The Unwavering Resolve of Huang Siling

On January 12, 2012, Huang Siling helped her father take medicine. All the photos in this article are taken by Xinhua News Agency intern Zheng Xu.

In 1999, in Miyun District, Fuzhou, Huang Jingliang, Huang Siling's father, was a construction worker. As the pillar of the family, he often stayed overnight at the construction site. Young Huang Siling looked forward to her father's return every day.

On one day in June, a visit from a construction worker broke the quiet of the home. Huang Siling and her mother were told that when her father was working on a four-meter-high scaffolding, he fell and was injured. By the time the doctors arrived, Huang Siling and her mother could only see the busy medical staff and the serious-faced workers. At that time, four-year-old Huang Siling first saw her father lying in bed. The diagnosis was a comminuted fracture leading to paraplegia, and from then on, Huang Jingliang's lower body was numb. Young Huang Siling still thought innocently, 'When will my father stand up again?' She hoped her father could hold her and 'lift her up high.'

For two years after her father's injury, her mother drowned herself in pesticide. That year, seven-year-old Huang Siling once again became terrified. She didn't know how to go about the future. Every night, she had to turn on a dim tungsten lamp to sleep.

After finishing the funeral for her mother, she began to take care of her father by herself.

It is very difficult for a seven-year-old child to move her father. Because of paraplegia, the side with the most weight was easily prone to sores, so every two hours, Huang Siling would help her father turn over.

If she needed to roll her father to the wheelchair, Huang Siling would first turn her father's body over, and then with all her strength, she would slowly move her father inch by inch to the wheelchair. 'It takes more than an hour to do this.'

Huang Siling also cooked for her father. She made bean sprouts for the first time. Before cooking, she had to wash the pots. The little girl didn't know how to operate, and she poured a lot of detergent into the pot, but the foam couldn't be washed away. In the end, Huang Siling had to pour the bean sprouts into the pot and cook them, and the bean sprouts were still covered with foam. She cried and asked her father, 'Can we eat this?'

'At that time, I was shouting at her from the side, teaching her how to operate, and she listened to my instructions and groped by herself.' Huang Jingliang said. Later, the whole family had to share the burden, and Huang Siling couldn't make a pot of dishes. She took the bean sprouts to the village to pick bean leaves that others didn't want, and then he lay on one side to teach her how to operate.

Huang Siling, who was in elementary school, needed to get up at 6 o'clock every morning to make breakfast, and after helping her father turn over, she would go to the village's small school. At noon, she would return home to help her father turn over and take medicine and complete the homework assigned by the teacher. In the evening, she was the most difficult time. When her father was in pain, he would wake her up, and she would accompany her with sleepy eyes to help her father turn over again.

Huang Siling helped her father brush teeth and rinse her mouth.

Huang Siling once temporarily left home because she couldn't bear her fate and complained about her destiny. Once, she decided to leave home and ran to Fuzhou to stay with her classmates for three days. Her father was very worried and couldn't find her. Huang Siling was very scared.

Although she played with her classmates in the city, she didn't feel happy, and she always worried about her father: 'Have you eaten lunch today?' 'Is someone helping him turn over?' 'Are the sores healing?' These questions echoed in Huang Siling's mind for three days. After three days, she appeared at her parents' doorstep with her luggage.

Since then, she never wanted to leave her father.

In 2019, Huang Siling pushed her father to pass by a construction site and accidentally pressed a water pipe. Workers turned around and looked at Huang Siling, and she was very scared and thought about what to say. Later, the worker slowly raised his hand and pointed at Huang Siling with his thumb up.

'At that moment, I felt that everything I had done was worthwhile.' It was from that time that Huang Siling never looked down on herself when pushing her father to walk around the village.

Huang Siling said, 'I am not a saint, and I have also complained about my destiny and tried to resist. But later I realized that taking care of my father is my own responsibility.'

With the help of good people, Huang Siling finished primary and middle school. After graduating from middle school, Huang Siling faced a difficult decision: to give up her studies or continue her studies.

After struggling for a long time, Huang Siling gave up her opportunity to continue her studies. 'It's hard to live in high school, how could I take my father to live in the school dormitory?' she resolutely dropped out of school and started to work.

