Category Archives: Kindness Shown

May 2, 2026 · 1:59 am

The Kindness Shown to Me by the Patient I was Taking Care of

The everlasting effect of kindness, that kind word of encouragement that touched your life, even as you’d become, an expert at what you, do…translated…

Back in nursing school, I’d interned at the surgical ward.  The patient I was taking care of back then was the elderly woman, Chang in her, seventies, her primary companion caretaker was her daughter-in-law, they were both very kind and, personable, they’d treated me to fruits and snacks from time to time.

On the day Grandma Chang was discharged from the hospital, my older female schoolmate told me to change her into a new set of clothes.  From before this, I’d only changed the clothes on the practice mannequins in the classroom, with no real-life experiences.  And, when I got on the “frontlines”, I can only describe it as too horrible—not only did I fly into panic mode, I’d not done what needed to be done in order, and, I’d tangled up her drip and her clothes, the front was at the back, the back, onto the, front.

In the process, Grandma Chang frowned a lot as I’d pulled the tubes on her, but still encouraged me, “don’t be nervous, just do it slowly.”, as Grandma Chang’s daughter-in-law saw how panicked I was, she’d helped me out.  The two of us, with four arms, four hands, helped Grandma Chang change, and this elderly woman, she’d smiled at me, and said, “I’ll tell you want, you just practice a few more extra times, then you’ll know how to do it, nobody can do it on the first, try!”, her daughter-in-law tried making me feel better, “that’s right, it’s not that big a deal, no need to keep apologizing to us.”, then, she’d told me, “we see that you are working very hard to perform the tasks, I will tell your professor, and your older schoolmate, just how hardworking you, young lady are, you took good care of my mom.”, I almost cried as I’d heard her, my job is taking care of others, and yet, I’d become, the one, cared, for instead.

They’d used their kindness, and caught the me who was in a fluster, in a panic, who was blaming myself for not doing the job well enough, they’d helped me to not get drowned out by my own negative feelings of not performing the tasks good enough.  That was over twenty years ago, but every time I’d thought of them, there would always be that surge of warmth I feel.

This is, the extent to how long a life can be touched, by the gentle kindness, the simple words of, encouragement that someone had said.  The effects of the kindness you showed to someone is everlasting, and the person who’d been shown kindness, will always, keep the kindness you’d shown her/him, in mind, and hopefully, pass it, forward.

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April 11, 2026 · 3:10 am

When I Became the One, Being, Taken Care, of

This is when you feel, that your hard work is, acknowledged, by this patient’s wife, and it will give you extra strengths to bring your best game to work every single day…translated…

I’d worked the busier, dayshifts, drawing blood from my patients’ arms, this was no more than, the treatment means I’m used to, doing.  Once when I was getting ready to draw the blood from an elderly man who wasn’t well, his wife by his side asked, “would it be easier if he sat up?”

I’d subconsciously thought that she was trying to help him feel more, comfortable, I’d asked him to get up from the bed, and responded, “no, he’s fine lying down.”  As I was done drawing the elderly’s blood, I was about to rush to my next patient.

“No, I mean you, would you like this chair to sit in, you guys keep on bending over, you will get injured if you keep this posture too long.” The elderly man’s wife explained.

Working in the ward too long, the demands of the families are always to be more tentative to one’s own ill family members, and this was the very first time, someone showed concerns for, me.  I was stunned, and stopped what I was, doing, and I’d wanted this very moment to, last a bit, longer—working in the ward, it’s only natural, that we comply to the requests made to us by the patients, under the stress of racing with time, naturally we’d put ourselves, last, to get what needed to be done, in the shortest time, possible, that is, the wish of all, nurses.

“That’s fine, I will kneel, I won’t hurt my, back”, as I returned back to the moment, I’d smiled and responded to the man’s, wifel

“It always made my heart wrenched, seeing you guys work like this.”, she’d told.

Who is patching the world up then, it is, this woman who is, before me, looking at me, with her mind of care and concerns for, me.

At that very moment, it’d felt like, I was, her, child.

