Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

The child made indistinct sounds.

His clothes were quickly soaked with saliva.

Song Yulu used to be a respectable businesswoman who kept her hair perfectly groomed.

But at this moment, she didn't feel dirty at all.

These abandoned lives, with their real body heat, filled her empty shell.

She stood there holding the child for a long time.

Then put it down and go hug the next one.

She picked up each of the children with cerebral palsy from the bucket.

Until the clothes were covered in saliva stains.

"donor."

A calm female voice came from behind me.

Song Yulu turned around.

A nun wearing a gray robe covered in patches stood there.

His face was peaceful and serene, and his hands were covered with calluses.

Those are the marks left by years of hard labor.

"Master Jin Chan." Song Yulu put down the child she was holding and stepped forward.

Master Jinchan seemed to notice the worry on her brow. "Come in with me."

Song Yulu followed Master Jinchan to the classroom.

The living room was small, with only a table and a few stools.

Several calligraphy scrolls hung on the wall, all of them cautionary sayings.

She poured a cup of aged tea for Song Yulu, saying, "It's made from aged tea leaves picked and roasted by the villagers themselves."

Song Yulu took it and drank a sip.

It has a mild flavor with a subtle woody aroma.

She told her story to Master Jinchan, speaking frankly and openly to a stranger for the first time.

the end.

Unable to hide his exhaustion, he finally spoke:

"I want to stay here for a week to two weeks."

Master Jinchan did not chant the Buddha's name.

There wasn't a single word of comfort.

Master Jinchan's tone was flat, "If you stay, you'll have to work. You'll live and eat with the volunteers. Chopping wood, starting fires, planting vegetables, washing diapers, cooking, and taking care of the children. You'll also have to do your homework every day—morning, noon, and evening prayers. Can you handle that?"

"I can do it all." Song Yulu straightened her back.

"Go chop the firewood in the kitchen," Master Jinchan said, pointing to the backyard.

There are no profound principles or Buddhist koans.

Only the most practical jobs.

Song Yulu rolled up her sleeves and strode towards the backyard.

In this endless mud, she wanted to find a new way to live.

Song Yulu chopped firewood all morning.

Two shiny blisters formed on my palms.

They carried water and swept the yard, working until 11:30 a.m.

The clapperboard sounded in the front yard to signal the start of the meal.

The food was laid out on a long wooden table.

There was no meat. There was a large bowl of sweet potato rice, a bowl of stir-fried mustard greens, a bowl of braised tofu, and a pot of mixed mushroom, red date and corn soup on the side.

The rags can be used to cook tofu, making it savory and delicious, and also providing the nutrients needed for a vegetarian diet.

Song Yulu was holding a large, coarse porcelain bowl.

I joined the others in queuing to get food.

She was starving.

I shoveled rice into my mouth along with tofu cooked in a tattered cloth.

Mustard greens are a bit bitter, but if you chew them thoroughly and swallow them, you feel more at ease in your stomach.

After finishing their meal, everyone poured some water from their thermos into their empty bowls.

He shook it a couple of times, drank the first batch of dishwater directly, and then took it to the side to wash it.

No one wastes a single grain of food.

Several teenage girls ate the fastest.

They put down their bowls and, without pausing, picked up the pieces of food next to them and ran to the wooden bucket at the base of the wall.

That was feeding time.

The little girls used iron spoons to feed the mashed rice paste and vegetable puree into the mouths of the children with cerebral palsy in the wooden buckets, spoonful by spoonful.

Wipe away any spilled material with an old towel.

The baby next to them was crying from hunger.

Immediately, someone handed over the prepared baby bottle.

Song Yulu stood under the eaves, watching this scene unfold.

Master Jin Chan walked over, holding a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand.

"Master," Song Yulu turned and asked, "Are all these girls studying?"

"Recite it." Master Jin Chan stopped. "I went to the principal of the town school. I said all the nice things to them, and the tuition was waived, but we have to pay for the textbooks and other miscellaneous fees ourselves."

Song Yulu recalled her time in the village.

Song Xianglan mentioned the scholarship program the factory had specifically for girls.

"Do you have enough money?"

"I hope kind-hearted people will donate a little." Master Jinchan looked at the backs of those feeding the children. "These children are willing to endure hardship. For those with good grades, I will try my best to support their education for a few more years. When they enter society in the future, they will have more options."

Even going to junior high school makes a difference.

"Where will they go after that?" Song Yulu asked. "Stay at the temple?"

