North Family Letters

On the day the divorce was finalized, the father packed his personal belongings and the old hoe handle that had been with him for most of his life, and then left the house filled with loneliness and arguments with Song Xiahe, moving into his second daughter's house.

Song Xiahe runs a small restaurant and is busy from morning till night, washing vegetables, preparing ingredients, serving dishes, and handling cashier duties. She never has a moment to rest. Even so, she still cleans out the sunniest and warmest room in the house for her father to live in. Every day, she gets up before dawn to wash her father's face, feed him water, prepare breakfast, and then rushes to the restaurant.

When the restaurant gets busy, she often can't even take care of her own meals, let alone stay home all the time. Her eldest sister, Song Chunyan, has to take care of her own family and work and can't come over every day. Song Xiaoman and Song Xiaoya are still young and in school or working, so the burden of taking care of them mostly falls on the second child.

Seeing Song Xiahe growing thinner and thinner from running around, the third sister Song Qiuling and the fourth sister Song Dongxue took the initiative to step forward and agreed to take turns delivering meals to their father.

From then on, regardless of wind or rain, they never missed a meal.

When it was Song Qiuling's turn, she would always stew a tender meat soup and cook a light porridge early in the morning. She would chop the vegetables into small pieces so that her father could easily chew them, pack them into a thermos, and deliver them to Xia He's house on time. She would watch her father finish eating before cleaning up the dishes and leaving.

Song Dongxue was more attentive, remembering her father's preferences: less salt, soft, and warm. Every time she delivered meals, she would wipe the table and sweep the floor, sit with her father for a while, chat to keep him company, and then rush back to attend to her own business.

Neither of them ever complained or made excuses.

Sometimes, when Xiahe was too busy at the shop, Qiuling and Dongxue would stay a little longer to turn their father over, massage him, bring him water and medicine, taking good care of him so that their second sister wouldn't have to work so hard alone.

My father would sit in the house, often holding a hot meal, his eyes slightly moist.

In his youth, he was only concerned with making a living in the fields and was not good with words. He rarely spoke gently to his daughters. But in his old age, he was cherished and pampered by his six daughters.

He had thought that after the divorce, he would have a miserable old age, with no one to rely on.

Now, his second daughter takes care of his daily needs, his third and fourth daughters bring him meals every day without fail, his eldest sister visits him often, and Xiaoman and Xiaoya chat and laugh with him whenever they have free time. Although life is ordinary, it is full of warmth, a hundred times more reassuring than his previous marriage, which seemed complete but was actually cold.

He sighed softly, and the lingering grievances and disappointments in his heart finally melted away completely with each bite of hot food and each word of advice.

He spent half his life wandering and half his life filled with regrets. In the end, it was his six daughters who became his only support and the most stable foundation in his later years.

After the divorce, my father lived a peaceful and stable life at Song Xiahe's house.

Although Xiahe's small restaurant was busy, she always kept him in mind; every day, Qiuling and Dongxue took turns bringing him hot meals in insulated containers; Chunyan, Xiaoman, and Xiaoya would also come over every few days to sit and chat with him. His father gradually felt at ease, feeling that he finally had a real support.

But no one expected that an accident would quietly occur on an ordinary afternoon.

That was the day Song Dongxue delivered the meal.

As usual, she cooked a light fish porridge early in the morning, chopped some tender greens, packed them into a thermos, and hurried to Xia He's house. When she opened the door, she found the house unusually quiet.

At this time of day, her father would usually sit in the sunniest chair waiting for her, and upon seeing her, he would greet her with a smile, "Dongxue's here! What's for dinner today?"

But today, there wasn't a sound coming from inside the house.

Dongxue's heart tightened. She put down the thermos and hurried to her father's room, pushing open the door—

My father was leaning against the headboard, his face so pale it was almost transparent, his forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and his breathing was weak.

He wanted to speak, but he didn't even have the strength to raise his hand. He could only blink with difficulty, as if he were asking for help.

Dongxue's heart sank to the bottom. She rushed over to support her father, her voice trembling, "Dad! What's wrong? Don't scare me!"

She reached out and touched her father's forehead; it was burning hot.

Touching his hand again, it was ice cold.

It was obvious that he had a persistent high fever and was extremely weak.

Without thinking twice, Dongxue immediately took out her phone and dialed Xiahe's number. Xiahe was extremely busy, but upon hearing that her father's condition was critical, she panicked and rushed back from the restaurant. At the same time, Dongxue also urgently contacted Qiuling. The two of them stayed by their father's side, anxiously feeding him water, wiping his body, and changing his cold towels.

When Xia He rushed back, her father was already delirious with fever.

Looking at her father's haggard face, and then at Dongxue and Qiuling's tense expressions, she felt a sharp pang in her heart—

Because she was busy outside all day, her father fell ill at home alone.

Her eyes reddened with regret, and her voice choked with sobs: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault for not being able to be with him all the time, leaving him alone at home..."

Dongxue gently patted her hand, suppressing her emotions: "Let's not talk about this now, let's take Dad to the hospital first."

The three of them worked together to settle their father in, then Xia He locked the restaurant door and hurriedly accompanied him to the hospital.

On the way, the father was still delirious, but he held Xia He's hand tightly and said in a trembling voice, "He...don't blame yourself...Dad's alright..."

One sentence almost brought Xia He to tears.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctor conducted an emergency examination and concluded that the high fever was caused by prolonged fatigue combined with a cold and lack of rest, requiring hospitalization for observation.

Xiahe, Dongxue, and Qiuling immediately contacted the other sisters separately, and Chunyan, Xiaoman, and Xiaoya also rushed over.

The six sisters gathered in the ward again, surrounding their father with serious and distressed expressions.

Lying in the hospital bed, the father became more lucid. Looking at his six daughters gathered around him, he was filled with guilt: "Dad has caused you all so much trouble..."

Song Chunyan held his hand, her voice gentle yet firm: "Dad, you raised us, and we'll take care of you in your old age. This isn't a burden."

Song Qiuling handed him hot water: "Dad, focus on getting better. We'll take turns taking care of you and won't leave you alone at home anymore."

Song Dongxue said softly, "From now on, no matter who brings you food, we'll stay a little longer to check on you. If you need anything, just press the call button by your bedside. Don't try to handle it all by yourself."

Song Xiaoman and Song Xiaoya also sensibly leaned closer and whispered, "Dad, eat well and rest well."

As the father looked at them, tears slowly welled up in his cloudy eyes.

Throughout his life, he experienced hardship, exhaustion, neglect, and disappointment.

In her old age, she was cherished by her six daughters, truly embodying the saying "having daughters makes everything complete".

During their hospital stay, the six sisters each took time out of their busy schedules to stay by the bedside.

Xia He reduced the restaurant's operating hours, trying to cater to both day and night;

Chunyan was responsible for coming to check on him every day and supervising his diet;

Qiuling and Dongxue still delivered the meal on time and chatted with their father.

Xiaoman and Xiaoya rushed over as soon as they got off school or get off work to keep their father company and cheer him up.

Watching them bustling about, the father gradually understood—

A true home is not about how big the house is or how many people live around it.

But when you are sick, someone will be there for you;

When you're lonely, someone is there for you;

When you are down on your luck, someone will stay by your side.

That brief period of living alone and falling ill made him understand more deeply:

His daughters were his most reliable support in his later years.

It was also the last warmth and refuge in his life.