â–¡Wang Changliang, Wang Wei, Niu Chenchen, Su Nan "Sister, I will definitely raise the child to adulthood"
In early January, we visited Xu Minzhi's home in the Xie Zhuang Coal Mine community of the Xin Kuang Group under Shandong Energy. Xu Minzhi is less than 1.5 meters tall and appears very old with deep wrinkles on her face and strands of white hair, testifying to a life of hardship. It's hard to imagine that this frail woman has shouldered the responsibility of supporting a vast sky.
Born in 1941, Xu Minzhi started working in 1958 in the medical field. In 1966, she answered the Party's call to support Southwest China and moved to the remote and impoverished Guizhou Province where she lived for 21 years.
In 1960, Xu Minzhi's brother-in-law passed away. Her sister had been living alone with her only daughter. In 1975, when her sister was critically ill, she called Xu Minzhi to her bedside but hesitated to speak. Xu Minzhi knew her sister was worried about her 15-year-old daughter. She firmly held her sister's hand and said, "Sister, don't worry, I will definitely raise the child to adulthood."
With peace of mind, her sister passed away. Xu Minzhi, who already had three children, brought her niece to Guizhou and took special care of this pitiful child, always thinking of her first when there was good food or clothing. Considering the child's future education and employment, Xu Minzhi wanted to transfer her niece's household registration to her own. As her niece was from a rural area, transferring from rural to urban registration was extremely difficult at the time. Whenever she had time, Xu Minzhi would consult relevant departments, but it took a full five years to complete the process. During these five years, she ran countless errands and walked countless miles. Even her colleagues were moved, saying, "Even a biological mother might not be able to do all this."
Now 71 years old, Xu Minzhi still clearly remembers: It was in 1985 when her niece's household registration was finally transferred.
Now, her niece has already started her own family and career, and Xu Minzhi feels gratified. She fulfilled her promise to her sister; her sister and brother-in-law can rest in peace.
"Brother, you can go with peace"
Unpredictable misfortunes struck one after another. Just a year after her sister's death, her second brother fell seriously ill. This time, Xu Minzhi couldn't even see her brother before he passed away. When she hurriedly returned to her hometown, she saw her devastated sister-in-law crying, "How will we live without him? Your brother could not let go of his six children until his last breath!" Kneeling before her brother's spirit tablet, Xu Minzhi silently said, "Brother, you can go with peace. I will take care of the children."
Her second brother's family lived in a rural area with a hard life and had to raise six children. After her brother's passing, their situation became even more dire. Xu Minzhi intended to adopt one of her nephews to alleviate her sister-in-law's burden but feared her husband might disagree. After discussing with her husband, he eventually agreed, deeply moving Xu Minzhi.
However, for Xu Minzhi's family, they already had two sons and a daughter to take care of, plus her sister's niece. Now, they added another nephew around ten years old. Moreover, they were aiding Guizhou at the time with poor conditions. Finally, Xu Minzhi painfully handed her youngest son over to her mother-in-law in Shanghai for care. Thus, Xu Minzhi used her monthly salary of 42 yuan to raise four children, sending part of it to her mother-in-law and sometimes also sending money to her sister-in-law back home. She spared no expense on the children, despite living frugally herself.
More than ten years of hard work did not go to waste as she successfully raised her nephew to adulthood. Seeing his happy life now, Xu Minzhi feels genuinely pleased.
"Mom, I won't abandon my younger sister"
Not only did Xu Minzhi take good care of her immediate family, but she also showed great concern for her intellectually disabled younger sister-in-law, with whom she shared no blood relation. As the saying goes: There are no filial children by the bedside of a long-term sick person, let alone caring for a sister-in-law? But Xu Minzhi managed to do it.
In 1987, to take care of her aging parents, Xu Minzhi wrote an application letter to the leader of the then Xincheng Mining Bureau, applying to return home to care for her elders. Unexpectedly, the leader was very understanding. Not long after, she received her transfer order. Every time she mentioned this event, Xu Minzhi expressed deep gratitude towards the leader. At the age of 46, after aiding Guizhou for 21 years, Xu Minzhi finally returned to her hometown.
Because her mother-in-law's health was not good, Xu Minzhi brought her from Shanghai to Xie Zhuang Coal Mine. While working, she took care of her children and her elderly mother-in-law. Her intellectually disabled younger sister-in-law was being cared for by her elder sister-in-law in Shanghai. However, seeing her mother-in-law constantly preoccupied, Xu Minzhi understood that her mother-in-law was worried about her younger sister-in-law.
After careful consideration, Xu Minzhi made a promise to her mother-in-law: "Mom, I won't abandon my younger sister. Don't worry." Her mother-in-law thought Xu Minzhi was just comforting her, but unexpectedly, the next day Xu Minzhi had her husband bring her younger sister-in-law from faraway Shanghai. From then on, every day, Xu Minzhi took care of her mother-in-law while meticulously attending to her younger sister-in-law's daily needs. In 2002, Xu Minzhi's mother-in-law passed away without any regrets.
Taking care of someone with an intelligence level below that of a two or three-year-old is understandably difficult. Every day, feeding her meals, cleaning her after toileting, and washing her body... Day after day, year after year, it has been thirteen years now.
Once, Xu Minzhi's diabetes worsened, and she couldn't get out of bed for several days, but she remained concerned about her younger sister-in-law. Every day, she asked her husband how her sister-in-law was doing. Hearing her sister-in-law constantly complaining of pain, despite her own illness, Xu Minzhi carefully examined her and found that her old chilblains had recurred, resulting in an abscess on her leg preventing her from walking. Xu Minzhi immediately went to the hospital to buy disinfectant, gauze, needles, and medicine. After carefully washing her, she applied the disinfectant and gently bandaged her up. She blamed herself for not noticing sooner.
After nearly half a month of meticulous care by Xu Minzhi, her younger sister-in-law finally recovered, but Xu Minzhi herself collapsed from exhaustion.
A few years ago, her younger sister-in-law suffered from foot infection. For nearly a month, Xu Minzhi soaked her feet and applied medicine every day without complaint. Now, at the age of 71, Xu Minzhi continues to take care of her 59-year-old intellectually disabled younger sister-in-law. Whenever others ask her, she always says, "She lives well, and I am happier than anything else."
Xu Minzhi took on responsibilities that she didn't have to bear, not for anything else, but for the sake of family ties and promises. With the greatest love, she demonstrated the moral glory of Chinese civilization for five thousand years.
[Profile of the protagonist]
Xu Minzhi, 71 years old, is a resident of the Xie Zhuang Coal Mine community of the Xin Kuang Group under Shandong Energy. In 2011, she was awarded the title of Moral Role Model for Filial Piety and Love within the Shandong Energy Xin Kuang Group.
In 1975, her sister entrusted her only daughter to Xu Minzhi before passing away. Despite already being a mother of three, Xu Minzhi assumed the responsibility of raising her niece.
In 1976, Xu Minzhi's second brother unfortunately passed away, leaving her sister-in-law struggling to raise six children. She adopted a ten-year-old nephew, while painfully handing her youngest son over to her mother-in-law in faraway Shanghai for care.
In 1987, due to her mother-in-law's poor health, Xu Minzhi brought her from Shanghai to her home and subsequently adopted her intellectually disabled younger sister-in-law. Day after day, she took care of her sister-in-law whose intelligence was below that of a two or three-year-old, feeding her meals, cleaning her after toileting, and washing her body... Thirteen years have passed, and at the age of 71, she continues to take care of her 59-year-old sister-in-law as usual.
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