Master Jin Chan shook his head.

"This is their home," Master Jin Chan said calmly. "When they grow up, they can go to school if they are able, and after they finish their studies, they can go to work if they are able."

They should live their own lives. Whether they get married, have children, or return to their biological parents is a question that will affect their lives in the future.

Whether I come back to see these disabled children or not is irrelevant. I sow good deeds without expecting anything in return, and I do things without seeking anything in return. I only hope they can live peaceful and happy lives from now on.

Song Yulu did not respond.

She touched the blisters on her palm.

Turning around, she walked to the base of the wall, picked up an empty bowl, and, imitating the little girl, used a spoon to feed the child in the wooden tub.

People in the temple get up very early.

There is a rule to take a lunch break at noon.

Song Yulu was assigned a small guest room.

Pushing open the door, you'll find two hardboard beds inside.

A short-haired woman is sitting on the edge of the bed putting on her shoes.

The woman rolled up her sleeve, revealing a dense array of cigarette burn scars on her right arm.

It looks like the scalp is numb.

"Your bunk is across the street." The woman with the cigarette stub pointed to the empty bed, her face expressionless, showing no intention of asking any further questions.

After saying that, she stood up and walked out.

Song Yulu walked over and spread out the simple bedding roll.

She took off her shoes and lay down on the hard wooden bed.

Since learning the truth about her infertility, she hasn't had a full night's sleep.

When I close my eyes, all I see is Cai Youde's hypocritical face.

But today, the moment her head hit the pillow, before she even had a chance to turn over, she fell fast asleep.

I slept so soundly that I didn't even have a dream.

Until someone shoved her shoulder.

Song Yulu opened her eyes. The woman with the cigarette burns stood by the bed:

"Get up and get to work."

The work was even heavier in the afternoon.

Song Yulu was assigned to the laundry shed.

A large basin of dirty clothes and diapers was piled on the ground. They were all taken from the children in the wooden tubs.

The yellowish-brown, watery stool and urine were mixed together, and the smell was pungent.

Song Yulu squatted down and grabbed a handful of laundry detergent, sprinkling it in.

She put her hands into the icy water and rubbed them vigorously.

There was no disgust, no nausea.

After washing the diapers, I also have to help bathe the baby.

Children with cerebral palsy are too weak to be supported by one person.

Song Yulu and the woman with the cigarette burns worked together, one supporting the back of her head and the other wiping it with a towel.

Finished the work.

The sun is almost setting.

The sound of clappers being struck came from the front yard.

It's time for evening classes.

The volunteer grandmothers who came to help with the work packed up their things and prepared to go home.

Most of them are villagers from the nearby area.

Very few people stay for short periods.

Song Yulu's hands were white from washing, and her back ached so much she could barely straighten up. But looking at the clean diapers fluttering on the clothesline and the babies babbling in the clean wooden tubs, she felt a surge of joy.

Song Yulu suddenly realized that all the hidden losses she had suffered in her marriage, and all the knots in her heart that she couldn't get over all the time, were now unresolved.

Compared to these children abandoned in the mud, they are nothing.

The woman with the cigarette scars handed her a blue robe. "Put this on. Come with me to the main hall for evening prayers."

Song Yulu didn't know how to wear the Haiqing robe the first time she wore it, so she tried to imitate the woman with cigarette scars.

After getting dressed, I followed her into the main hall.

evening.

Koizumi Village.

The gate to Zhao Shengli's courtyard was wide open.

Bright red double happiness characters were pasted all over the courtyard walls and door frames.

Ah Jin's uncles and aunts stood at the alley entrance, peering around, but dared not take a single step forward.

Song Xianglan announced at the village entrance that morning that anyone who dared to cause trouble would have their entire family kicked out of the factory the next day.

Two large iron pots were set up in the yard.

Lin Fang, along with several kitchen helpers from the restaurant, was chopping vegetables and preparing ingredients.

The hot oil sizzled as it hit the pan, filling the entire yard with the aroma of scallions, ginger, and garlic.

Zhao Yuan and Xiaoxia were wearing new clothes.

Set out the stools and get the bowls and chopsticks.

Widow Wang sat in the inner room of the main hall, with a newly bought red pearl hair clip in her hair.

Liu Dahua sneaked into the house and locked the door behind her.

"Xiuhong." Liu Dahua took out a brown paper package from her bosom and mysteriously stuffed it into her hand.