In the drama "Parents' Love", Lao Ding's story began to unfold during the artillery school. Young Lao Ding and Jiang Defu, these two high-spirited classmates from the artillery school, are standing at the crossroads of life.
Fate played a joke on them, seemingly the same starting point, but because of a choice, their life trajectories have a huge difference.
More than ten years have passed, and Lao Ding's career has made no progress, like a pool of stagnant water. Every time he heard the news of Jiang Defu's promotion, Lao Ding's eyes always flashed with envy and helplessness.
He couldn't help but wonder if his life would have been different if he had chosen to go to the island in the first place.
However, fate did not let Lao Ding go, and it continued to play with his life. This political movement that swept the country made Lao Ding go through the most painful years of his life. As far as we know, Principal Cong of the artillery school was also implicated, and as his subordinate, Lao Ding's situation was worrying.
Living in panic and anxiety every day, Lao Ding's heart is under unimaginable pressure.
Lao Ding was not relieved until he was sent to Songshan Island, however, what awaited him was the position of deputy chief of staff. Thinking that Jiang Defu was already the chief of staff when he went to the island ten years ago, Lao Ding had mixed feelings in his heart.
There has been no change in position for such a long time, and Lao Ding's heart will inevitably have a gap.
In the torrent of this era, Lao Ding is often pushed forward by the outside world. He had many important moments in his life, but they were all choices he had to make at the time.
This deep sense of powerlessness is rooted in his heart, and it has become an embellishment of his life.
When Lao Ding was at a loss for career development, life gave him problems again. In the countryside, a traditional feudal marriage is inevitable. Although Lao Ding was unwilling, he still reluctantly married his cousin Wang Xiu'e.
This marriage is like another shackle imposed on him by fate.
Wang Xiu'e is a typical rural woman, she has little culture, and she has retained many rural women's habits. She likes to meddle in other people's affairs and like to inquire about gossip, and these habits often lead to quarrels between her and Lao Ding.
Every time at this time, Lao Ding's brows would furrow, and a trace of helplessness and boredom flashed in his eyes.
But life is always full of contradictions. Despite this shortcoming, Wang Xiu'e is dedicated to Lao Ding's care, even if her skillful cooking skills have won the praise of the harsh An Jie.
When Lao Ding was busy with work, Wang Xiu'e was raising three children in the countryside alone, showing amazing tenacity and ability, and when she was there, Lao Ding could put his heart on his own affairs, instead of always worrying about trivial matters at home like Jiang Defu.
However, fate played a joke again, and this time it was Lao Ding's turn. Just when he was about to welcome the birth of his fourth child, Wang Xiu'e died of dystocia. This sudden blow made Lao Ding fall into deep grief and confusion, and his eyes were full of sadness and incomprehension, as if asking God why he was treated like this.
After losing Wang Xiu'e, Lao Ding's life began to be chaotic. He had to work and take care of several children, and during this time, he was often tired and his eyes revealed a deep helplessness.
In this marriage, Lao Ding deeply experienced the ups and downs of life, although this partner was not his ideal one, but Wang Xiu'e's dedication and departure deeply touched Lao Ding's heart.
This experience has left an indelible mark on his life and influenced his future choices and attitudes.
As he grew older, Lao Ding entered the middle-aged stage of his life, however, this stage should have been the golden years of successful career, but it was full of frustration and confusion for Lao Ding.
In the artillery school, his position has been stagnant for many years, which makes him very confused, he watches the colleagues around him be promoted one by one, but he is always the "old Ding", and even his real name "Ding Jiqun" is rarely mentioned.
Lao Ding's professional dilemma is not only a matter of status and salary, but also a kind of mental torture. Whenever someone called him "Chief of Staff Ding", there would always be a trace of bitterness in his eyes.
He knew that the title was more out of respect than his actual position.
In the frustration of the workplace, Lao Ding developed a deep yearning for educated women. This yearning is not only the pursuit of the spiritual world of the individual, but also the escape from real life to a certain extent.
In the process, he met Ge Meixia Ge Meixia, who is gentle and intellectual, she is the embodiment of the ideal partner that Lao Ding pursues in his mind.
However, fate once again played a joke on Lao Ding. He plucked up the courage to pursue his own happiness, but reality poured cold water on him. Family responsibilities, social pressures and other factors forced him to give up this relationship that could change his life.
Whenever Lao Ding met Ge Meixia by chance on the street, there would always be a lingering look in the eyes of the two, which silently told their inner regret and helplessness.
The corners of Lao Ding's mouth will always twitch slightly unconsciously, as if he is enduring the pain in his heart, and this missed relationship has become an eternal pain in Lao Ding's heart.
During this time, Lao Ding's spiritual world seemed extremely barren. Jiang Defu's daughter An Jie was aware of this, and when she comforted her mother, she said that although she did not provide any help to her father in her career, she provided her father with a very rich spiritual world, which Uncle Ding did not enjoy at all.
This lack of spirit and stagnation in career development caused Lao Ding to fall into a deep midlife crisis. His eyes often reveal a kind of confusion and loss, as if he is looking for the meaning of life.
