The Abandoned Baby Story (II)

The Story of Abandoned Babies (Part II)

Category: Essays Added Time: March 31, 2011 15:30:17 Source: admin Clicks: 24

Among these abandoned babies, there was a fortune-teller. Person A: Are you male? Person B: You have good eyesight, that's very correct. Person A: Your age is between twenty and fifty. Person B: Quite accurate. Person A: Are you Chinese? Some were abandoned by parents due to poverty and helplessness, while others were abandoned for other reasons. Among the children here, many have only a cleft lip with no other problems. In earlier years, some female infants without any issues were also abandoned. In the children adopted by Aunt Yuan, there are several cases like this, and now they have grown up. Looking at the beautiful, elegant young lady washing clothes and the abandoned baby before your eyes, everyone has two slaves, everyone is a prince or princess, it's hard to associate them together. It's also hard to believe that those babies who once symbolized despair and pain could have such a beautiful appearance today. If their parents could see them today, I believe they would certainly regret it so much that they'd want to bang their heads against the wall. Such examples are not uncommon.

When we were there, there was a five-year-old boy who was naughty and mischievous. He would cling to his dad asking to be held, then cry for toys. He was no different from ordinary children. The cleft on his mouth was barely noticeable now. Although he still had slight difficulty in speech, it didn't affect major things. Watching his playful demeanor made me want to hug him. His parents, after abandoning him, couldn't have more children. Later, when they heard that the child was well taken care of by the Yan family, they came to take him back. The Yan family told them: If you knew it would come to this today, why did you do what you did earlier? People like you who are irresponsible, if the child goes back with you, what kind of person will you turn him into? That couple slunk away shamefully and never had the face to come back for the child again. They would only sneak a peek every now and then, but the child didn't recognize them or pay attention to them.

There was also a pair of sisters. When they were brought in, the older sister was just over a year old, and the younger one was just a few months old. Their mother personally brought them because she divorced and perhaps couldn't afford to raise them or needed to find happiness elsewhere. She left the children at the door of Aunt Yuan's house, cried bitterly, and then left, never to be heard from again. Now the older one is seven years old, and the younger one is over five. Both are chubby and very sensible. The older sister is especially diligent. After school, she often helps her mom feed the abandoned babies formula and change diapers, rarely idle, and studies hard.

At that time, we had an eighteen-year-old boy who was six feet tall, strong and sturdy. We thought he was Aunt Yuan's biological son, but when we asked, she said he was the fifth adopted child. As a child, he had a high chest bone and a sunken stomach, but as he grew, he gradually improved. Now, not only does he have no issues, but he is as sturdy as a bull, eating as much as two adults in one meal. He has two tiger teeth when he smiles, looking like a gentle and good-natured child. Looking at this tall and sturdy child, I truly feel proud of Aunt Yuan. An ordinary person feels tired raising one child, yet Aunt Yuan raised dozens of children over twenty years, all with problems. Even just glancing at them makes us worried, but she has been taking care of them long-term, not only attending to their eating, drinking, and toileting, but also providing them with education. Dozens of disabled children, for us, even just feeding them would be impossible, but Aunt Yuan not only provided for them but did so well.

Of course, you might say she received donations, but the donations were only recent and quite limited. More importantly, Aunt Yuan relied on her own efforts. Earlier, she often didn't know where the next meal would come from. Thanks to the help of people around her, she managed to survive until today. She also did some small businesses, setting up a tin house near the hospital to sell cigarettes, alcohol, and groceries. But the income was too limited. Money earned in the morning was spent in the afternoon. With so many children and large expenses, anyone would find it difficult to sustain. While trying to earn money to support the family, she also had to take care of so many children. Her parents initially didn't support her, but out of concern for their daughter, they voluntarily helped take care of the children for many years, seemingly endless. Others raising children look forward to the day when the children grow up and they can be free, but at Aunt Yuan's place, children were constantly being sent, not only by common people but also by civil affairs departments and police stations because some children couldn't be handled even by welfare institutions. After sending them frequently, they felt indebted and would give Aunt Yuan a few bags of flour or hundreds of yuan each year as a gesture. Gradually, because of adopting so many children, Aunt Yuan became famous. Newspapers wrote about her, TV covered her. Once, someone donated a thousand yuan on TV, but after various tax deductions, only a few hundred yuan remained in Aunt Yuan's hands. Donations are taxed, which was the first time I heard of it, and I don't quite understand the country's tax policy.

Although the children sent to Aunt Yuan were materially poor, each one was sharp. Although some couldn't speak and others had mobility issues, when a few five or six-year-olds went out to play and got lost, they actually knew to call 110 to ask the police to send them back. There were two mute girls here. The elder mute girl, about ten years old, was very diligent, often actively feeding milk and changing diapers for the infants. The younger mute girl was lazy and unresponsive, disliked by the white-haired seven or eight-year-old "Xu Li Mi" and two other children. Once, when Aunt Yuan wasn't around, four or five children ganged up on the younger mute girl, but unexpectedly, she fought off all four or five of them. There was also a lame boy of about ten who once stole a bicycle and was severely beaten by Aunt Yuan, who told him: We may be poor, but our spirit isn't poor. Since then, he dared not steal anymore. And that white-haired "Xu Li Mi," though only seven or eight years old, loved cleanliness, often washing her own clothes and folding them neatly at her bedside, behaving like a little girl. Aunt Yuan doted on her, so when she was around, she was quite spirited, and the mutes and the lame ones listened to her. But if Aunt Yuan wasn't there, the mutes and the lame ones started acting superior and began ordering her around.

Looking at these children and listening to Aunt Yuan tell their stories, I experienced a lot about the ordinary and great, the common and noble...