(1) Mother has always been frugal and has never wanted to install a telephone at our old home in the countryside. In her words, the phone bill is high, and even if you don't make calls, you still have to pay for the landline, which is too wasteful. So, every time I wanted to call, I had to ask the neighbors to call out to her first. Then, hearing her coming over, panting and out of breath, to answer my call, always made my heart ache deeply. \ I resolved to give mother a mobile phone, not for anything else, but so that she could calmly answer my calls and chat with me anytime. I work in a city far away and don't return home very often in a year. \ On mother's 60th birthday, I gave her a mobile phone and said: 'Mom, this phone isn't expensive. From now on, you won't need to trouble the neighbors, and I don't want you running here, out of breath. You can call me anytime without worrying about the cost.' \ Maybe it was because mother was getting older, or maybe it was because her heart carried so many concerns for her children. She didn't say much, only kept murmuring: 'This phone is so beautiful, you must have spent a lot of money… but I don't know how to dial a number, and I can't remember it.' \ I set up my phone number for her and said: 'It's very simple. To call me, just press 1…' So, mother pressed 1, and when my image appeared on her phone, she was as happy as a child: 'This phone is so advanced; I can even see you.' \ That night, I received several calls from mother, and in my phone, were all her beaming smiling faces. \ (2) \ The next day, mother came to me with a solemn expression and said: 'I don't want this phone anymore. Making long-distance calls to you is very expensive. I heard it costs more than one yuan per minute?' \ It turned out that last night, while chatting with some elderly villagers, she learned that this type of video call is costly, and long-distance calls are even more expensive. Mother also knew very well that I would secretly pay the phone bill without letting her know. \ I smiled and explained: 'This is a monthly plan, not expensive, only 50 yuan per month.' \ Mother murmured: 'That's 600 yuan a year. I might as well install a landline.' \ I said: 'When you are chatting at the neighbor's house, I can reach you anytime. When you are in the vegetable garden, I can still find you anytime. Giving you a phone is to make it easier for us to reach you.'Mother stopped nagging, and I knew that she had lived a frugal life all her life. Usually, she wished she could treat one yuan as ten. If I didn't resolve this knot in her heart, she probably wouldn't be happy using this phone either.
I suddenly had an idea and said: Actually, I have a way for you to contact me without making phone calls, and it's very cheap.
Mother became interested and said: What is it?
I said: You can send me text messages. Each one costs only 0.1 yuan, and there's a 10 yuan monthly plan.
Mother felt a bit embarrassed: But I don't know how to write much, I didn't study much when I was little.
I said: That's easy. I'll compose the messages for you in advance and save them in your phone. Then, whenever you want to say something, you just send the sentence you want.
So, I taught my mother how to send text messages. After all, she was old. Even though she kept nodding, her eyes clearly showed a trace of confusion.
(3)
When I was composing text messages for my mother, the first sentence she said was: My father and I are in good health, don't worry.
Son, have you gotten on the train?
Son, are you home yet?
Son, is work going smoothly?
How is your daughter-in-law's health? Is work going well for her?
How is the grandson's study going?
...
As my mother talked, I saved every word she said into her phone. In the end, there were over 50 messages. Except for the first sentence, all of my mother's greetings were about me, my child, and my wife. Even that first sentence was only meant to reassure me, the son, not to worry about the family or them.
That day, I hid in a deserted place, tears streaming down my face. My mother, ah, was just an ordinary mother who spent her whole life caring for her children. Yet, in this world, what kind of love can even compare to this simple maternal love?
(4)
When leaving, mother held up her phone and said: "I can send texts now. I'll send you texts, hehe, it will save some money."
Not long after boarding the train, the phone rang. I looked, and it was a text from my mother.
I opened it, only to find it blank.
A minute later, another text came from her. This time it said: Son, have you gotten on the train?
I first smiled, then felt a warmth in my heart. I immediately replied: Mom, I've already gotten on the train, don't worry.At the same time, I made a phone call back home, and on the other end, my mother looked bewildered: It was her first time sending a message, she was nervous, there was nothing, and you probably didn't receive it. Now, I can really send text messages.
Just after I got home, another message from my mother arrived: 'Son, are you home?'
I immediately replied: 'Don't worry, I am already home.'
And so, every few days, my mother's messages would arrive as expected.
Every time, I would reply like this: 'Our whole family is well, work is going very smoothly, and your grandson's studies have improved...'
I know that sitting under the old jujube tree in front of the door, my elderly mother, looking at the peaceful messages from her son, must have been smiling silently.
(5)
This May, on my 37th birthday, my phone suddenly rang. I opened it and saw a message from my mother. Looking again, I was surprised to find that this time the message contained two numbers: 37.
I knew that my mother remembered my birthday. Perhaps the message I had saved from her before did not have any words about it, but my mother must have thought about it for a long time before sending this numeric message.
I knew what my mother wanted to say: 'Son, you are 37, happy birthday!'
I knew what my mother wanted to say: 'Your father and I are both well, don't worry...'
Reading these two simple characters from my mother, I could also see her face full of tears.
