In love for 80 years: from siblings to husband and wife, this is the most beautiful love of all
Source: Beiyang Home
The photographer of this photo is
64-year-old Xu Yingzhe
a Qinhuangdao photographer
The two elderly people in the photo
are his father and mother
The photo was taken in the intensive care unit
His father had been given a critical condition notice at that time
One day, he woke up from a coma
and said, trembling:Kiss, kiss
When the old woman heard this, her tears fell like rain
She bent down and tenderly kissed her husband
Xu Yingzhe said
This is a magical photo
After his mother kissed his father
his father miraculously lived for more than another year
01
"Siblings" become husband and wife
Ordinary days
took on the appearance of love
The old man's name is Xu Guangyu
The wife who kissed him is named Xu Aihua
They both have the surname Xu; originally they were a pair of siblings
Their love story
is just like what is shown in Qiong Yao TV dramas
It is simply a match made by fate
In 1941, 6-year-old Xu Aihua
had already grown into a sensible "big girl"
On an ordinary afternoon
a little boy came to the family
who was only a little taller than she was
The two tallest children are Xu Aihua (left) and Xu Guangyu (right)
The adults told the little boy
From now on, do not call them uncle and auntie
Call them father and mother
That year, Xu Guangyu, who had been adopted into the family, had just turned 7
only one year older than his younger sister Xu Aihua
In fact, his younger sister Xu Aihua was not their biological child either
Her father and mother were actually her aunt and uncle
Fate thus
turned two children with no blood relation
into brother and sister
One was seven, the other six
They went to school together
grew up together, truly childhood sweethearts
Her older brother Xu Guangyu had excellent grades
and was class monitor every year
Xu Aihua always took her older brother as a role model
admiring and looking up to him
Flowers bloom year after year, moonlight shines month after month
By the age when love first stirs
subtle changes gradually arose in both of their hearts
The younger sister's admiration for her older brother turned into love
The older brother cherished and doted on his younger sister even more
One day when she was 17
Xu Aihua received a letter
Looking at the familiar handwriting on the envelope
her heart beat a little fast
Xu Aihua and Xu Guangyu in the prime of their youth
This was the first love letter she had received
It was a courtship letter her older brother wrote to her
After reading the letter, Xu Aihua's face burned red
She wrote back to her older brother
In the letter she wrote only three words:I agree
And so, 18-year-old younger sister Xu Aihua
married 19-year-old older brother Xu Guangyu
Everything went naturally and simply
Two new quilts with big floral patterns
and two sets of new clothes were the witness to their wedding
Xu Aihua and Xu Guangyu, already parents themselves
In this family made even closer by marriage
there were no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts
Mother was both mother-in-law and mother
After marriage, they had
four children, three boys and one girl
All four children were raised entirely by their grandparents
Family portrait: the couple with their parents, and their four children
After becoming a mother, Xu Aihua
still threw herself wholeheartedly into her work
Even during breastfeeding, it was often Grandpa
who pushed the cart to take the child to her workplace
Tall, handsome, and talented Xu Guangyu
often had admirers around him
Seeing that his beloved was unhappy because of this
Xu Guangyu kept praising his wife all the time
Whenever he saw anyone, he would say:No one is as good as my wife
In the past, the daylight changed slowly
Carriages, horses, and mail were all slow
A lifetime was only enough to love one person
The days of the past
also passed quickly
Time flows away in haste like water
The years took away their youthful looks
but could not take away their long, steady love
These hands held only one person
and in this lifetime loved only this one person
Their eldest son Xu Yingzhe said: Never mind that you do not believe it
even I dare not believe it
My parents lived together for nearly 80 years
and never once quarreled, never once fell out
Xu Yingzhe and his three siblings
all took their parents as role models
Once there was any sign of an argument at home
someone would jump in and say
Look at our dad and mom
As soon as these words were spoken, everything immediately calmed down
As the years pass and children and grandchildren gather
Although their days were ordinary
they tried their best to make ordinary days
have a little more romance and joy
Speaking of the most romantic gift her husband gave her
Xu Aihua, now 84 years old
seemed to instantly return to her younger days
She said with a smile: One year when he came back from a business trip
he bought me a pair of semi-high-heeled plastic sandals
They were especially fashionable to wear
I thought we would be happy forever
until the end of our lives
But no matter who you are
who can escape time and fate?
02
You are my eyes
I am willing to become your legs
Xu Aihua said: I will never forget that day
the afternoon of May 17, 2012
while playing mahjong with a neighbor
he suddenly collapsed with a violent lurch
At the very moment her husband fell
Xu Aihua, who was sitting beside him
caught him in her arms
Her husband, tall and handsome all his life
suddenly seemed like a different person
Xu Aihua, too, aged a great deal overnight
Xu Guangyu was given 6 critical condition notices
During the 5 long years of treatment
even though Xu Aihua was already over 70 years old
and even though her children were all very filial
she insisted on caring for her husband herself
feeding him medicine and food, wiping his face and washing his body
No matter how long her husband stayed in the hospital
she always slept beside his sickbed
on a small camp cot, never leaving his side for a moment
Because she was afraid his wife would worry and feel sad
no matter how painful the examinations and treatments were
Xu Guangyu never once cried out in pain
and never once lost his temper at his wife
The only change his illness brought him
was that he became more and more like a child
and more and more dependent on his wife
Their son Xu Yingzhe said
that once, when he saw how exhausted his mother was
and that his father had fallen asleep again
he told his mother to go home and rest
When Xu Guangyu woke up in the middle of the night
his first words were: "Where's your mom?"
