Being a Good Worker While Employed as a Contractor

(Minghui.org) I am from the countryside, in my 60s, and often do odd jobs away from home. I have practiced Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) for over 20 years. Given Master Li’s protection and Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I have recovered from all my illnesses. My body feels light and my mind and moral character have improved tremendously.

A Ten-year Work Relationship

I am a construction worker. People in this business prefer to work as a contractor who charges by the job, rather than as a regular worker who has to work a fixed schedule.

In 2004, I was introduced to work as a day laborer for Mr. Zhao, who did remodeling work for the railway company. I was always strict with myself at work and never minded how heavy the workload was. I arrived early, and never packed away my tools before the end of the day.

After I’d worked there for awhile, Mr. Zhao told the foreman, “Mr. Son [me] works responsibly. He does not cheat or play tricks. Just give him the work and there is no need to supervise him. You can go and watch others.” From then on, Mr. Zhao would keep me as the sole person on the job when there was not much work to go around. When there was a lot of work, he would ask me to hire a few helpers, and have me finish the job when mostly everything was taken care of.

Once, Mr. Zhao drove me to another jobsite to work. On the way, he said, “Mr. Son, these workers just eat their lunch on the side of the road. They live a hard life and I’m sympathetic to their issues.” I told him that he was kind-hearted. He responded, “But some people do not deserve my sympathy. Quite a few of my workers are lazy and sly. They hide here and there before it’s time to finish for the day. They don’t deserve the pay I give them. But you are different. I don’t need to watch you. I just assign the job to you and don’t have to worry. It makes my life much easier.”

“Boss, it is because I cultivate Falun Gong,” I responded. “Our Master taught us to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and be a good person. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to work so diligently.”

Mr. Zhao was surprised and asked me if I really practiced Falun Gong. I replied, “Yes, I practice Falun Gong. Falun Gong not only teaches me to be a good person, it also helped me recover from all my illnesses.”

He then said, “That’s good! Being a good person is the right way.” After that, he would call me every year when there was a renovation job.

This continued year after year until 2014. That year, the Railway Bureau got a new chief, who gave the profitable projects to his friends, but not to Mr. Zhao. At the end of the year, Mr. Zhao called me and asked me to come and settle my account with him. I agreed and said that because it was almost the New Year, I would bring him some farm produce. He was pleased.

I had been working with Mr. Zhao for 10 years. I’d told him a little about Falun Dafa, but hadn’t been very thorough. There would be almost no opportunity for us to meet in the future, so I wrote him a letter and gave it the title, “A letter to my fellow villager,” and brought it with me.

As I got off the bus, I saw Mr. Zhao waiting there. He first gave me my remaining wages, and then took out a big package of fish and shrimp to give to me. I tried to decline his offer as it must have been very expensive. But he countered, saying, “Then I need to return the farm produce you brought me. Besides, you have helped me make a lot of money over the years. It’s almost the New Year, so this is a little gift from me.” I couldn’t refuse his generosity, so I accepted it. I then handed him the letter I had written, and told him that these were my personal experiences of benefiting from Dafa. I asked him to read it carefully. He said, “I know you’re a good person. I’ll find time to read it when I get home.” He took the letter and left. I hoped in my heart that he could understand the truth about Dafa and be saved.

On the way home, I had many thoughts: If I hadn’t learned Falun Dafa, I would also care only about myself and calculate how to work less and earn more. This is the reason why I always have work. It is mainly because Falun Dafa taught me not to do things that harm others, and to be a good person at all times. All of this is due to the preciousness of Falun Dafa.

Thinking of the Needs of Others

Mr. Sui bought a four-story villa in 2019 and wanted me to remodel it. I had done two houses for him before. He knew I cultivate Falun Dafa and that Dafa practitioners are good people. He did not want anyone else but me to work for him.

When I learned that he wanted me to do the remodeling on the villa alone, I told him, “It will take time if you want me to work on it alone. Maybe we should find a helper.” But he was adamant that he only wanted me and no one else. He also said that no one else could stay inside the building but me. I responded, “I’d like my wife to come too. She can buy groceries and cook for me and be a helper. She also cultivates Falun Dafa.”

He laughed, and replied, “Then why don’t you bring her over. I’ll buy a bed for both of you. I trust you.”

Mr. Sui handed all the keys to my wife, and asked her to be in charge of locking and unlocking the doors and opening and closing the windows in the morning and evening. She also swept the stairs clean every day.

One afternoon, I told my wife to mix up a bit more cement, but not too much because it was close to the end of the day. She mixed the cement, but it was too much. To use it up would take half a day. Mr. Sui was there too. He also thought that it was too much, but he played it down and said, “It’s fine! Just throw it away if there’s anything left.”

I blamed my wife after Mr. Sui left, and she asked what we should do. I said, “We can’t be the same as others, throwing materials away like the boss said. We need to think of others.” So I worked until almost 10 p.m. and used up all the mixed cement.

