China News, Linyfen, October 14 - Title: A Sixty-Year-Old Couple in Shanxi Adopts 32 Orphaned and Disabled Children; Sleeps Without Removing Clothes for 13 Years
Authors: Lv Wei and Qu Lixia
In Linfen, Shanxi, an elderly urban couple has adopted 32 orphaned and disabled children over the span of 13 years. They are both struggling farmers with no fixed income source. Approaching their sixties, their labor capabilities can no longer match those of younger people.
Greatest Wish: To One Day Be Able to Sleep Peacefully Without Clothes
This is their 13th year adopting disabled children. For 13 years, their greatest wish has been to one day be able to sleep peacefully without clothes on.
On the 13th, the reporters met this renowned kind-hearted elderly couple. They live in a village half an hour's drive from the Linfen city area, where it is cold and dry.
In this modest home that could be called "rich beyond compare," a few pieces of simple furniture are arranged, and the walls have peeling paint, leaving no completely clean spot. Six children with varying degrees of disabilities play happily, enjoying harmonious times with the elderly couple, calling them "grandpa" and "grandma."
In this special family without parents, the most prominent feature is the numerous beds—single, double, and even baby cribs.
The youngest child is only a few months old, needing constant feeding, lying peacefully on the bed. The children's faces are serene, as if they've forgotten the pain of their arrival.
Their neighbors say that all the children have health issues, making them very difficult to care for. Not only do the elderly couple take excellent care of the children, but they also frequently travel across the country seeking medical treatment for them.
Over the years spent visiting various hospitals, Wang Bifen and her husband Shi Xueqian have learned many "skills" to treat the children. When Mao Mao (a pseudonym), who was just a few months old at the time of adoption, had clenched hands that couldn't open, Wang Bifen inserted hard cardboard and small rolls of sanitary paper into his hands to help correct the issue, gradually restoring function.
Children in their developmental phase eat a lot. Grandma Wang Bifen changes the meals she prepares daily to suit the children. Every night, grandma washes their clothes and diapers, not going to bed until after ten o'clock. Wang Bifen said that for over a decade, they've slept with their clothes on, ready to get up at any sound of the children crying.
The local civil affairs bureau once suggested sending the children to the Linfen City Welfare Institute. Her daughter once asked her, "If one day you stop, what would you most like to do?"
The straightforward Wang Bifen replied that she'd simply like to sleep, to sleep without clothes. "When the children are one day sent away, I'll stop. I've done enough after so many years."
Happiest Thing: The Children Learning to Call Them "Grandpa" and "Grandma"
"Some of the kids who come here have mental issues. I feel incredibly happy when they learn to talk and call me grandma," Wang Bifen said.
In this ordinary yet struggling family, under the backdrop of loess and poverty, the children grow up in their own ways. Currently, this place is their home. What touches the hearts of these two elders most is the growth and health of the children.
Among the six children currently adopted, every child's story and preferences are vividly etched in their minds. Two of the children were born with cleft lips and palates and were abandoned by their parents within seven days of birth. The couple took them to Yusci for surgery, and now they are fully recovered.
Grandpa Shi Xueqian said that these two girls are particularly smart. The third sister loves watching cartoons, while Xiao Xiao enjoys listening to music and moves along with the rhythm whenever she hears it.
Xiao Xiao, who is lively and smiles often, has a scar on the back of her head. Every time grandpa Shi Xueqian sees it, he feels a pang of pain—it's a fracture left from being abandoned, which took him about eight months of medication to heal.
Currently, some of the children have reached school age, and the couple hopes they can "recognize words and numbers." They've contacted local educational institutions several times, but due to the children's physical conditions, no schools are willing to accept them. Shi Xueqian said that some of the children suffer from cerebral palsy or intellectual disabilities, while others have mobility issues and cannot take care of themselves.
Grandpa Shi Xueqian said that taking care of these children is a heartwarming task. Only when they see the children well-fed and warmly clothed does their heart feel at ease. Every small progress the children make brings them immense satisfaction. (End)