A middle-aged woman and a little girl were picking up the instant noodles scattered on the ground. Photos provided by netizens. There are still some on the ground, we can't waste them! The mother got up to find an empty plastic bag. The little girl found the photographer and was not timid, but instead shyly smiled at the camera. In this photo, they both happily smiled, but it made me cry! Photos provided by netizens.
HuaSheng Online, July 5 (reported by Long Teng): Are you still complaining? About your low income? About your lack of happiness? About the boredom in life? Recently, a pictorial post titled "A Kind of Life Called Hardship - Real-life Photography on the Street of Linqing" has been wildly forwarded on Huasheng Forum, Baidu Tieba and other major forums. The heart-wrenching scene of a disheveled homeless mother and daughter picking up scattered instant noodles on the street touched tens of thousands of netizens.
According to local netizens, the woman suffers from mental illness and has been wandering and begging with her 10-year-old daughter in the urban area for years. On July 5, local civil affairs department informed the reporter that the mother and daughter have been temporarily placed in a nursing home, awaiting further assistance.
Scene: Homeless Mother and Daughter Pick Up Scattered Instant Noodles
The photographer, netizen "Sha Qiu Ru Zi Niu", mentioned in the post that this happened on the morning of June 23 near Yiwu Trade City in Linqing City, Shandong Province.
Five pictures provided in the post showed a disheveled mother and daughter squatting beside an old bicycle carefully picking up two packs of scattered instant noodles on the ground.
Realizing that the broken instant noodle bags could not hold the scattered pieces, the middle-aged woman stood up and took a plastic bag from the basket in front of the bicycle. She carefully scooped the broken instant noodles into the plastic bag and poured the remaining bits from the instant noodle bag into the plastic bag as well.
The skinny little girl nearby was fully focused on her mother's every move, occasionally showing a joyful smile.
During this time, the little girl noticed someone secretly taking photos of them and did not feel intimidated, instead shyly smiling at the camera.
Netizens: "I feel so sorry for them, count me in for the donation!"
On the Linqing section of "Baidu Tieba", the real situation of the mother and daughter was confirmed by local netizens, who often see them around Yiwu Trade City.
"At the place selling dumplings in Yiwu Trade City, or the vegetable stall next to Ersezhifu, or around the bridge on the west side of the river, you can find them," one Linqing netizen said. Although some residents like to joke about the middle-aged woman, they all adore the little girl, "She is indeed very cute, very sensible, and very obedient."
Netizen "Xi Cong Dong Lai" also described a scene he once witnessed involving the mother and daughter. They were rummaging through dirt for scrap iron, with the little girl also digging in the dirt. "Seeing that scene made me want to cry!"
Another netizen claimed that he saw them last year at the court registration office where a three-and-a-half-year-old girl gave her seat to a seventy-year-old elder on the bus. "It seems like the mother sought help from the court to ask the child's father for alimony," this netizen said, "Looking at the crumpled one-yuan and fifty-cent paper bills she took out as litigation fees, they might have come from selling scrap."
The hardship endured by the mother and daughter deeply touched many netizens' hearts, who expressed their desire to offer them help.
"The little girl is too pitiful, I feel so sorry for them, count me in for the donation, hoping to contribute my humble efforts!" HuaSheng netizen "Linqing Broadcaster" commented, leaving his phone number. Other netizens also responded, leaving their QQ numbers and phone numbers, suggesting that local netizens open a bank account for the mother and daughter for easy donations.
However, netizen "Linqing Hard Man" mentioned that one of his friends had once wanted to offer the woman a job, but she refused, "It's really frustrating."
Investigation: Local Government Has Sent the Mother and Daughter to a Nursing Home
According to information provided by local netizens, the mother is named Teng Xuefang, originally from Songzhuang Village under the Pioneer Office in Linqing City. She married in 2000 to a neighboring village, divorced four years ago due to family reasons, and has since lived with her ten-year-old daughter at her parents' house. Her family includes her mother, two brothers, and a sister.
"She does have some mental issues," on July 5, Guan Zhenbao, the Party Secretary of Songzhuang Village under the Pioneer Office, told reporters that the village also sympathized with the mother and daughter, previously wanting to assist them, but they were rejected.
"The child's uncle wanted to send the child to school, but her mother wouldn't let her go," Guan Zhenbao said, the girl hasn't attended school even though she is ten years old.
Guan Zhenbao introduced that Songzhuang Village under the Pioneer Office is about 10 kilometers away from the urban area of Linqing City. Teng Xuefang rides her bicycle with her daughter to the urban area to beg and wander during the day, then returns to her parents' home at night.
After the plight of the mother and daughter was exposed online, it immediately drew attention from the Civil Affairs Bureau of Linqing City.
On July 5, Ms. Zhao, a staff member of the bureau, told reporters that after seeing the post, they immediately dispatched staff to stake out in the urban area and went to their home to understand the specific situation.
"Currently, this mother and daughter are temporarily residing in the Dashinzhongxin Nursing Home in the urban area of Linqing City." Ms. Zhao told reporters that considering the mother's mental illness, the leadership of the bureau is further deliberating on a rescue plan regarding her treatment, the child's upbringing, and schooling issues, "hoping to enable this mother and daughter to lead a normal life."
Regarding the latest developments in the rescue of the mother and daughter, our newspaper will continue to follow up.
HuaSheng Comment: A Kind of Happiness Called Contentment
By Li Chenghui
Schopenhauer once said, "Life is a mass of desires; if desires cannot be met, there is pain; if they are met, there is boredom. Life swings between pain and boredom." Schopenhauer boldly declared that life is pessimistic and true happiness cannot be achieved. Many people wonder why, as the economy develops, happiness seems to drift further away?
What is happiness? I have been searching for it. When I saw the little girl joyfully smiling as the middle-aged woman picked up the instant noodles crushed by a car, something seemed to click inside me - why was the girl smiling so brightly? Perhaps, she was thinking that she would no longer have to go hungry? For her, having food to eat is happiness.
Reassuringly, after understanding the situation, the local civil affairs department promptly offered help to the mother and daughter. Currently, they have been placed in a local nursing home, and the issue of the girl's education will be resolved soon. We believe that the girl's true happiness is just around the corner. Meanwhile, we call on more netizens to offer their love and support.
Welcome to leave comments. Twitter recommendation | Today's Twitter hot topics