Unable to see his wife
Xu Guangyu, gentle and kind his whole life
actually made a fuss like a little child
No matter how his son tried to comfort him, it was no use
so he had to go fetch his mother at three or four in the morning
When Xu Guangyu saw his wife arrive
he was like a child who had done something wrong
and immediately quieted down
For five years, Xu Aihua cared for her husband
as tenderly as she would a child
The tasty food was always
fed first into her husband's mouth
When the weather turned hot
Xu Aihua insisted on every day
washing her husband's body
She never once complained of being tired
and never once said a word of annoyance
To remind herself
to give her husband his medicine on time
she pasted notes all over the house
saying "take medicine"
To keep track of her husband's condition in real time
Xu Aihua, at 80 years old
measured her husband's blood oxygen and blood pressure several times a day
The children all said
their mother had trained herself into half a doctor
To make it easier for her husband to get in and out
when she was nearly eighty
Xu Aihua resolutely sold the old house she had lived in for half her life
and swapped it for a new one with an elevator
Wherever they went
the couple never left each other's side
When they were young
he was her eyes
showing her the splendors of the world
In old age, she is his legs
Even just going to the market to buy vegetables
she would push her husband along
take him for a stroll around the neighborhood
watch the old friends dance
take him to bask in the sun
and breathe the fresh air
When her husband was in high spirits
she would accompany him for a game
When the mall was lively
she would push her husband through every floor to look around
The old house they had sold was demolished
She took her husband to see it
In those broken bricks and tiles
were so many of their happy memories
The happiest times
were spent with their children and grandchildren
In May 2016
Xu Guangyu lay in the intensive care unit again
This time
the doctor said: "Prepare for the funeral..."
03
Don't be afraid, my dear
I'll go quietly...
That day, Xu Guangyu, drifting between unconsciousness and confusion
began constantly calling his wife's name
Xu Aihua hurried to the bedside and bent down to listen to him
Xu Guangyu gathered all his strength
and with great effort said to her
It seems this time it's really happening
Before he finished speaking, 83-year-old Xu Aihua was already in floods of tears
At that moment, their granddaughter beside them was crying her heart out too
The granddaughter bent down and kissed her grandfather's forehead
Xu Guangyu turned his longing gaze to his wife
and said, trembling:Kiss, kiss...
Xu Aihua bent down
gently closed her eyes
and pressed her lips to her husband's lips
Seeing this scene
every one of the children present wept
Their son Xu Yingzhe quickly pressed the shutter
capturing this precious moment
A photo without much color
why is it so moving
Because it is filled with the deep affection
of two elderly people in their 80s
for love, and their reluctance and longing to let each other go
In July 2017, 84-year-old Xu Guangyu
still reached the end of his life
Xu Aihua remembers it was in the morning
That day her husband was in better spirits than usual
He ate half a bowl of noodles for breakfast
And also ate 5 large cherries
A little after 10 o'clock, the children all left
Xu Guangyu called her to his side and said softly
"This time it's real, don't be afraid
I'll slip away quietly..."
Xu Aihua's tears streamed down at once
Her partner, who had spent his whole life thinking of others
In the moment before his death, was still comforting her
Just as he himself had said
Xu Guangyu on that day
Quietly, gently, slipped away
"I still haven't cared for him enough,"
"Not a day goes by that I don't miss him..."
By this July
Xu Guangyu had been gone for a year
Xu Aihua's heart has always held regret and longing
She hung the room full of her husband's paintings and
Photos of the two of them from youth to old age
Often, as she looks at them
Her tears just flow down
She understands that people go one after the other
Sooner or later they must part
But she has never been able to let go
From childhood sweethearts to a devoted couple
Those broad, generous palms she held for over 70 years
How could she just put them down
Thinking of you and me, knowing each other in childhood
Thinking of you and me, understanding each other in youth
Thinking of you and me, becoming husband and wife
Thinking of you and me, raising children together
Oh, time, how you fly so fast
How long must love last to count as forever
Ten years is too little, a hundred years is not enough
84-year-old Xu Aihua always murmurs softly
I will try to live well each remaining day
And I will miss you, always miss you
The love of Xu Guangyu and Xu Aihua
Was not grand or dramatic
Their nearly 80 years of love
Was like the life of most Chinese people
Mostly trivial, ordinary and plain
But why are we always moved by ordinary love
Because their tender, steadfast love
Is the most real, the most rare, the most precious
This is the love of Chinese people
A love like a long, steady stream, staying together for a lifetime
Warming the years
Astonishing the times
My dear, kiss kiss...
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