Author: Jian Yi-Xuan 簡邑璇
Both my paternal grandfather and maternal grandfather passed away a long time ago. One from a heart attack in his early years, and the other after years of stress that eventually led to cancer, from which he passed away in great pain. However, I have a grandpa who is like a close buddy to me. He is my father’s adoptive father. When he was young, he went through a marriage that was very short and ultimately ended in failure. As a result, when my father was eighteen years old, he adopted my father as his own son.
Painting and interior renovation contracting was the family business. Grandpa started working as an apprentice in our family when he was young. Because my biological grandfather passed away early, and because Grandpa had a gentle and easy-going personality, he stayed on in this household and took on many big and small responsibilities around the home. Over time, Grandpa developed a bond with this family that was just like that of a real family member. Grandma and my father and his two brothers are all deeply grateful to him.
I was raised by Grandpa and Grandma on this side of the family. In contrast, my younger sister was raised by my maternal grandmother. Because of this, I feel an indescribable sense of familiarity toward the old family home in Daxi and everything and everyone there. Daxi was a traditional three-sided courtyard house, with an iron-sheet structure added on the empty land beside it. When I was young, I grew up in that iron-sheet house. As soon as you opened the door, there was an enormous pond right in front of you. It wasn’t until I was in junior high that I learned it was called a “pond.” Feeding fish and fishing were part of our daily life. I always looked forward to having friends visit our home, because Grandpa loved fishing the most. The fish in the pond were raised by us, drinking mountain spring water flowing down from the hills, so every fish was plump and healthy. Unless there were important guests visiting, Grandma was usually reluctant to kill a fish.
Grandpa devoted almost his entire youth to this family and this line of work. The family business once flourished, but due to poor management by my two uncles, it eventually collapsed under heavy debt. Trapped in an endless financial black hole, my father and my mother, who was dragged into it, decisively cut ties with them, both emotionally and financially. Grandpa followed suit. That chilling sense of disappointment lingered for a long time. For a period of time, any topic related to money became taboo in our household.
Later on, my father started his own business, taking on renovation jobs together with Grandpa. During that period, Grandpa moved to Taipei to live with us. From my first year of elementary school, he stayed with us for a short two-year period. After that, because a plastering craftsman returned to Pingtung to take care of family matters, my father and Grandpa put a pause on the renovation contracting work. Coincidentally, Grandpa had also reached the age of retirement. After discussions among a few aunts, uncles, and Grandpa himself, they decided to sell part of the land, divide the money, and move on. As a result, the three-sided courtyard house was gone, the iron-sheet house was gone, and the large pond was gone as well. Grandpa later bought a townhouse in Daxi, where he worked from time to time and rested from time to time.
Grandpa’s life has always been closely tied to his siblings. Personally, I feel that selling the old family home was a great pity, but because of it, Grandpa was also able to live a carefree and leisurely life. In recent years, Grandpa has taken on a small part-time job, delivering lunchboxes from a bento shop run by the neighbourhood chief to various factories every afternoon. On weekends, he goes under the bridge to play the saxophone and enjoy the breeze. Grandpa always says that living alone is very comfortable, but I know deep down that he hopes we will visit him more often. We almost always talk on the phone every week, sharing updates about our lives and interesting stories, and hoping that Grandpa will be willing to go out with us more often to enjoy nature together.
我的爺爺和外公都在很久以前就過世了，一個是早年心肌梗塞，另一個則是長年壓
力所導致，患上癌症痛苦離世。而我卻有個像麻吉一樣的阿公，他是爸爸的養父，年輕
時經歷過一段婚姻，十分短暫，最後以失敗收場，因此才在爸爸十八歲這年將他收養為
自己的兒子。
油漆、裝潢承包是家族企業，阿公從年輕就在我們家當學徒，因為爺爺早年的離世，
加上阿公個性隨和，所以他便在這個家住了下來，承擔了許多大小的家務事，因此阿公
和這個家有著像家人般親密的情感，奶奶和爸爸他們三兄弟都十分感激他。
我是給阿公奶奶這邊帶大的，相反的，我有一個妹妹是給外婆帶大的，因此我對於
大溪這個老家，還有那裡的人事物，所有一切，都有一種說不上來的熟悉感。大溪是一
個三合院，旁邊的空地加蓋了一個鐵皮屋，以前我小的時候，就是在那個鐵皮屋長大的
，一打開門口就是超級巨大的埤塘，我是到了國中才知道那叫埤塘，餵魚、釣魚是我們
的日常興趣，我總是期待著誰的朋友來我們家做客，因為阿公最喜歡釣魚了，埤塘的魚
是我們自己餵養、喝著從山上留下來的山泉水長大的，所以每隻都肥肥胖胖的，除非有
貴客來訪，奶奶才捨得殺魚。
阿公付出了幾乎整個青春在這個家和這個工作，曾經家族事業的輝煌，卻在兩個阿
伯的營運不善下以負債收場，在無止境的債務黑洞下，爸爸和受到連累的媽媽，滿身債
務的劃清了與他們的關係，而阿公隨之跟上，那種心寒的感覺是久久不能揮之，曾經有
段時間，金錢上的各種話題，都成了家中的禁忌話題。
後來有一陣子爸爸就自己當老闆，招攬工作，和阿公一起，那陣子阿公搬來台北跟
我們住，從我國小一年級開始，短暫的兩年，又因為泥做師傅回屏東照顧家人，自此爸
爸和阿公暫停了裝潢承包這項工作。剛好，阿公這年也臨界退休年齡，幾個姑婆、叔公
還有阿公，商量把部分土地簡單賣了，將錢分一分，因此沒有了三合院、沒有了鐵皮屋、
沒有了大埤塘，阿公仍在大溪買了一間透天厝，時而工作、時而休息。
阿公的生活緊繫著兄弟姐妹，所以我覺得將老家賣掉十分可惜，不過也因為這樣，
阿公過著悠哉無慮的日子。近年來，阿公有打份小零工，就是每天中午到里長開的便當
店幫忙送便當到各工廠；假日到橋下吹吹薩克斯風，一個人的生活阿公總說很自在，但
我知道他內心是很希望我們多多回去看他，我們幾乎每週都會講電話，分享近況、分享
有趣的事情，期許阿公會願意多多跟我們出來踏青。