Neighborly kinship: Family bound by more than blood

 

For 15 years, love blooms in a small adobe

In 2010, Zhou divorced her husband and brought her grandfather and son to where she lives now, a 60-square-meter apartment with two bedrooms. She slept in the living room and gave the two rooms to the elder and her son. "My son is in love. He needs space", she said.

Zhou Qin, who lives next door, said that Zhou slept on a small bed in the living room with a suitcase to store all her clothes, whereas Grandpa Ke's clothes were kept neatly in the closet. "I mean, how many people can do that for an unrelated elder, and for so long?"

Zhou Qianhui said that not only was her grandfather not a huge burden, but he also helped her a lot with daily tasks. He would take care of her son when she was at work. For a couple of years, when Zhou and her husband operated a barbecue stall for a living, Grandpa Ke would get up early and wash the dishes and ingredients so his granddaughter could sleep more. Two years ago, grandpa could still perform housework like cleaning the room, going shopping, and letting Zhou eat what's hot.

Grandpa Ke loved chatting with Zhou for hours. "Zhou is very patient with her grandfather. We often go to her stall and see her killing the fish while clamping the phone with her shoulder," Jing Tinghui, another neighbor, recalled vividly.

On the day of this interview, Ke was lying on a hospital bed near the window in the First People's Hospital. Zhou fed him pumpkin porridge. Ke's vision and hearing are deteriorating, and he can only mumble a few words occasionally. But when asked about who the woman in front of him is, he says without hesitation, "This is my granddaughter, my beloved granddaughter."

He is a treasure to her family. Every day from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am, Zhou works at the Sanyawan Aquatic Product Market in Yubei, Chongqing. She earns just 3,000 yuan ($450) a month. But she she never stops buying milk, fruits, and roast meat – her grandfather's favorite.

The past two years have been very tough for Zhou. Grandpa's medical bills are getting higher and higher. But she said that the toughest year was 2011 when she just divorced her husband and had to pay over 10,000 yuan for her son’s college tuition. She had to provide an additional 20,000 yuan for social insurance expenses as well. Thus, she had no choice but to borrow money from her parents.

Zhou's father Zhou Fuquan, 81 years old, and mother Cao Sufang, 78 years old, are both newly-settled urban residents receiving 3,000 yuan in pensions per month. Cao Sufang suffers from osteoporosis and has to use a walking stick.

"Do you feel jealous when your daughter spends more time taking care of Ke than she does taking care of you?" A journalist asked.

Zhou Fuquan answered, "No. The thing is that she is the only one that the old man can rely on. Besides, we still have three sons to take care of us."

Ke's birthday falls on the fourth day of the first lunar month. Zhou's relatives will gather at the apartment and have a birthday meal for the old man. Many neighbors praise Zhou's story, but some are also suspicious. Some people think that Ke appears to be a burden to the family. Zhou had dated a couple of men after her divorce, but they broke off relations with Zhou after learning about her relationship with Ke Ruilin.

"I do not expect everyone to understand me. My grandpa is not a burden, but a treasure to my family," Zhou says.

Three years ago, Kong Xiangming showed up. He is six years older than Zhou. "I find Zhou quite nice. I have a mother who is 90 years old. Taking care of the elderly is a traditional virtue in our society." The relationship between Zhou and Ke has made him like her even more, unlike her previous boyfriends.

Feeling that Zhou works too hard, Kong is planning to rent a public apartment after retirement and open some small businesses in order to better support Ke.