooler, and grandma caught a cold. She didn't rest for a single day and continued to work at the factory. According to her, "At our age, once you lie down, you might not be able to get up."
Her daughter accepted the arranged marriage, but things didn't turn out as expected by the couple.
Grandma talks about "daughter," "Xiaoman," "Xiaoqian," and "my family" frequently.
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Supplying funds for her daughter's medical treatment and her granddaughters' education
"My husband used to run a clinic in the village, 'he relied on his quick mind, read a couple of traditional Chinese medicine books, and started treating patients,'" grandma said.
The manager of the brick factory and grandma are from the same village. Knowing grandma's difficult situation, he readily agreed when she wanted to work there. "Since we're from the same village and know her situation, I'll give her some support. But she's old, and I don't know how long she can keep working."
Grandma saves every penny to pay for her daughter's medical treatment and her granddaughters' education. The clothes she wears are hand-me-downs from her granddaughters and daughter, and her shoes are a bit big, but grandma says it's fine, and they fit well.
The regret over her daughter's marriage turned into a strong sense of responsibility. From then on, grandma began taking her daughter on a long and arduous journey to seek medical treatment. "I took her to see doctors. We went to hospitals in Shijiazhuang and Zhengding, all specializing in mental illness treatment. It didn't work, so we went to Baoding's Provincial Sixth Hospital, the first psychiatric hospital in the country." Recalling the experience of taking her daughter to see doctors, grandma vividly recounted, "She was very strong. Once during an episode, she kicked a young man in his twenties and sent him flying. The hospital treated her harshly sometimes, using electric sticks. I couldn't bear it and brought her back home, resulting in incomplete treatment. If we had continued the treatment back then, maybe it could have worked. One wrong step, and everything else went downhill," grandma choked up and said.
Other workers start at 6 am, but grandma arrives at the construction site at 5 am. "I'm old, so I can't do much, but I shouldn't take advantage of my coworkers. Since I work slowly, I just need to work longer." At noon, when the weather gets hot, she rides her bicycle home to buy groceries and cook. "My husband's hands aren't convenient; his right hand was injured and never fully recovered. When he's in a good mood, he cooks once in a while, but usually, I do the cooking." At 2 pm, she returns to the construction site and works until dark. "There's no fixed time for finishing work. Sometimes, if there's a lot of cement, we need to make bricks until they're all done. We can't waste materials; if we do, they won't let us work anymore."
Grandma is moving bricks. Her thin ankles support her no longer young body. Sweat soaks through her summer blouse on her hunched shoulders. Upon seeing us, she smiles and invites us inside to rest. The house is very simple, with only a table and a clay bed. The fan buzzes noisily, and the sound of the brick-making machine is deafening. Grandma shyly smiles and wipes the edge of the bed for us, saying, "It's a bit dirty, but please sit."
Grandma was born in a rural area and attended only three years of primary school, but she was one of the few in her generation who could read and write. She once strongly opposed her daughter's marriage, changing her daughter's life and her own fate trajectory. She regrets it to this day. She has worked as a construction worker and sold carts. Now, at 66, she still works in a factory that produces cement bricks. She says she has already planned it out: currently, she works at the construction site and earns several dozen yuan per day to pay for her granddaughter's education. After her granddaughter graduates from university, she will stop doing heavy physical labor and pick up trash or do some handicrafts in the village instead.
3 Hard Work at the Brick Factory:
After getting married, her daughter remained unhappy. After having a child, she first showed signs of depression, which later developed into schizophrenia.
In July, our newspaper launched the Lique Sunshine Scholarship Program again. July is also the month when Grandma Meng's two granddaughters learned their college entrance exam results. The children were admitted to universities, but tuition became a huge burden. When the village party secretary told her about the newspaper's scholarship program, the elderly woman immediately brought her granddaughter to the newspaper office to register.
The two granddaughters live in school dormitories. Grandma's husband is also sick and unable to work. After working all day at the construction site, grandma goes home to wash clothes and cook. The elderly woman says breakfast is usually steamed buns, sometimes with not-so-good vegetables, which cost two or three mao each. "It's not easy to earn money, so buying vegetables is unnecessary. As long as we're full, it's fine." The elderly woman optimistically said, "Life now is much better than when I was young. At least we have flour to eat."
She continues, "My biggest regret is ruining my daughter's life. If I had let her marry that young man from the printing factory, none of this would have happened. The couple only has one daughter, and they strongly opposed her relationship with the young man from the printing factory because they wanted her to take care of them in their old age. We found her a husband from the same village."
Finally, grandma paid the registration fee.
Xiaoqian was admitted to Tianjin University of Finance and Economics with excellent scores, while her sister Xiaoman chose to repeat her final year due to poor performance. Grandma resolutely took on the responsibility of supporting Xiaoman's decision to repeat her final year.
In August, the continuous rain brought some coolness to the summer. At a brick factory by the provincial road in Xinle City, workers were busy making bricks. Among them was 66-year-old Grandma Meng Junrong, the grandma we were looking for.
Grandma is a restless person. If her earlier life's hustle was spontaneous and carefree, her later life's hard work carried more inevitability intertwined with fate.