Originally, Huang Siling wanted to work as a milk tea clerk, but because the working hours were not convenient to take care of her father, she gave up. Later, she sometimes worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and sometimes she worked as a laborer at a factory.

Her father was once Huang Siling's 'self-esteem'. She worried about what others thought of her, when she pushed her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

In 1999, Huang Siling pushed her father past a construction site and accidentally pressed a water pipe. The workers turned around and looked at Huang Siling, and she was very scared and thought about what to say. Later, the worker slowly raised his hand and pointed at Huang Siling with his thumb up.

'At that moment, I felt that everything I had done was worthwhile.' It was from that time that Huang Siling never looked down on herself when pushing her father to walk around the village.

Huang Siling said, 'I am not a saint, and I have also complained about my destiny and tried to resist. But later I realized that taking care of my father is my own responsibility.'

With the help of good people, Huang Siling finished primary and middle school. After graduating from middle school, Huang Siling faced a difficult decision: to give up her studies or continue her studies.

After struggling for a long time, Huang Siling gave up her opportunity to continue her studies. 'It's hard to live in high school, how could I take my father to live in the school dormitory?' she resolutely dropped out of school and started to work.

Originally, Huang Siling wanted to work as a milk tea clerk, but because the working hours were not convenient to take care of her father, she gave up. Later, she sometimes worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and sometimes she worked as a laborer at a factory.

Her father was once Huang Siling's 'self-esteem'. She worried about what others thought of her, when she pushed her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

In 1999, Huang Siling pushed her father past a construction site and accidentally pressed a water pipe. The workers turned around and looked at Huang Siling, and she was very scared and thought about what to say. Later, the worker slowly raised his hand and pointed at Huang Siling with his thumb up.

'At that moment, I felt that everything I had done was worthwhile.' It was from that time that Huang Siling never looked down on herself when pushing her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

Huang Siling said, 'I am not a saint, and I have also complained about my destiny and tried to resist. But later I realized that taking care of my father is my own responsibility.'

With the help of TREMENDOUS good people, Huang Siling finished primary and middle school. After graduating from middle school, Huang Siling faced a difficult decision: to give up her studies or continue her studies.

After struggling for a long time, Huang Siling gave up her opportunity to continue her studies. 'It's hard to live in high school, how could I take my father to live in the school dormitory?' she resolutely dropped out of school and started to work.

Originally, Huang Siling wanted to work as a milk tea clerk, but because the working hours were not convenient to take care of her father, she gave up. Later, she sometimes worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and sometimes she worked as a laborer at a factory.

Her father was once Huang Siling's 'self-esteem'. She worried about what others thought of her, when she pushed her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

In 1999, Huang Siling pushed her father past a construction site and accidentally pressed a water pipe. The workers turned around and looked at Huang Siling, and she was very scared and thought about what to say. Later, the worker slowly raised his hand and pointed at Huang Siling with his thumb up.

'At that moment, I felt that everything I had done was worthwhile.' It was from that time that Huang Siling never looked down on herself when pushing her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

Huang Siling said, 'I am not a saint, and I have also complained about my destiny and tried to resist. But later I realized that taking care of my father is my own responsibility.'

With the help of TREMENDOUS good people, Huang Siling finished primary and middle school. After graduating from middle school, Huang Siling faced a difficult decision: to give up her studies or continue her studies.

After struggling for a long time, Huang Siling gave up her opportunity to continue her studies. 'It's hard to live in high school, how could I take my father to live in the school dormitory?' she resolutely dropped out of school and started to work.

Originally, Huang Siling wanted to work as a milk tea clerk, but because the working hours were not convenient to take care of her father, she gave up. Later, she sometimes worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and sometimes she worked as a laborer at a factory.

Her father was once Huang Siling's 'self-esteem'. She worried about what others thought of her, when she pushed her father to walk on the village road, when she saw her classmates, Huang Siling would quickly walk past.

In 1999, Huang Siling pushed her father past a construction site and accidentally pressed a water pipe. The workers turned around and looked at Huang Siling, and she was very scared and thought about what to say. Later, the worker slowly raised his hand and pointed at Huang Siling with his thumb up.