This is, the gentle care and concern, shown to you, by a random patient, because she appreciated your hard work, as a nurse, and it’d, made you feel warmed, that you’re working so hard, and someone appreciates you.

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April 9, 2026 · 2:37 am

Her Show of Care & Concern for Her Offspring Through the Repeated Reminders to Them

Spending time with our elders when they’re still here, because we don’t have that much time with them left…translated…

To avoid the traffic going home on the long holiday weekend, we’d gone back to Dongshih, Chiayi to visit my wife’s grandmother.  My grandmother is already gone, at my age, having an elder whom I can visit, it’s a blessing for us, and I’d, cherished it too.

The winter in January, the sun isn’t hot enough, the wind is, thorough in blowing across the field.  The air by the fields, had that scent of baked soils to it.

I’d pulled the car into the yard of the mansion, grandma came out, using her cane, from inside her, home.  With the granny smith colored top, a dark red pair of, trousers, with a pair of black sneakers on her, feet, her hair permed to curl, with the years’ tracks, crawling all over her face that’s dark in complexion from the, sun, she’s still very, spirited though.  As she saw us, first thing she’d stated was, “have you guys eaten yet?  Shall we go to the restaurant?  Or the beansprout noodle soup close by?  My treat!”

She was so welcoming, so active too, like she had planned a ton of things to say to us.  Not long thereafter, the nagging started.

“Ying, do treat your husband kindly.  He’s working hard out of the home, you must learn to clean the house, and learn to cook too, take good care of your children.”  As my wife heard, she’d nodded in response, replied back to her grandma in Taiwanese, “okay, okay, I did, I’d done that already………” with her tones light, but that look of embarrassment, awkwardness swept over her.  She’d not explained it to me, nor did she, rebut her grandmother’s words to her, only I, as I’d listened to them, I felt, moved.

visiting her grandmother who raised her…photo from online

These years, there are rarely any, who would, stand on “dad’s” angle to say a few understanding words.  The modern day husbands are expected to make the money, to take care of the home, with high EQ, better if we get up early to make the breakfasts, take care of the kids on the weekends……………all of these are now, the minimum, standards.  While grandma’s words, spanned across a generation, and patted me lightly on the, shoulders.

Grandma used her own way to understand this, world.  Later, we’d gone to the local famous bean sprout noodle shop, the shop was completely crowded.  We found a table, and sat down.  As we were sitting there, grandma stared looking around, and in a moment’s time, she’d told us, “next time, find the seats toward the front of the store, we’d get served quicker.” I smiled at her, and replied, “grandma, the foods come out as the ticket had been sent in.”, she’d not said another word, but I knew, she’s not rushing for herself, but felt bad for us, because we had to, wait, longer.

After we had our meal, we’d stayed in the old mansion for the entire afternoon.  Before we left, she’d reiterated what she’d told my wife from before, this time, more, complete.  As my wife was listening, she’d started, crying then.  Grandma too, got red in the eyes, she’d turned to me and said, “You take good care of Ying as well.”

My daughter asked my wife, “what’s wrong, mom?”, my wife, wiping her tears, said, “I’m leaving my grandma who took care of me as a kid………”

Grandma’s nagging was from her thoughtfulness, her missing us.  Reminding us of the same things three times, she was afraid, that her voice won’t last until the next time we see her, again.

So, that’s why she’d spoken the words, repeatedly, to us.

So, this is on how those whom we loved, who took care of us, who raised us, are growing older, as we are, growing older too, and we don’t have that much time with our parents and grandparents, because they’re all, growing old, sometimes, too fast, and if we don’t take the time to spend with them when we can, we will, end up with the regrets when they’re, gone…

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April 5, 2026 · 2:43 am

Kindness Shown to Me by a Stranger at a Bus Stop

Kindness from a stranger whom you’d chatted with while waiting for the bus to come…translated…

The teleprompter on the bus stop showed there’s still over twenty minutes until the bus arrives, the woman sitting on the stool by the side of the road, plucking the green bean sprouts, looked like she’s planning to make a dish of stir-fried bean sprouts for later.

