(Minghui.org) I’m 72 years old and I live in the country. I produce truth-clarification materials, such as flyers and DVDs, that local practitioners and I distribute
My husband is very supportive of my practice. Whenever fellow practitioners visit me, he offers them a meal if I’m not home. He once leased land for an orchard, but he did not want me to work there, even when he was busy. Other practitioners joked that I was a full-time cultivator.
I rarely spent money. My husband managed our finances. When I needed money, I asked him for some, so I never learned how to handle money. I never expected to face money trouble.
After my husband retired he contracted land from the village. I didn’t think this was a good idea but I did not try to stop him. I believed that everyone has their own fate, so I let it play out naturally. My husband planted walnut trees, and invested a lot of money in them. We had to pay the village 10,000 yuan in rent each year. Unfortunately, about a year after the trees began bearing nuts the price of walnuts dropped significantly. That year, a highway was built in our area. My husband received 550,000 yuan in land expropriation compensation for the orchard and 80,000 yuan for our other land. That was a lot of money for a villager. My husband gave me only 1,000 yuan, but I didn’t think much about it because I am a practitioner.
He later said the compensation he received was unfair. According to the policy, he should have received more. He said the village officials withheld a portion of his compensation for themselves. He wanted to sue them. In a country governed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officials shield one another. However, my husband refused to acknowledge this reality and stubbornly placed his faith in the judicial system. The village officials paid someone to give false testimony, and my husband lost the lawsuit. He appealed and lost again. The cost of the lawsuit and the investment in the orchard used up all the compensation we received, leaving us with a significant debt, most of it from high-interest loans.
My husband traveled and was frequently away from home. When he was home he was depressed, and didn’t talk much. He eventually told me what was wrong. He asked if I could ask fellow practitioners to lend us money and he said we would repay them with interest. I thought he was not a practitioner and endured unimaginable setbacks and pressures over the past two years. It was not entirely his fault. The root cause of our misfortune was the CCP officials’ corruption. My husband believed that Falun Dafa is good. As his wife, I needed to share his burden. As a practitioner, I never sought to be wealthy but I should share his hardships.
I didn’t complain. I borrowed money from friends and family. When practitioners learned of my situation, they offered me money, saying they trusted me and didn’t need a promissory note. I was so touched that I cried. I knew this was an everyday issue and wasn’t part of cultivation. So I followed the standard procedure and wrote and signed promissory notes. I sincerely thank local practitioners for their support during this difficult time.
We needed to pay off our debts as quickly as possible. So, I began managing our finances. My husband’s pension income, my social security, plus other income totaled over 2,000 yuan per month. I managed the budget and ensured we could pay back more than 20,000 yuan each year. We started by cutting our living expenses. We spent very little on food. We often ate noodles with preserved vegetables. Seeing our hard life, fellow practitioners brought us vegetables they grew and gave us clothing and shoes.
I knew that just living frugally was not enough to pay off the loans. With the rapid progress of Fa-rectification, I wanted to return practitioners’ money as quickly as possible. Since my thoughts were in line with the Fa, Master helped me, and I had a good idea. In the past, we simply discarded the black-shelled walnuts. I asked my husband to bring them home instead. I cracked the shells and removed the walnuts while listening to Minghui radio. Although the shells were black, the nut kernels were still good. I sent them to an oil-press facility to extract the oil, which we later bottled and sold. During those two years, cooking oil prices remained quite high, so we earned a substantial income.
I had a wish: no matter how hard life was, how busy and tired I was, I must still do the three things well, the most important activities in my life. I still took time to print and distribute truth-clarification materials, do the exercises, and study the Fa. I also attended the weekly group study. With Master’s help, everything went smoothly.
A practitioner told me that an employer was looking for a cook. She said, “Cook two meals every day, and it pays 1,000 yuan per month. You can start tomorrow if you like.” I thought I could manage this job and still do the three things, so I agreed.
I heard from others that this job used to pay 2,000 yuan to cook three meals. I thought it was unfair that cooking one less meal meant being paid 1,000 yuan less. I was moved and did not guard my xinxing. I argued with the practitioner who told me about the job. I later realized I was wrong and I apologized. In reality, I was cooking three meals every day, because I made the next day’s breakfast in the afternoon. The employer was very frugal, so I tried to think from her perspective. I put more effort into communicating with her. For example, the kitchen and restroom were very dirty, and cleaning them would require extra water. I first talked to her and made sure she was okay with it. I cooked based on her tastes and habits. I used less oil and tried to be as quiet as possible when I cooked. During the process, I improved my xinxing.
I got a job at a restaurant. It paid 1,000 yuan per month. On the second day, I finished my work quickly and I left at 11 a.m. I was especially happy because I did not miss the time to send forth righteous thoughts at noon. I was later able to finish my chores even faster and went home to do my cultivation-related work.
The owner said, “You work so efficiently. Do you also farm at home?” I replied, “I have more important things to do.” When I told her I practice Falun Dafa she said some negative things. I began clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to her. I brought my MP3 player and played Master’s lectures and some Dafa songs. Since only two of us worked there, I could talk openly. I explained what Dafa is. Finally, she understood that Dafa is good, and she quit the CCP. She said she had been given truth-clarification flyers before, but she never read them. She was just focused on making money. I told her that our relationship occurred so that she could learn the truth about Dafa.
According to our original agreement, I only needed to prepare vegetables and make stuffed buns. Since I finished my work so quickly, the owner gave me additional tasks, including cutting chicken, preparing various ingredients, scrambling eggs, and more. No matter how much work she added, I cheerfully did it because I strive to be selfless. I just worked harder so I could go home on time.
Upon learning of my situation, my granddaughter suggested, “Grandma, you should ask her for a raise.” I explained that I was validating the Fa and striving to be a person even beyond a normal good person. For that reason, I could not behave like others.
The owner’s husband returned from working out of town. I took the opportunity to tell him the facts about Dafa and I helped him quit the CCP. Later, I quit the job because I felt my mission there was accomplished. Also, our debts were almost paid off, and I had more important things to do.
Because I practice Falun Dafa, I could remain calm when I saw wealth come and go. This would be difficult for an ordinary person. My behavior demonstrated the power of Dafa. I lived a simple, austere life, yet I stayed in high spirits and was always optimistic because I had Dafa in my heart. I sincerely thank Master. I also thank fellow practitioners for their help.