Food is the key to opening the hearts of many people. Unfortunately, there is so much poverty in this world that many are living a life where food is scarce. Malnutrition wreaks havoc in most societies, and many children don’t know when their next meal will be. One little girl made a deal with a noodle restaurant owner. A deal that most likely kept her and her grandfather alive for five years. Later, she repaid the kindness with a gesture that usually happens between a father and child.
She took up some farm work
Fang Chen’s parents had worked in the rice paddies for many years before she was born. One day, Fang was waiting for her parents to fetch her from school, but they never arrived. They had died in a tragic accident on their way home, and Fang was now an orphan. Her grandfather was an old man, but he loved Fang dearly. He tried his best over the years to provide for her, but he struggled to find work due to his age. When Fang was about 8 years old, she had to start working on a farm nearby to help her grandfather. This was a slight relief to his stress, but her grandfather hated seeing her miss out on enjoying her childhood.
Fang barely earned enough to help with the costs that school involved. Her grandfather was a proud man, and he refused to accept any charity from the school. He insisted on paying her way as if they earned full salaries. He had always taught Fang that she must never accept anything from anyone unless she could offer something of the same value in exchange. To him, charity was considered an insult. This means that the small amount that he received from his pension went straight to school books, pencils, and keeping Fang’s uniform neat and tidy.
Fang would then go to work in the afternoons to help wherever she was needed on a farm close to her school. She would get money each evening to take home to buy their dinner. Every night, they ate the same thing because it was all they could afford. A bowl of white porridge. Sometimes they had enough to save for breakfast, but most days she went without.
The man who owned a noodle restaurant
Yichen Liú was a man with a kind heart. His wife had died soon after they had married, but he never remarried because he could not see himself with any other woman. Unfortunately, they did not have any children, so Yichen lived a lonely life with no one to care for. What’s worse, is that he had no one to care for him when he got too old to do that for himself. Yichen owned a noodle restaurant, and even though his restaurant was quite popular, he only just made ends meet.
One day, Yichen noticed a scruffy-looking girl standing by the wok he cooked the noodles in. Her eyes were the definition of hunger. He felt sad for her and tried to make eye contact. When she realized he was watching she quickly bowed her head and scurried away. The next day, he saw the same girl watching him cook the noodles, but this time she was standing across the street. He tried to wave at her, but he wasn’t sure if she noticed because she didn’t budge. Yichen wanted to help her in some way. And, she looked like she could use a meal. He scooped up some noodles into a bowl, then he walked over to where she was standing and tried to offer it to him.
Fang looked up at Yichen. The smell of the noodles in the bowl made her mouth water. Her grandfather’s proud voice was ringing in her head. She told Yichen that she could not accept the food for free. He insisted but gave up when he realized she would not accept his offer. He thought for a moment, studying the girl’s face, and her tattered clothing. Eventually, he came up with a deal that Fang simply could not refuse.
He fed her noodles for 5 years
Yichen told Fang that if she came and taught him one word that she learned at school every day, he would give her noodles in exchange. Fang could not believe her luck. What a brilliant man for thinking of sch a great idea! Fang asked him if he would be interested in learning two words every day so that she could take two bowls of noodles. Yichen agreed, knowing that the second bowl was intended for her grandfather.
This exchange carried on for about five years. Yichen grew to love Fang like she were his own daughter. He looked forward to her visits every day and always checked in on her if she did not come for her noodles. One day, Fang did not come to the noodle restaurant. Yichen was so busy that he forgot to check in if they were okay. The next day she did not arrive either, and Yichen grew worried. After some digging around, he found out that Fang had a distant relative in the city who had taken both her and her grandfather in. He was happy that Fang would get better opportunities in the city, but sad because he would miss her visits.
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25 years later…
25 years later, Yichen was now n old man. He was unable to work in his noodle restaurant anymore, but he hired a younger man to do the cooking. At this point, he should have been very concerned about his income, which mostly went to his new noodle chef. But then, a miracle happened. He started getting monthly payments into his bank account from an anonymous sender. At first, Yichen thought it was a mistake, but the payments kept coming. He was getting 50 000 yuan, which is equivalent to $8000 each month. This was more than enough to live a comfortable life, and made a few of his neighbors envious of his fortune.
Yichen’s close friends often asked him why he insists on walking to the noodle restaurant every day when he had someone working for him. He could not answer, because they would never understand. He was waiting for that little girl he fed for five years. Yichen thought that if he was not there, she would not know it was still his restaurant, and he so desperately wanted to see her happy face again.
Yichen got his wish
One day, Yichen got his wish. He was sitting at the noodle bar. It had the best view of the street in the whole restaurant. He liked to sit there in case he missed Fang’s sweet face. As he was about to dig into a bowl of warm noodles, he saw a woman across the street. She was beaming at him and waving ecstatically. She ran into the restaurant, and Yichen was at a loss for words. This woman was Fang! She had returned at long last. Fang handed him an envelope and inside was a check for 50 000 yuan. So, it turned out that Fang was the anonymous sender.
Fang had decided to finally reveal herself as the person sending the payments each month. Yichen burst into tears of joy and gratitude. Fang had repaid him for the kindness in a way only children bless their fathers. Fang put her hand on his shoulder and told him that she thinks of him as her father.
In the end, Yichen moved in with Fang, and she cared for him as if she were his flesh and blood. She loved the old man as she would her own father and he lived the rest of his days in pure happiness.
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“This fictional story was inspired by stories from around the web. Any similarities between this story and actual people are purely coincidental”
