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Lai Di's Good Luck                                                                       ( Fiction  Part 1)                                                              Second Stroy About Emigrants                                                                             By Lisa Lee                                            Contents

According to their different conditions, the new Chinese emigrants had different experiences. I want to tell you about Lai Di’s story.

In 1952, Lai Di was born in a farmer’s family in China. The little baby girl had a red birthmark on her right cheek, which made her look peculiar. Some folds said the birthmark was a symbol of bad luck. But Lai Di’s father believed that this special Birthmark would bring good luck to his daughter, so he gave her the name Lai Di, Meaning she would lead to a son for him afterward. Fortunately, after four years Lai Di’s Mother gave birth to a boy. Lai Di’s parents were very happy and did their best to raise their children.

Little Lai Di was a well-behaved girl. She helped her parents take care of her baby brother when she was only five. One day, she unhappily asked her father, “ Why do my playmates call me ‘ Zhong Wu Yan’?” Her father touched her cheek gently and said, “ My dear child, don’t worry about such nonsense. Zhong Wu Yan was an ancient woman who had a birthmark on her face, but she was very kind, helpful, and strong. She was humiliated by some tricky people, but finally she became the queen of a powerful king. Believe it : virtue is fairer than beauty.” Although Lai Di did not understand completely, she loved the story and the unknown woman., Zhong Wu Yan. She did not feel inferior because she thought that she would be as lucky as Zhong Wu Yan.

Year by year, Lai Di grew up as a strong girl. She was diligent and dutiful. After school, she helped her parents work in the field or took care of the housework. She was willing to help the lonely old people, as well. In the village, folks loved her.

When Lai Di was twenty-three, she met a young bricklayer, Kang, an orphan working for a construction company near Lai Di’s hometown. One year later, they got married and had a simple but joyful wedding ceremony. Lai Di was satisfied with her peaceful and thrifty life. She planned to have a baby later. In an accident, Kang fell down from the top of a broken scaffold. Lai Di lost her husband. She was broken-hearted; her beautiful dream was broken too. It was the first time that Lai Di was in doubt if she really had good luck. However, she promised Kang to live bravely. She moved back to her parents’ house, facing some terrible gossip. To keep herself from grieving, she worked like a horse.

It was a delightful spring day. Lai Di went to town to buy some necessities. When she stepped in the store, she saw a pickpocket stealing a grey-haired man’s wallet. Hurriedly, She called out, “ Hey, Uncle, long time no see!” The pickpocket ran away immediately. The man turned around, astonished, and saw a strange young woman in front of him. He asked, “You…?”

Lai Di smiled. “ Sorry for my rashness. Do you know the boy who was just standing near you?” The man said, “ Oh no.” He woke up to reality and put his hand in his pocket. “ Thank you for your help. I might have lost my money and passport.”

Lai Di asked, “ Do you come from another country? Is that why I never saw you before in this town?”

They introduced themselves to each other. It seemed natural that they talked as harmoniously as old friends. While they were walking back to Lai Di’s village, Wing told her frankly that he came back to China from New York for two purposes. The first was to attend a cooking-training class to improve his cooking skill. He had finished this training already. The second was to marry again, because his wife had died in a car accident one year earlier. Wing had a twelve-year-old son to care for, but needed to work in a restaurant until midnight. Lai Di deeply sympathized with Wing’s difficult situation.

After that, Lai Di and Wing became good friends. Wing liked Lai Di’s openness, virtue, and a manner that was neither overbearing nor servile. He thought she was the woman he wanted to marry. But he worried about the age discrepancy, because he was twenty years older than her. Anyway, Wing tried boldly, even though he thought his proposal might fail.

As regards, Wing’s proposal, Lai Di discussed it seriously with her parents. She thought that the heavy labor and restless life made him look older than his age, but he was a decent and honest man. He faced difficulties with a positive attitude. They both liked to work hard. The only problem was how to be a good stepmother. Lai Di’s parents assured her that she could handle it. They would miss her very much if she moved to New York, but they encouraged her to do so. One month later, the couple flew back to New York. Wing was very proud of himself because he had a new wife. Lai Di wondered curiously what would happen in her new life in this strange country.

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