A Great Chinese Mother—In Remembrance of Li Lanfeng (1931~ 2022)
Justin Lee
On July 15, 1931 (the first day of the sixth lunar month), she was born in the family of li Xigong, a farmer of The Li family in Beiguan Village, Huozhou City.
At the age of 15, xu longshui, the third oldest member of the Xu family in Zhuyangzhuang Village, was married to the Xu family and Xu Longshui at the age of 18 in 1948.
Li Lanfeng married xu door, because her husband Xu Longshui study outside reading, work, she resolutely took care of her mother-in-law, the burden of child care. The Xu family lived on the highest hillside of Zhuyangzhuang,
She carries water to farm, from morning to night, has been praised by the villagers, the village is recognized as a good wife and mother.
In 1958, every family did not have enough to eat in the canteen. She saved the corn flour woktou she earned as a farm worker for her mother-in-law and children, and ate corn flour and sweet potato woktou mixed with wild vegetables to feed her family.
Xu Longshui lost his father when he was young (his father was killed by the Japanese), from September 1948 to July 1951 in the liberated area of Shanxi Yangcheng "Taiyue Normal School" study; After graduation in August 1951, he was assigned to teach in the First Complete Primary School of Huo County Education Bureau, Shanxi Province. Later, he served as the school's director of educational affairs and principal.
In 1960, due to the great Leap Forward and the impact of the people's commune canteen, China appeared a food crisis. The people were underfed and underclothed, and there was a huge financial crisis. The state calls on state officials and public servants to resign from their posts and go to the countryside,
- It is to alleviate the country's financial difficulties. Second, it is to improve grain production in rural areas to support the country in overcoming the crisis. Xu Longshui, as a member of the Communist Party, responded positively to the call of the communist party and the country, resolutely resigned from public office and returned to the countryside. When the people did not have enough to eat, Li Lanfeng dug wild vegetables peel elm bark dried, mixed with corn inside the ground into miscellaneous flour to solve the family food shortage difficulties. In the hard years, Li Lanfeng suffered all kinds of hardships, for the survival of the family to pay a huge effort and hard!
After xu Longshui returned to the countryside, he was an "intellectual" in the countryside at that time. In Zhuyangzhuang village production brigade served as an accountant for several years, and later served as the captain of the third production team, always played a vanguard role. Under his influence, Li Lanfeng also took an active part in production and construction, was the village women's captain, but also an active member of rural socialist construction.
In 1975, at the end of the Cultural Revolution, the state initiated the formation
"Agricultural secondary schools", to train rural construction urgently needed knowledge farmers, teachers are in short supply. Xu Longshui has become a "private teacher" from a farmer. He always gives all he has when the country needs it most.
After the End of the Cultural Revolution, the Party called for the restoration of the educational examination system. As an excellent teacher of the people, Xu longshui studied the ancient Chinese language assiduously, and the Chinese lessons he taught were the most popular courses in agricultural middle schools at that time. His profound knowledge is the fruit of his painstaking efforts.
In 1980, due to his dedication to teaching, he unfortunately suffered from cerebral atherosclerosis. After recovering from his first illness, he returned to the podium, but the illness recurred several times and he had to leave the podium to recuperate at home. When a private teacher has a monthly salary of 30 yuan, sick can not work wages will be lost, the family life is in trouble. It is to did not have living cost source not only, see a doctor additionally still be at one's own expenses, sick to farmer family, more snow add blessing.
At that time, her husband needed money to take medicine for his illness, to have three meals a day, and to send her children to college. In order to support her family, Li Lanfeng got up before dawn every day to work. Later, he went to the county town to cut clothes and earn money by his skills. He worked hard and supported his family with strong perseverance, including the medical expenses of his husband, the living expenses of three meals a day and the education expenses of his children.
In 1990, her husband Xu Longshui died of a long illness, alleviating her poor life. However, she loves labor and still takes pains to work and pay hard for her children. Li Lanfeng is open-minded and gets along well with her neighbors. She influences her children's outlook on life by words and deeds. Show filial piety to the elderly, be strict with their children, and be charitable to their neighbors. When my mother-in-law was in her eighties, she often defecated in her pants. She always cleaned her pants silently, and she was the best daughter-in-law until her mother-in-law died at 88. She borrows a bowl of noodles from her neighbors, bringing in the plain one and returning the pointed one. Being willing to lose and be willing to lose is her motto in life. Her influence made her children develop the values of being generous to others, ready to help others and strict with themselves from an early age.
A rural woman who has never read a book teaches her children profound life philosophy by words and deeds! The greatness of an ordinary mother was best represented in her life.
Li Lanfeng raised seven children in his life, two of whom died in infancy. Three sons and two daughters are the achievements and hopes of Li Lanfeng and Xu Longshui's life.
The eldest daughter was born in 1949. After graduating from high school, she has been working as a private teacher. Later, she was transferred to a public teacher by national policy and has been working as a teacher until her retirement.
The eldest son was born in 1955. He obtained a junior high school diploma, but he was hard-working and intelligent. He taught himself carpentry, and was the factory director and manager of village enterprises in the countryside, so he was the "able man" in the village. Later, he worked in Beijing and experienced the ups and downs. Finally, I worked as the general manager of some Real Estate Company.
The second daughter was born in 1958 and graduated from high school. After graduation, he worked as a private teacher in rural areas. Later, he also became a state official public teacher and worked in the people's teacher post until his retirement.
The second son was born in 1965. After the restoration of the college entrance examination system, he was admitted to high school by his own efforts, and later to university. After graduation, he served in the army for 15 years, contributing his youth to the development of China's space industry. After taking off his uniform, he has been a successful businessman for more than 20 years.
His youngest son was born in 1974 and graduated from junior high school. I once served as a soldier and drove a taxi. Later, relying on his own efforts and hard-working spirit, he grew from a technical service engineer in a technology company to a regional sales manager. With emotional intelligence and IQ, he became the business backbone of the company.
In his later years, Li Lanfeng benefited from the blessing of raising his children. He visited China and stayed shortly in Beijing, Lanzhou and Shenzhen, and also visited Hong Kong and Macao. After visiting the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, at the age of 80, she decided not to travel any more and has been living a leisurely old age in Zhuyangzhuang, Shanxi Province.
At 15:00 on February 7, 2022 (the seventh day of the first lunar month),
A simple but great mother died suddenly at the age of 92.
When I arrived at the scene to offer my condolences, I found that the old man had been living in the cave before his death. His children came home to visit him and also lived in the simple cave with him.
In his early years, Li Lanfeng was poor, hardworking, responsible for managing the family, respecting the old and caring for the young, giving generously, getting along well with neighbors, and living frugally in his later years, which was a model of honest peasant Communists. All her life, she advocated the idea of altruism and the noble moral character that loss is a blessing, leaving precious spiritual wealth for the future generations!