I also took out my yams leaves too, sat down beside her, and started, plucking away.  The woman turned toward me, started a conversation, we’d continued to work with our hands, and we’d, changed, several stories, it’d felt like bumping into a former neighbor who’d moved out of the neighborhoods.  She’d told, that her husband eats the bean sprouts, but he’d only had them without the roots and the beans on top, and that the cost of pork won’t go down anymore, that they should consume, less.  I’d leaked out my story, that I live in the mountains, and needed three transfers on the buses to get to market, that at the terminal station, I would have to switch another bus, that if I sort through the yam leaves right now, I can just wash them, then, cook them after I got home.

The crowd gathered at the stop, someone from behind us reminded, “the bus will be here in two minutes.”, I’d lifted my head, that was, my ride, the woman told me, “so many are riding route 202 today.”, we’d collected the vegetables we’d sorted through, got up, and moved toward our own, separate, ends, and it’d felt like we were, going, separate ways, and that feel of connection we’d shared a split second ago, was, gone.

Those catching the 202, they all looked like they were ready for battle.  It seems, that, at this time, the elderly population will have no, priorities of getting onboard first.

Since I had a slipped disc, I’d watched my postures when I carry the heavy bags, and if I wasn’t careful enough, my back would feel sore for a very long, time.  So it became even more important, that I select where I stand, in relation to the bus, if I had a good position, then, the door would open right in front of me, and I would be able to, leisurely, carry my shopping basket onto the bus, if I’d not estimated correctly, and I’d wanted a seat, I can only, carry my shopping bags in one hand, rush toward the door, squeeze my way in, to get onto the bus quickly.

When the bus rolled in, I’d silently chanted, “pick me, pick me”, hoped that positive thinking can do the trick.  Then, the door did not open in front of me, and I can only, accept it.

I’d felt, disappointed as I’d scanned my bus pass, and as I was contemplating, where shall I stand, the woman’s voice came into my ears, “hey, aunty, here, come and take my seat.”  I was overjoyed on the inside, but kept my cool on the out, “it’s okay, you sit.”  The woman, “Come over, I’m off as soon as the bus pass the bridge.”, and, I’d, sat down, like I’d, received a huge, present, and I can’t help but, laugh at my own thoughts, as I’d, left my seat at the, bus stop.

And so, this is, the kindness of that, random stranger, and your chatting with the woman when you two were waiting for the buses probably upped your chances (or it may not have, who knows???) of having the seat given to you by the woman, but this still showed, how important it is, for us, to establish that interpersonal connection with those around us, because we never know, when someone will give us assistance that we may need.

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March 28, 2026 · 3:32 am

With an Extra, Axillary Device

How the attendant at the MRT station, helped the visually impaired get around, just doing his job, but he’d, made the individual receiving the assistance feel comfortable…translated…

At the Moment, We Both Burst into, Laughter, and This Phrase Became, the Secret Passcode that’s Shared by Us Two……

That rushed “beep~~beep~~”, before the warning sound faded, I’d felt a tap on my shoulders in the moving crowds.

I’d visited the train stations, the subway stations all over the, world: the subway of Tokyo, had that precision of timing, the subway in New York, with the culture, the subway in Singapore, quite modern, in Moscow, the grandiose of an, underground, palace.  And yet, as I’d trekked all around the, world, don’t know if you feel the same as I, that the MRT stations of Taipei had been the, best.  Other than the advantages I’d described already, what the MRT in Taipei is most proud of, are those, cute, station attendants.

Other than the day-to-day security checks, these security personnel help guided the visually impaired persons.  They have a very highly efficient S.O.P., they’d set up this, delicate network in all the stations.  When the visually impaired passengers needed to ride, the numbered platforms, the six-cart trains, the four doors of the trains, became this, precision of coordinates.  The station attendants would, use their radio communicator, “Train 344, heading to Taipower Building Station”.  As the train arrives, the fellow employee would already be waiting there by the doorway of the platform.  In the crowd, that white cane became, an identifier, and they’d begun the relay, steadily, safely, helped the visually impaired person get to the, exit, completing one mission after the next and the, next.

