Broken Wings

Lin Xiulan's family lived in an old alley in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River. The bluestone roads were polished and shiny, but there was a secret crack hidden among the white walls and black tiles - this three-generation family was like an old locust tree bent by wind and rain. Lin Xiulan's father, Lin Jianguo, is an old accountant at the town's supply and marketing cooperative. He has lived his whole life obsessed with "carrying on the family line." Before his death, his father held his hand and said, "Our Lin family cannot cut off its incense." These words were like a thorn, piercing into Shen Zhao's bones and blood. His wife, Lin Xiulan, is a female worker in a textile factory with a weak personality. When she was young, her mother-in-law pointed at her and called her a "loser" for having two daughters in a row. Later, in order to avoid gossip, she quit her job and concentrated on getting pregnant at home. It was not until she gave birth to her third child, her son Shen Jibai, that she finally felt "high and proud". In this family, the rule of "boys are light and girls are shadows" is as natural as the air: Jibai's bowls are always piled highest on the dining table, and the tenderest dishes have to be picked for him; the frayed edges of the textbooks of two sisters, Lin Ruonan and Lin Changdi, can only be stuck with tape, but Jibai's homework books are always brand new; on rainy days, Jibai's rain boots are new, but the rubber shoes of the sisters are mended again and again... Lin Changdi is the eldest daughter and has been treated as a "little adult" since she was a child. He has been squatting by the stove cooking porridge since he was eight years old. At the age of ten, he started learning to use a sewing machine to make clothes for his younger brother. Her grades were very good, and she ranked first in the town after graduating from elementary school. However, Shen Zhao threw the admission notice on the table: "What's the use of girls reading so many books? After graduating from junior high school, they find a factory to work and support the family." Changdi was hiding in bed and crying, and heard her father's voice coming from Shen Zhao's room next door: "My son wants to learn painting? Apply! Even if our family sells iron, we have to pay for it." Lin Ruonan is five years younger than his sister and has a more sensitive personality. She remembered that when she was five years old, she had a fever and her mother ran to the hospital on her back, but she bumped into her father after get off work in the alley. "What's the delay for my daughter's illness? She has to attend calligraphy class tomorrow, so don't delay her." The father's words were like a basin of cold water, dousing the anxiety in the mother's eyes. Later, when Ruo Nan was learning to ride a bicycle and broke his arm, his mother secretly wiped her tears, but his father frowned and said, "Why are you so squeamish? Even if Bai was learning to ride a bicycle and fell much harder than this, why can't he still be alive and kicking?" The one who loves them the most is grandma, but grandma's love is also imprinted with old ideas. "Chandi, you have to take care of your younger brother more; Ruonan, you have to marry a good family in the future and don't embarrass the family." Grandma touched the heads of her two granddaughters, turned around and gave Jibai the money she had saved for a year to buy a model airplane. When Huandi graduated from junior high school, Shen Zhao really didn't let her continue studying. She followed her aunt in the town to work in a garment factory in the county town. She worked twelve hours a day, and her fingers were pricked with needle holes by sewing machines. One day after working overtime until late at night, she stood in front of the dormitory window and looked at the moon. Suddenly she remembered the essay "My Dream" she wrote in elementary school. She wrote, "I want to be a teacher and teach many, many students." But now her "dream" is to save enough money to buy a computer for her brother. Because she said she wanted to learn programming, but her family couldn't raise the money, she secretly borrowed 300 yuan from her coworker. Ruonan's "wings" folded earlier. In her freshman year of high school, she secretly signed up for a painting competition in the city and won first prize. On the podium, a photo of her holding a certificate was posted at the school gate, but her father rushed to the school and dragged her home: "A girl, what's the use of drawing these? It's a waste of time!" That night, she put her painting tools one by one into a wooden box and carved a sentence on the lid of the box: "My wings are broken, but I remember the smell of the wind." But there is always some subtle warmth hidden in the background of the story. After Xiaomei started working, she sent money to her family every month, but she ate the cheapest steamed buns and pickles. One time when Zhiyuan was admitted to college, she saved up money for half a year to buy him a new mobile phone. Her father muttered on the phone, "Why don't you buy yourself a new dress?" She smiled and said, "It's fine if I wear work clothes." She turned around and hid in the warehouse crying - the cuffs of the work clothes had three frayed holes, which she had sewn with thread. Changdi later worked as a teaching assistant in a training class at the Academy of Fine Arts. She took classes during the day and painted in a rental house at night. She has painted many paintings, one of which is called "Broken Wings", which depicts two birds, one with plump feathers, standing in a golden cage; the other has blood stains on its wings, but is trying to fly to the sky. This painting later won a prize, and when the prize money was sent home, for the first time, my father did not say "a waste of money", but muttered: "This girl is quite ruthless." Intention: None