In February 2002, the third brother unfortunately died in the north of the island at the age of 80. His passing has brought me great sorrow and left me with infinite nostalgia. It was he who encouraged me to be self-reliant and self-reliant in my early years, and encouraged us with Wang Bo's famous sentence "Poor and strong, not falling into the clouds"; It was he who devoted a lot of effort to the cultivation of the genealogy, and he put forward many constructive suggestions on the content structure of the genealogy, and made detailed reviews and revisions to the words and chapters of the first draft, encouraging me to overcome all difficulties, persist in writing, and definitely repair the genealogy; It was he who was the first to donate 1,000 US dollars (8,300 yuan at that time) to fund the revision of the score, which touched the clansmen; He was the one who supported us when I was building a house in 1987, and our family will never forget his kindness. I was so saddened to receive a telegram of condolence for the death of my third brother, and I immediately called my sister-in-law and nephew to express our deep sorrow.

The third brother is gone, and I can no longer get the teachings of the third brother, sad! With whom do you speak with from now on?

……

One day in August 1994, the eldest brother Zhang Xueyou (77 years old), who had been absent for more than half a century, set foot on the hot land of his hometown for the first time alone. After the eldest brother retired, the family settled in Canberra, Australia, this time from the north of the Australian Flying Island, and then flying to the city to Hongdu. Our brothers and sisters all went to Hongdu Xiangtang Airport to welcome the return of the eldest brother.

A touching scene emerged at the exit of the airport: the eldest brother and we warmly embraced, unwilling to let go for a long time, accompanied by the joy and longing of the meeting, everyone burst into tears, crying, greetings continued, and time seemed to freeze. Everyone hugged the eldest brother out of the hall, got into the car, and ran towards Wenshan, and everyone was immersed in the joy of meeting each other along the way. The eldest brother returned to his hometown with Mr. Liu, and Mr. Liu's son also picked up his father, Mr. Liu, at the airport.

The years of parting are so long, and today the long-awaited relatives finally meet, and everyone is like a dream. Our family set up a banquet for the eldest brother to catch the wind and wash the dust, and everyone cheered to welcome their relatives and celebrate the reunion of flesh and blood. The eldest brother hosted a banquet to entertain our Zhang clan, and also specially invited his old classmates to talk about the past and look forward to the future. The old classmates of the former eldest brother, Mr. Zeng and Mr. Xiao, are all gone, so they have to invite his descendants to the party. Before the eldest brother came back, he would send some money to their bereaved family members during the New Year and holidays to show that he would repay his kindness - when the eldest brother was studying, Mr. Zeng received financial support from Zeng and Xiao, so he never forgot it. Old classmates who are still alive: Mr. Yin, Mr. Wang, Mr. Shangguan, Mr. Jiang, Mr. Liu and others can meet happily in the year of Sangyu's evening scene, it is really a blessing, everyone drinks a glass of wine and wishes the motherland well.

The eldest brother lives at his niece's house, because his family is in good condition, the place is large, and it is close to the street, which is convenient for the eldest brother to go out.

My family invited the eldest brother, the fourth brother and his wife, the third sister, and the sixth sister to visit the Dadongshan Panruoan resort for two days, and everyone enjoyed the joy of family and reminisced about the kindness of their parents when they were there. Caused by the prosperity of the times, Tao returned. The eldest brother took the time to go to the north of the city to visit several Zhang clansmen in Beifang and said hello to them one by one. More than 20 days have passed in a blink of an eye, and everyone is sorry to say goodbye.

In 1995, my sister-in-law died of cancer in Canberra, Australia, at the age of 67. It's a pity that she has never set foot on the land of Wenshan, and we have never met her, and we have only received a letter from her.

In 1999, the eldest brother returned to his hometown for the second time, and also took his eldest daughter Zhang Jiazhu back to his hometown to find his roots and feel the warmth of his relatives. We are so happy, she is another generation! Jiazhu's niece came to Wenshan for the first time to recognize her relatives, and she was very excited to see so many uncles and nephews gathered together, and her smiling face was always open, and she didn't feel unfamiliar at all, and she deeply felt very cordial with everyone. She is 39 years old, but celibate.

She chats with the younger generations all day long, talks about fashion, and laughs with everyone when she talks about happiness. Her nephews asked her about Australia's customs and customs, and she took the trouble to introduce them. She said: She works for the Canberra Environmental Protection Agency, her mother is a chemistry professor at the university, and her sister and brother-in-law work in the United States.

She grew up drinking "foreign ink", and although she has never returned to her hometown, the slang and colloquialisms of her hometown are not out of tune. It can be seen that although they live overseas, the traditions of their hometown have not been lost, which is really commendable. She is the first female high school student in our Zhang family, with aura, but not squeamish. She was cared for by her grandmother when she was a child, and when she talked about the pampering and loving love of her former mother-in-law, she shed tears with emotion.

Today, she is 39 years old, an older celibate locked in a boudoir who has never thrown a hydrangea, and we all regret that she wasted her youth, but it is inconvenient to conduct an in-depth "interview" with her privacy. But there is one thing that we admire, that is, she has always taken care of her parents, especially after her mother died, her father was taken care of by her.

The eldest brother and daughter Jiazhu enjoyed more than 20 days of family fun with their relatives in their hometown, and left their hometown with the warmth of their relatives. My brother and I sent their father and daughter on the plane, and we all said goodbye in tears. They flew to Australia after going to Beijing.

On May 23, 2002, the 85-year-old eldest brother returned to his hometown for the third time alone, and the younger brother and his wife first went to Hongdu to pick up the eldest brother and stayed for a day, and arrived in Wenshan on the 25th, and the eldest brother still lived at his nephew's house. Our family welcomed him back for the third time. The eldest brother lost his partner in his later years, and he was inseparable, plus he was old, and he really needed a wife to take care of him.

The eldest brother came back this time and was much older than the previous two times, his right hand trembled, his gait faltered, his urine was dripping, and his brain was a little dazed, he was already in his last years, and his health made us worry, after all, he was 85 years old.

The eldest brother was born in 1917, he was smart since he was a child, and he has a talent that he never forgets, he left home in 1941 to study in the Department of Foreign Languages of the National University, and he went to the island province at the end of 1948 and engaged in diplomatic work for life, and served as an ambassador in the south of the country in the sixties, and served as an ambassador in Fiji, Rohman, and Pabu countries after the seventies and eighties. He served as ambassador until he retired at the age of 71 (1988) and waited another five years before being allowed to return home to visit his family. He returned to his hometown three times in a row to visit his family, making the final sprint to comfort his homesickness. It's a pity, today is an old man with frost and candles, sad, my lovely big brother!

It's really hard to see through the autumn water, and I don't know if I don't know if I hang a crown.

The following is a transcription of Mr. Yu's "Homesickness" to express the pain of homesickness of the eldest brother:

When I was a child, nostalgia was a small stamp, I was at one end and my mother was at that end.

When I grew up, nostalgia was a narrow ticket, I was at this end, and the bride was at that end.

Later, nostalgia was a low grave, I was outside, and my mother was inside.

And now, nostalgia is a shallow strait, I am at this end, and the mainland is at that end.