Rebuilding Shattered Families.docVIP

Rebuilding Shattered Families 　　WHIEN we first met in Gangou Village ofGaochuan Township,Lin Xingcong hadjust returned from his hillside farmingplot.Seeing he had worked up a sweatand was still in his dusty elothes,his wife Li Yunxianghurried to fetch a basin of water and scolded him:You are not going to meet the reporters like this.Wash your hands and face and change your clothes. 　　Lin Xingeong and Li Yunxiang both lost theirspouses in the earthquake on May 12,2008.Nowthey have built a new family together and are takingcare of three children and five seniors,including Linsformer parents-in-law,Lis parents and Lis formermother-in-law. 　　After the quake toppled their hometown,Lin ear-ried his dead wife down the mountain,becomingdrenched in her blood.The disaster also snatchedLis husband from her,but she never found his bodydespite going to the site numerous times. 　　They struggled helplessly andalone with their grief,until monthslater when Lin helped Li withsmall housekeeping matter. 　　That day,Lin Xingeong was incharge of distributing bottled LPGgas.Since Li Yunxiang was notpresent to pick hers up,Lin carriedthe cyclinder to her home as an actof neighborliness.Some neighborsjoked: Lin,you must have a crushon Li Yunxiang.You two wouldmake a perfect match. Thesewords brought the two lonely hearts together. 　　The more contact they had,the closer their relationsgrew.I knew little of her before,but I often heard peoplespeak well of her when we lived in the same village. Linsaid.She takes good care of her husband and mother-in-law.I see my first wife in her. 　　In September 2008,Lin proposed to Li.But he worriedabout the ten-year age difference and the financial un-certainties that nagged at him.What I appreciate is yourpersonality, Li reassured him shyly,We can work hardtogether for a better life. 　　On the Spring Festivals Eve in 2oo9,Lin and Li fled theknot.They agreed to place photos of their former spouseson the bedside to commemorate their first loves.