This experience made Lao Ding's life particularly difficult and profoundly affected his life choices in the future.
After experiencing stagnation in the workplace and emotional setbacks, Lao Ding lost his expectations for life. However, fate once again presented him with a problem - Jiang Defu's sister Dehua actually had a good impression of him.
At first, Lao Ding didn't take Dehua to heart. He has always cherished a yearning for cultured women and longed to find a partner like Ge Meixia. However, the pressure of reality came like a tidal wave, and he felt unbearable.
Lao Ding has two parents in their eighties to support, and a school-going child to worry about. His life is like an invisible scale, and only he is the one who balances his ideals and responsibilities.
Whenever he thought of this, Lao Ding's brows would unconsciously compact together, and his eyes were full of helplessness and bitterness.
After careful consideration, Lao Ding made a seemingly casual but helpless decision - to marry Dehua. This decision is more like Lao Ding's compromise of fate, and his helplessness in the face of reality.
When he told Jiang Defu about this decision, his tone was full of mixed emotions. He said that he had no fate with a cultured woman in his life, and he was both self-deprecating and a little lost.
Although Jiang Defu was Dehua's elder brother, he did not notice the bitterness in Lao Ding's conversation, but persuaded him to think again.
At this moment, Lao Ding's heart seems to be experiencing a silent war. He knew that choosing Teckwah would mean giving up his dreams for years, but at the same time, he could also foresee that it would lead to a comfortable and stable life.
Dehua is not only able to provide meticulous care at home, but her special status as the commander's sister also provides a certain guarantee for Lao Ding's future career.
Lao Ding made this decision, thus avoiding the troubles that he might have suffered because of his wife's status. After careful consideration, he understood that if he married a wife with a problematic background, he might be like Jiang Defu, worried about his wife's identity.
What's more, if he annoys Commissar Wang because of this, he may face endless dilemmas.
Lao Ding's choice of Dehua was more out of practical considerations. But Lao Ding felt a trace of guilt in his heart. He knew that he could not give Dehua his wholehearted love, which made him accept this marriage while also carrying a heavy psychological burden.
The marriage with Dehua brought a comfortable living atmosphere to Lao Ding, and in the seemingly peaceful and stable situation, it hid the waves in his heart, leaving people with deeper thoughts.
Lao Ding understands that when people reach middle age, many things can no longer be completely arbitrary. He must find a balance between family responsibilities and self-pursuits. Every time he sees his elderly parents and growing children, he has mixed emotions welling up in his heart.
Responsibility is like a mountain on Lao Ding's shoulders, and he understands that he can't be as willful as he was when he was young, and he can't ignore his family in order to pursue the so-called ideal life.
Whenever he thought of this, his eyes would reveal helplessness and bitterness.
Lao Ding had already thought about naming his daughter Ding Xiaoyan when Jiang Defu gave birth to his second child, but he didn't expect that this name would finally be used until Jiang Defu gave birth to five children.
This belated daughter seems to fill the regret that his fourth child is still a boy, and brings a little comfort to Lao Ding's life.
Lao Ding did not vent the unhappiness in his life to the people around him, although his life was full of compromises and helplessness, he always maintained a kind heart. He chose to suffer in silence and maintain family harmony in his own way.
In the process, Lao Ding gradually realized that life is essentially a game of trade-offs. The pursuit of ideals is important, but the happiness of family members is also so precious. He began to learn to find a delicate balance between reality and ideals, and while that balance was not perfect, it was the best he could do for himself and his family.
The years are like flowing water, flowing silently. In the blink of an eye, Lao Ding has entered his old age. His life is like an unpretentious book, without thrilling chapters, but full of the ups and downs of ordinary people.
In the last days of his life, Lao Ding seems to have looked down a lot. He no longer worries about the level of his position, nor does he regret the ideals that he failed to achieve. He learned to find happiness in ordinary life and realize the true meaning of life in the smallest details.
That morning, Lao Ding, as usual, played chess leisurely with his old friend Jiang Defu. The fight on the chessboard is actually the epitome of their human career. Lao Ding's eyes revealed a faint smile, as if he was savoring the past time.
However, fate once again played a joke on Lao Ding. In the afternoon of the same day, Lao Ding passed away unexpectedly. He did not experience painful struggles, nor did he say goodbye to the people around him, and walked his life peacefully.
Lao Ding's departure was as low-key as his life, he did not alarm anyone, nor did he add any burden to himself.
Lao Ding's life, like the shadow of ordinary people, is real and vivid. He was once bathed in the sun of luck and shrouded in the shadow of misfortune, but he never lost his good nature.
He is different from a protagonist like Jiang Defu, but in his own way, he shows us real tenacity and kindness.
When people learned the news of Lao Ding's death, many people showed surprise and regret in their eyes. Only then did they realize that this seemingly unknown old man had actually left an indelible mark on their lives.
Lao Ding's story allows us to see the greatness in the ordinary and the difficulty of life, and he has also become a mirror image of many ordinary people, as said in the play, you can't let you take advantage of all good things.
Although Lao Ding's life was gently teased by reality, he still used his own way to compose a moving music of life.