On September 16, 2017 , my family and other volunteers went to a remote and poor mountain village called Yayu Village in Lantian County to do a voluntary activity—offering reading books to the left-behind1 children in the countryside. Each volunteer donated one hundred Yuan for the activity, which was organized by Lafeng. Lafeng, a name of a volunteer group, whose main service is to offer reading books to the children in the remote rural areas.
It was pouring with rain that morning. Looking out of the window, I felt uncertain whether we could go there on account of the heavy rain. Then I telephoned the organizer Mr. liu in charge of the activity. I asked him whether the activity had to be canceled because of the bad weather. He gave me a definite answer， “Whether the weather is fine or not, we will go there , for the children are awaiting2 us. ” We got up quickly and hurried to Shaanxi Province Stadium, where we would take a bus to go there.
We set off for Yayu Village at the agreed time regardless of the bad weather. During the ride, some volunteers sang songs and played games in the front of the bus for the volunteers in order to have fun. My daughter sang an English song and told two jokes in front of the strange volunteers, which really surprised me and my wife, for we had never expected she dared to show in the presence of3 strangers. After a two-hour bus ride, we got to a narrow cement road leading up the mountain village, which was our destination. Because the cement4 road was too narrow for the bus to pass through, we had to walk about five kilometers up the winding5 and precipitous6 mountain road. We were walking up the mountain road when we found a volunteer’s car loaded with books trapped in the mud. We pushed together to make the car out of the mud, leaving our shoes covered in mud. It took us around an hour to get to Yaya Village, where the headmaster and some pupils were waiting for us in the driving7 rain.
What a touching scene! We were welcomed warmly at the gate of the village committee. Then the volunteers and the children helped to unload books from cars. It was very impressive that they passed books one by one to a large office belonging to the village committee with the rain pouring down while their parents were holding umbrellas for them. Of course, my daughter also joined in the activity cheerfully. In the office, some volunteers put the books in order and placed them on a large oval8 table. Among the books, I know, most of which were donated from society. Mr. liu held a lending-book ceremony9, where each child could borrow at least ten books. The left-behind children were really happy to borrow the books that they were interested in. Of course, they can renew the books in three months, when the mobile library will come back again and bring them other books. The moment they borrowed the books that they liked, they were absorbed in reading them. What an unforgettable scene! They had a thirst for new knowledge. Lost in their books, they didn’t care about what was happening in and out the office.
Then some volunteers were divided into four groups and each group visited a family. Meanwhile, other volunteers began to put up a pavilion10 in the yard to cook delicious mutton food for the children. My family was arranged to visit a girl’s family. Along a muddy path leading up a hill, we covered11 about 300 meters and reached her family. What impressed me most was that it was an adobe12 house. There were plenty of golden corn cobs13 hanging on the front adobe wall, each cob with full grains. The hanging corn cobs looked like yummy14 Tianjin Fried Dough Twists15 from afar16, which made our mouths water. The host gave us a warm welcome. We donated a bag of rice and a pot of refined17 rape oil18 to him. He accepted them cheerfully. During the conversation with the host, I was surprised to learn that he is disabled and his wife is insane19. His daughter, who was four years old, seemed a bit bashful20 among strangers. My daughter and other children volunteers talked and played with the shy little girl. They donated her some pencils and some toys, which made her very happy. Finally, we took a photo together and came back to the office of the village committee with the little girl and her father.
On the way back to the office, my daughter told me that she never thought the little girl could cherish the pencils so much. I told her there are still many people living in poverty21. Be kind to them and treasure what you have. On walking into the yard, we were glad to find the mutton food was ready. We asked the left-behind children and their grandmothers and grandfathers to eat first. They enjoyed the food very much, which made us very happy. Because it was raining hard, not all the children were present. As a result, there was some food left, so we volunteers ate the remaining food. Over lunch, I asked the headmaster how many students and teachers there are in Yayu Primary School. He told me there are sixteen students in different grades and three versatile22 teachers, who teach Chinese as well as math, even English and PE. I had never thought such things should have happened in the countryside. What he said put me in deep thought .What on earth are the problems?
Merry times are always short-lived23. While we were reluctant24 to leave, we had to say goodbye to them. Outside it was still raining cats and dogs25. Goodbye, dear children, I would miss you every day and come back soon. Exhausted26 as we were, it was really meaningful. It was of great benefit to my daughter’s growing up, for she also had an unforgettable day!
注：1. left-behind. adj. 留守的 2. await. v. 等待 3. in the presence of. 在…面前 4. cement. n. 水泥 5. winding. adj. 蜿蜒的 6. precipitous . adj.陡峭的 7. driving. adj.倾泻而下的
8. oval. adj. 椭圆的 9. ceremony. n.仪式 10. pavilion. n.大帐篷
11. cover. v.行走（一段路程） 12. adobe. adj.土坯的13. corn cobs 玉米棒 14. yummy. adj.好吃的 15. Tianjin Fried Dough Twists 天津大麻花 16. from afar 从远处 17. refined adj. 精炼的 18. rape oil. 菜籽油 19. insane. adj. 精神失常的 20. bashful. adj.害羞的
21. poverty. n. 贫困 22. versatile. adj.多才多艺的 23. short-lived. adj.短暂的 24. reluctant adj.不情愿的 25. be raining cats and dogs. 下倾盆大雨 26. exhausted. adj.疲惫不堪的
