The Path I Walked (Part 2)

(Minghui.org) Ms. Li Li was a native of Heilongjiang Province. She had a difficult life, losing her mother to an unknown illness in 1992 and her brother to a brain tumor in 1994. She got married in 1981 and was a victim of domestic violence through most of her marriage. Her husband had extramarital affairs, eventually divorced her in 1996, and soon married the widow of her late brother.

Despite the hardships and heartbreaks, Ms. Li held to Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and even her ex-husband protected her after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999. A TV reporter, a friend of his, intended to interview him and have him blame Falun Dafa for breaking up his marriage with Ms. Li. He firmly turned down his friend's request for an interview. While Ms. Li was being detained for her faith, he kept her Falun Dafa books in a safe place. After she was released but forced to live away from home to avoid further arrests, he took good care of their son.

Ms. Li later died as a result of the persecution. This 10-part series was her own account of her story.

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Although I experienced misery and unhappiness, I remained cheerful and was kind to those that mistreated me.

(Continued from Part 1)

Strong and Optimistic Family

Everyone in our family struggled with various issues, but my parents remained strong and optimistic. Mother used to be a music teacher, so my parents often sang to us when mother's health permitted. Their favorite song, “No Worries” helped us to forget all the difficulties we faced. Although my family faced many miseries and hardships, the positive atmosphere my parents maintained at home laid the foundation for my character development.

My parents were kind, and had high expectations for us. During the Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), army cadres took over the administration of the regional administrative office, my father's work unit. After the Cultural Revolution, one of them was convicted of many crimes, but father was implicated for protecting this army cadre, and was to be demoted. 

The army cadre suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away. Father’s co-workers told him that, to clear his name, he should push all faults onto the army cadre since the dead could not speak. Yet father refused to do that and accepted all the responsibilities. For this reason, father was transferred from the regional office and assigned from the position of deputy secretary of the CCP Committee to a lower post at a local epidemic prevention station. 

I admired father’s courage to uphold the traditional virtues to be kind and truthful. I wanted to be like him, a person who practiced bravery and displayed integrity. 

Toiling Into the Countryside

After I graduated from high school, my parents wanted me to stay in our city because of my poor health, but I had my plans. Instigated by the CCP’s propaganda, I wanted to join the rest of high school graduates nationwide and go to the countryside to be “re-educated.” I was first assigned to the Suihua Xinhua Commune's 51st Team and later transferred to the Youth Brigade of the May 7 Cadre School at the foot of Suiling Mountain. 

Life in the countryside was arduous. I toiled in the field every day shoveling soil, manually harvesting wheat, and doing other farm chores, but I never complained as I did not want to lag behind the others. For three whole years, I worked in a number of different environments and assumed numerous roles—I was a farmer, a cashier, a propagandist, a chef assistant in a local hostel, and an elementary school teacher. I also worked at the Labor and Management Department of the Qing’an Iron and Steel Plant. 

Looking at Different Perspectives in College

Although I was in the countryside, I wanted to get a college education. Back then, only government-owned work units had the authority to refer their employees to enter college. My hard work finally received good returns—the May 7 Cadre School recommended that I go to Heilongjiang University and major in philosophy. 

In college, I learned to look at things from different perspectives, and more critically. I paid less attention to grades as I was unwilling to be limited by the content of the college curricula. 

Searching for Answers

However, neither books nor professors could answer the questions that had puzzled me for many years. Why did people live? How did human beings come into existence? What were the original elements of the universe? Did great harmony exist in this world? Why was life so difficult for me? On the contrary, the more knowledge I learned, the more ensnared I became. This distressed me, but for some reason, I knew someone would help me with my questions in the future.

I had high goals for myself, but my health gradually worsened in college. Sometimes I was too sick to go to class or to sit through classes, and there were times that I could not even get up from bed. I was later diagnosed with tuberculosis, neurasthenia, and an endocrine disorder. I became very pessimistic and distressed. How much longer could I last like this? I always asked myself: Others lived freely, but why was my life so hard? It felt as if I was trapped in a maze of suffering with no exit. 

Life in College

Fortunately college was only for three years back then, as I would not have been able to study for one more year otherwise. My body had reached its limit.

In my senior year, I believed that I needed to start dating. A classmate liked me, but he broke up with me after learning about my poor health. Another guy stopped dating me because his parents did not want to see me die young. Unfortunately his sister-in-law died of illness at a young age. 

Three years of college study and life were coming to an end. My hard work and performance were well received by my classmates. The most impressive comment I received from one of them said, “You have a kind heart and a strong will. You're not afraid of life or death, but you’re a little timid.” I was indeed timid and unwilling to socialize with people, and just wanted to do things by myself

Life Is Not Easy

After graduation, I was originally assigned to teach at Qiqihar Normal University, but then was transferred to Harbin School of Posts and Telecommunications. That position was taken by someone with connections internally, so I was re-assigned to Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Human Resources. Being moved to the Marxist-Leninist Teaching and Research Section of Harbin Institute of Physical Education. 

When I went to check in with the Personnel Department at the Institute of Physical Education, the Director looked at me from head to toe for a long time, and was not happy to see me at all. She said, “I heard that you're not physically fit for assignment to a sports college.” After confirming with the Provincial Department of Human Resources about my assignment, she was still agitated. She refused to provide me with housing, although all the staff had housing with the institute. I learned afterward that she had tried to give my position to a relative of hers. That explained why she did not like me. That was my first day of work.

(To be continued)