Story of Ten Chickens

After the Spring Festival, I had a chance to accompany teachers from my hometown to visit the village (leprosy rehabilitation village) in the mountain and to visit two friends who are raising chickens there. One of them has 33 hens and chickens. One hen is hatching eggs, so, if the first 13 chicks hatched are not eaten by his cat, there should be more than 40 chickens in total. Fortunately, my friend made a wise decision to send away his hungry cat. The other friend has 9 chicks and 3 hens. I heard he sold the rooster and bought a hen.

I remember it was at the end of March last year, when the morning in the mountain was still cool, that my three coworkers and I first visited the village. We drove across streams and on a rugged mountain path. The mountain path was extremely difficult to drive on.

I’ve lived for half a century, but my recent real experience made my dream more beautiful.

In late October this year, with a mood that was hard to describe by words, I flew from Shenzhen to Kunming, the “City of Spring” and the capital of Yunnan Province.

On May 12, 2008, a magnitude-8 earthquake hit Sichuan, resulting in major disasters and staggering property losses. Over 100,000 people were killed and injured. Seeing the shocking scenes of grief and tragedy that were transmitted by TV and Internet reports, overseas Chinese flocked to donate money and offer help. The Go and Love Foundation also contributed to the disaster relief fund immediately and made close connections with Sichuan local co-workers in the post-disaster reconstruction institutions. At the same time,

Fifty-eight-year-old Dong Shi-Rong has been living with his mother in the rehabilitation village since he was a child, and he grew up here. Of all those who have rehabilitated, he is the most outgoing and talkative one. Every time we visited the rehabilitation village, he would greet us and bring us chairs and water. He would also act as if he were very familiar with us. In doing so, he made us feel at home, no longer as strangers among them. As time went by, our friendship gradually developed, and we have become fast friends who could share inner thoughts with one another.