Brief introduction：

This book tells a real story about the growth and success of the orphan students in Nanning Mingtian School. Specifically， it involves the care given to the school and students by the government， the hardships， troubles and joys of the principal and teachers in teaching orphans， the great efforts made by caring entrepreneurs， the story of foreign friend Ernie as a volunteering teacher， and the charitable donations and assistance from the whole community to those orphans suffering from terminal diseases ...

About the author：

He Peisong was born in Guangdong Province in 1944. He Peisong’s ancestral home is Luchuan County， Guangxi. He used to be a teacher at Daxin Middle School， a writer at the Daxin County Cultural Center， a writer at the Nanning Regional Cultural Bureau and editor of Lingshui magazine， reporter at Guangxi Daily， director of the Drama and Television Department of the Art Creation Center of Guangxi Cultural Department， full-time vice chairman of Guangxi Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang， deputy director of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Committee of Guangxi People’s Congress Standing Committee. He Peisong is now a librarian of Guangxi Institute of Culture and History. So far， he has published over 3 million words of various literary works， including 16 personal reportage monographs.

1. A symbol

If you were to simply describe this boy with only a few words， three would be enough： thin， small and weak. In 2000， Nanning Mingtian School opened and recruited more than 100 orphans.

That boy was one of them. Moreover， he possessed the qualities that almost all orphans had. He also had unique traits that no one else had.

So， he was both typical and emblematic. In a sense， he became a symbol.

His name is Wei Danian （pseudonym）.

2. The “writing in blood” incident

He was thin， small and weak， both physically and mentally.

His classmates despised him， disliked him and did not want to live with him. Particularly， in Dormitory 201 where eight students shared this room， the other seven students all gave him a wide berth.

He had no friends.

He always had a strong stink， and so did his mattress， quilt， shoes and socks， because he often wet the bed. Several times a night， he would wet his bed before he woke up， just like a reservoir that couldn’t shut its gates. This happened every night and every season.

His long-time illness drew the dislike of his classmates.

Therefore， many students often sneered at him and even insulted him.

Over time， though with inferiority， resignation， and obsequious smile， there were times when he couldn’t stand it and resisted. Just like Lu Xun’s character Ah Q （The protagonist in the novella The True Story of Ah Q written by Lu Xun）， he was always ridiculed by his neighbors for the “bright scar” on his head， and" fought back with his fists and feet.

At one point， some of his roommates shoved him， half seriously， half teasingly， threatening to turn him out of the dormitory. They even threw into the corridor his pile of bedclothes， which smelled strongly of urine. This was to sweep him out， and to declare that he was unwelcome！

He couldn’t bear it this time！ He couldn’t stand it anymore！ That was his limit. Even a mild mannered man can be terrible if he loses his temper.

He suddenly shouted desperately. It wasn’t loud， but it was harsh. He fought hard， wildly swinging his little bamboo-like arms at the stronger students wildly.

Several roommates were hit and retreated cowardly. Others were punched and bled from the nose.

Still unable to vent his anger， using the blood on the ground of those who had been beaten， Wei Danian scrawled three words on the dormitory wall， “Go to hell！”

Later， I thought about two meanings of these words： one being “I want you all to die”， and the other “I want to die”.

Very few people knew of the “writing in blood ” incident that happened in Dormitory 201. The fight took place when both sides were in an abnormal state of rage and loss of reason， so it happened quickly， like shooting stars in the sky.

This incident rooted itself deep in the 8 orphan roommates’ hearts. Only one or two teachers knew about it. But I， as a reportage writer， took a lot of trouble to prise out the story from a teacher and put it into words. I didn’t do it out of curiosity or attention. I did it out of a sense of duty and a desire to express the truth.

3. Three inspections

So， does anyone care about the ostracized children like Wei Danian？

Yes！ Many teachers love him！

Li Jiangbei majored in education from Guangxi University of the Arts and now serves as an art teacher at Mintgtian School. He is not the full-time teacher who is responsible for students’ lives at the orphan management office， but he feels it’s his business. He has a famous habit – “three inspections”. This is what I gathered from him after the interview. Every day， he visits the boys’ dormitory three times： first， in the morning before class; second， before or after lunch， because this is the “blind spot” of teaching; third， before leaving school in the afternoon.

He not only carries out regular inspections， but also sleeps beside those orphans.

We heard from Mr. Li Jiangbei himself：

“At night， I often go to Dormitory 201 （a boys’ dormitory， where there are two sixth-graders and six first-graders） taking it in turns to stay with the orphan students. How happy they were to stay with me！ I was not used to it at first but things changed after a while. I’m a farmer’s son， and I have a natural connection with these farmer kids.”

“I pay special attention to these seven- or eight-year-old orphans. They lost their parents when they were very young and are still not old enough to take care of themselves. I often help the youngest ones wash their clothes since I’m afraid their hands will freeze in the cold winter. In summer， some children like to kick the mosquito nets when they sleep， so they are often bitten by mosquitoes. Thus， I turn on the lights and help them to repel the insects. Wei Danian is the only one of the 8 children in Dormitory 201 who often wets the bed. I’ll sleep with him all the same. I found out that if I woke him up and dragged him to the bathroom between 11：30 p.m. and 12 a.m.， he wouldn’t wet the bed that night. Because if he is woken up early， he will still wet the bed once in the morning; and he’s already peed if he is woken up too late. Every time I wake him up， he would sit there， dazed， and then immediately want to pee on the bed， so I gave him a hug， pulled him up and went straight to the bathroom ...”

Not only was this hug affectionate， but also highly effective at reducing any accidents. Only one’s own parents give hugs like these！

Tears and Laughter

He Peisong

Guangxi People’s Publishing House

February 2019

39.80 （CNY）