Mr. Sui stopped by the next morning, and was amazed that we’d worked so late so as to not waste any of the cement. He said, “People who hold a belief are remarkable.” Seeing that he was satisfied, I was happier than he was. He had seen the preciousness of Dafa because of us.

One day, Mr. Sui came over to talk to me when I was laying floor tiles. Although I’d talked about it with him before, I asked him again to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). While he listened this time, he did not express his position. He just said we could talk later since it was getting dark and he had to go home. I asked my wife to walk him downstairs.

As they walked, my wife said to him, “You believe in Buddhism, so you must believe in the divine. But the CCP is atheist. If you quit the CCP, that will show you to be a true believer in the divine.”

Mr. Sui agreed and said, “You guys have told me this many times. I might as well quit now. I did join the Communist Youth League.”

Afterward, my wife told me that Mr. Sui agreed to quit the Party. I was very happy and said, “Master arranged for you to help me clarify the truth to this man. It’s great that he can be saved! Thank you, Master!”

“Don’t fire him”

An owner of a farm called me one day, telling me that his friend had bought some land on a hill to grow vegetables and had built two houses. He’d introduced Mr. Yang to his friend to do the tile work. When the bathroom and kitchen were almost finished, his friend found the job unsatisfactory. He had the tiles torn up and scattered all around the floor. The farm owner asked me to come and help.

I rushed over, and the farm owner said to me, “My friend said to fire Mr. Yang. You will do the work both inside and outside. I will find you some laborers.” I surveyed the scene and saw that Mr. Yang had done quite a bit of work already. I knew that if we fired him, he would not get paid for all the work he had already done.

I told the farm owner, “Why don’t you keep Mr. Yang despite his work. Don’t fire him. I will do the main job. There are many minor projects to do; let him do them if he can, and don’t worry. You go and talk with your friend. It’s not easy for people to find work. This way, Mr. Yang won’t lose out too much, and you will have treated your friend properly.”

The farm owner talked to Mr. Yang, then he and I got acquainted. We told him what had been discussed. I said, “Mr. Yang, we have just met. The farm owner’s position is not easy either. Why don’t you stay and help. We can work together and finish the job. It will be good for both of us.”

“But you’ll make less money,” Mr. Yang responded.

I said, “How will they pay you if you leave now? Wouldn’t you have worked for nothing? Why don’t you stay. I’ll find another job when the work here is done. It won’t affect my making money.”

I might have made less money by asking Mr. Yang to stay, but my real purpose was to help him learn the facts about Falun Dafa. After we finished the work, I helped him quit the CCP and asked him to remember “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He said, “I will. I truly have met a good person. I did not end up working for nothing and didn’t suffer much of a loss. Be sure to visit me when you come to my area in the future.”

The farm owner drove me to the train station. He told me, “Now, people only care about money and nothing else. Mr. Yang is lucky to have met you. Thanks to you, he got to stay on the project. Otherwise he would have suffered a big loss. You also helped me, in that I did not disappoint my friend.” I told him that it was Falun Dafa that taught me to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be a good person. The farm owner said, “You are a wonderful person. You should bring your whole family over for cherries when they’re ready to harvest and help on my farm.”

Store Owner Wanted to Drive a Hundred Miles Just to Give Me Moon Cakes

I often go to the city for remodeling work. Because I follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in my daily life, people all trust me. I help people select and purchase tiles for their remodeling projects. The store owner and I became very familiar with each other. She asked me, “How much should I pay you? Buying materials has a commission now.”

I replied, “You don’t need to pay me. I will not take a penny, because I practice Falun Dafa. Our Master told us to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”

The store owner responded in surprise, “You are different! Others desperately want a commission, but you told me flatly that you don’t.”

I am just happy when both parties are happy. I said, “It’s all good as long as you remember, Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She said she would. After that, I brought all my clients to her store. She honestly discussed the prices with them and they always successfully completed the deal.

The tile store owner called me a couple of days before the mid-autumn festival in 2023, saying that she wanted to bring some moon cakes over to express her gratitude. My wife got the call. She told her politely that I would not accept her offer. The owner asked to talk to me. I said, “I appreciate your kindness. But please give the gift to others.”

She responded, “You helped me so much. I have to give you something. I will keep them for you. You can come pick them up anytime.” I still politely declined.

When the Chinese New Year holiday was approaching, she called again and wanted to give me a gift. When I told her I was at my hometown, more than forty miles away, she said she would drive over.

I kindly asked her not to and said, “I am a person who holds a belief, and am different than other people. I will still bring customers to your store as I did before. As long as you remember the words I told you, your business will get better and better.” She replied, “Okay then. I’ll definitely remember the words you told me.”

After the phone call, I felt happy because she understood the truth. I knew she must have remembered the precious words, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

Had I not learned Falun Dafa, I would never refuse gifts in today’s society. Falun Dafa rectified me and showed me the principle of no loss no gain.

Thank you, Master, for teaching me the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so that I can correct my every thought in this age of material desires. Without the guidance of Dafa, I don’t know how badly I would have drifted from these principles.