Hardship and love in marriage
They are a middle-aged couple, both forty years old, with a sixteen-year-old daughter. Their workplaces were unstable and had been threatening layoffs for the past couple of years. She once told him, “As long as we don’t get laid off, I can endure any hardship. I fear a life full of uncertainty.” He reassured her, “Don’t worry, there’s nothing to fear as long as I’m here.”
In the end, he was laid off first. This surprised him greatly because he was a top performer at his workplace. Yet, he continued his routine of going to work, bringing along the lunchbox she prepared for him, and returning home on time. Everyone believed he was still employed.
During the bitter winter, with nowhere to go and facing rejection in his job search, he resorted to riding the city’s circular subway line for a dollar, staying inside for half a day to keep warm before heading out again.
In the first month, he didn’t bring home any salary. He lied to her, saying, “My salary was stolen on the subway.” She responded, “It’s okay, don’t worry.”
In the second month, he found work at an auto repair shop, which was dirty and exhausting. Sometimes, he came home very late. She asked, “Why do you smell so strongly of gasoline?” He replied, “I’ve been learning to drive with some friends. One day, we’ll buy our own car.”
In the third month, he was fired from the repair shop and took up hauling coal at a coal yard, the hardest and most exhausting job. But for the sake of his wife and daughter, he had to do it. At forty, he couldn’t find a good job easily, and even this job had many people waiting in line for it.
After a day’s work, he had to clean himself thoroughly; otherwise, he would be unrecognizable. He bathed at a very cheap bathhouse, paying two yuan per visit, where he kept a change of clothes.
He feared letting her know about his layoff. He thought, she was a fragile woman, and he was the family’s pillar; he had to support this family.
One night, after work, he went to the bathhouse. As he entered, he suddenly saw her, his wife, attending to female customers. The women’s section had recently started offering scrubbing services, earning three yuan per session. She didn’t recognize him because his face was blackened. He hurriedly fled to the men’s section.
That night, he asked her, “Is your workplace busy?” She replied, “Yes, it’s exhausting.” The next day, he didn’t go to haul coal but secretly followed her. She went into the same bathhouse. She hadn’t been going to her job. He called her textile factory, and they told him it had shut down more than two months ago.
It turned out she had been laid off too! But to avoid stressing him, she hadn’t told him and had borne the hardship alone. This woman, who feared layoffs the most, used her strong arms to provide him with a sense of peace.
Even their daughter became more sensible, learning to cook, studying without needing reminders, and no longer asking for cosmetics or pretty clothes.
At dinner, she said, “Your hands are getting blacker.” He replied, “Your hands are getting whiter.” Their hands clasped together; they were both fighting hard for their family and their life. He hugged her and said, “Tomorrow is your birthday. I’ll take you for a bath and spend three yuan to have someone scrub your back.” She cried, trembling in his arms, realizing he knew everything.
She said, “The day I saw you hauling coal, I knew you were a good man worth enduring a lifetime of hardship for because you were willing to bear the burden for love.”
A year later, they opened a small eatery. He learned to cook, and she kept the place spotless inside and out. Another year passed, and they indeed had their own car, though a second-hand Xiali. But they could take family outings, and their daughter was admitted to a good university. Everything was so beautiful.
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