My Business Boomed During the Pandemic

(Minghui.org) I was born and raised in southern China. When I was young, I married and moved to northern China. Before that, I only knew that my husband’s family was very poor, as his parents divorced when he was just three years old. I felt sorry for him, and because he pursued me so devotedly, I married him. I thought that if we worked together, we would be able to overcome poverty.

Dafa Saved My Family

After we got married, I discovered that my father-in-law had a bad temper and my husband hadn’t been brought up properly. He drank and gambled and had other vices. During the Chinese New Year holiday, when I saw we had no money, I borrowed some from the neighbors to start a small business. My husband, however, took the money, went gambling, and lost it all. He also fooled around with other women. My husband later fell ill, and my father-in-law had a frozen shoulder. My husband’s illness went untreated due to lack of funds, and he continued to deteriorate by the day. Our fields were left uncultivated, and even food became a problem. Our child, not yet a year old, was frequently sick and we couldn’t afford to see a doctor. When the baby got sick and cried, the only thing I could do was to cradle him in my arms until he cried himself to sleep.

I didn’t know if this nightmare would ever end, and I often found myself crying alone. My family did not approve of my marriage, and I only told them about it after my son was born. Now, I didn’t dare tell my parents about my situation and lied to them, saying that I was doing well. I frequently argued with my husband and considered leaving him, but the villagers always persuaded me to stay. Eventually, I thought that, since he was ill and wouldn’t last much longer, I would wait for him to die and then leave.

Seeing that my husband was nearing the end of his life and could barely walk without my help, I suggested he try practicing qigong. His relatives recommended that he practice Falun Dafa, claiming it was very effective at curing illnesses and improving health. So my husband began practicing Dafa.

It wasn’t long before his illness disappeared. Previously, he could only eat a small amount of food at each meal, but now he could eat one or two bowls of rice. He had more energy and even started working again. His bad habits also disappeared. Villagers noticed the changes in my husband and said that Falun Dafa had saved our family. Many people decided to learn Falun Dafa as a result. Our home became a major practice site in the area. Later, there were three or four practice sites in our village, and it was magnificent.

I also started practicing Falun Dafa. Our child wasn’t sick anymore, and my father-in-law’s illness improved. Our family lived in harmony and we were happy.

We Turned Down Compensation

In 2008, my husband was riding a tricycle home when a large vehicle crashed into him. The tricycle overturned, and my husband was trapped underneath. I called for help to lift the tricycle off of him and saw that his toes had been crushed. One toe was still attached by a bit of skin. The driver took us to the city hospital, where the doctors said the toes couldn’t be reattached. The driver took us back home. My husband decided to recover at home and began doing the Falun Dafa exercises.

The driver initially offered us 50,000 yuan as compensation. My husband, adhering strictly to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, insisted on not accepting any money and said to the driver: “It’s not easy for you to earn money. Master Li teaches us to think of others. It was an accident, not intentional, and my injuries are not serious. I’ll be fine after doing the Dafa exercises at home. Falun Dafa is better than going to the hospital, so please don’t worry.”

However, the driver was concerned that we might later seek compensation or cause trouble, so he asked the village officials to draft an agreement stating that we would not claim any further compensation. After we signed it, the driver felt reassured and left. Those present were amazed by how great a person practicing Falun Dafa could be.

After doing the exercises at home for a few days, my husband’s toes healed. Even the toe that was partially attached by a bit of skin grew back. Despite not having injections or painkillers, the wound hardly bled, with only a bit of blood soaking the bandage. The whole foot didn’t swell, and my husband said the injured foot wasn’t very painful. He could still stand as normal to talk to people. If you didn’t see his toes, you wouldn’t even have known he was injured.

The driver was a teacher and shared this story with his students, who then told their parents. Thus, the story of Falun Dafa’s teachings of kindness and its miraculous effects began to spread in our area. A woman in her 80s, traveled from miles away to see for herself she she heard about it. When she saw that everything was true, she was so moved that she cried and held onto my hand, reluctant to let go.

Village Head Hits Himself

At a Party meeting, the village head called for people to report on Falun Dafa practitioners and named my husband. Someone who understood the truth about Dafa informed us of this and advised us to be cautious. We decided to go directly to the village head’s home to clarify the truth.

The village head appeared nervous to see us and asked gruffly what we were doing there. We explained the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution and told him not to do bad things to practitioners, as it would be harmful to him. He became enraged and tried to hit us. Seeing that there was no way to continue talking to him, I decided we ought to go. Just as we turned to leave, he swung his fist at my husband. I thought he would hit himself instead, and, sure enough, he struck his own left cheek with his right fist. Then he tried to kick my husband but missed and ended up falling on the ground. In frustration, he picked up a stone and threw it at my husband, but the stone missed, struck a tree, bounced back, and hit him. Muttering to himself, he said something about being struck by divine punishment. There was a loud thunderclap nearby before he had barely finished speaking. Terrified, he ran back into his house. We headed home.

Soon after, the village head’s wife, son, and daughter-in-law came after us. His son raised his fist to hit my husband but struck his own mother instead. I sent righteous thoughts, and they stopped their harassment.

After that, nothing went right for the village head. He fell ill frequently, and his son got cancer and spent a lot of money for treatment in Beijing. His daughter-in-law was attacked and later ran away to live with someone else, and his wife injured her foot. Sheep that belonged to several families were grazing together, but only his sheep died from eating pesticide. People started saying that his misfortune was retribution for persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners. After that, he no longer dared to persecute practitioners.

During the Pandemic, My Business Boomed

I was arrested in 2010 and taken to a forced labor camp. Our home was ransacked, and we suffered losses estimated at around 100,000 yuan. My husband was forced to become homeless. His father, who was over 80, and our 15-year-old were left on their own at home.

I was released six months later and went to the place my husband was renting. At that time, we couldn’t even afford to pay the rent on time. I started working to earn money to support the family, but after several years, we still didn’t have much left.

We opened a small restaurant in 2021. Knowing that we were opening a business during that time, some people advised us against it, saying that with the pandemic and frequent lockdowns, businesses that used to thrive were now struggling or even closing, and that opening a restaurant would only lead to losses. My husband lost confidence and wanted to give up. However, I firmly believed in what Master said—that practicing Falun Dafa brings blessings. So, I managed the restaurant myself. When I didn’t know how to do something, I asked Master for guidance and then I learned how to do it.

I was strict about following the standards of a Dafa cultivator, always thinking of others, and business improved steadily. Eventually, we outgrew our premises, so we moved to a larger one, and my husband returned to work.

Someone said, “Other restaurants are empty, but yours is always full of customers. There are even people waiting for a table.” I told them that we practiced Falun Dafa and clarified the truth to them. People were impressed by the goodness of Falun Dafa.

We even bought a three-bedroom apartment of our own. Seeing this, people praised Falun Dafa. Many said that, after eating at our restaurant, their hearts felt uplifted. They remarked on the excellence of the quality of the food, the environment, and the staff. I know that all of this is due entirely to Master. Without Master’s constant care and compassionate guidance, we wouldn’t have what we have today.