In recent years, due to my courses, I’d started on the set routes of, travel, and, connected with three of the station attendants as acquaintances, one is tall and articulate, the other, gentlemanly, and the other, got my attention with his easygoing laughter, and his, humble attitude, he is Chen, and he would, place the holsters on his arms, before he began guiding the, visually impaired, commuters.

like this, photo from online

One day in the station, due to the interferences, it’s really hard to get reception, and finally as the call had been detailed, the individual asked if it is a man or a woman who needed the assist.  And yet, the calls came back and forth, nothing was heard clearly, as the train came in, in the whistles and the air currents, Chen was getting flustered, and blurted out, “he has an extra part!” at that moment, we both, burst into, laughter, and these words, became our, secret code to use with one another.

Chen has that natural agility about him, sometimes, there were, five, six of us who needed to be guided, he’d become, that confident conductor, fluidly, gotten the group into different doors.  As I walked, I’m used to grabbing onto that arm with the holsters, and those in my group would then, latch onto one another’s, backpacks, like the trains would, connect, and because of this, he’d, pretended to get jealous, mumbled, “man, how come those pretty ladies don’t take my, arms, and they all liked taking yours?”, with that cunning feeling in his, tone.

Actually, he insisted one wearing the axillary device, which was the best design in the whole, system: it not only helped with keeping that safe walking distance, it also safeguarded our individual, privacies, to allow us to avoid direct contact with each other, to take away the awkwardness.

All of these touches, sounds, made me realized, that real civilization isn’t in the advancements in these axillary devices, but when the beeping sounded, there’s that set of hands, willing to stop for you.  Even though, we can’t, make eye contact with each other, or gesture thank you, but the words, “with the axillary devices”, this chemistry, was bright enough, to guide my paths up front.  In this, noisy, busy, underground metro, they’d opened that bright window to those who are in need.

And so, the station attendant is only, doing his job, but, the courtesy, respect he’d shown to those in need of his assistance, made those who are assisted by him feel that they’re, respected, and that is, the most important thing working in the service industries, you’re there, to serve others, to offer them the help they need, and that was what this station attention did.

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March 24, 2026 · 2:45 am

As My Daughter’s Affection Toward the Boy She Liked Was, Unreciprocated by Him

How this mother offered the emotional support her young daughter needed when the child’s show of affection toward a fellow classmate was, rejected…translated…

My husband told, that after my daughter was out of her toddler class, she’d gone outside of class, picked up a flower, handed it to a classmate, but the classmate threw it onto the ground and, stepped on it.  She fell dumbfounded, then, left in, silence, I’d felt that feeling of sorrows inside for my child.

My daughter had always been quite popular, that’s why she trusted the world to be kind, and loved the world.  She could pick up the twigs, and chanted, “Karabre Island” to perform magic; she’d stopped and smelled the flowers too, and exclaimed, “wow, you’re such a pretty flower!”, and would gaze up to the moon high in the skies and said, “I’d bumped into the moon by accident, it’s in the, sky!”

Because she felt love for the world, as she and my husband went to take out the trash, at the entryway of my home, she’d called to me, then, extending her arms, then, handed me the fallen leaves or the fallen flowers as gifts to, me, her romantic thought, her childish innocence, always warmed me up.

But, even as I’d graciously accepted her flowers, after she’d turned around, I’d taken the photos of her “gift”, then, I’d, thrown out the flowers and the leaves without her, knowing.  In the coming of age of our young, there are, the works of art that they leave for us, and I’d come to understand, that I won’t be able to, keep every one of these.

It’s just, that this sort of discarding, it’d, trampled that heart of, giving, and so, despite how it may be trying, we should still, hide the thought.  When I was younger, a fellow female classmate’s birthday was coming up tomorrow, and I’d gone especially to the bookstores to pick something out for her, and, I’d found what I’d gifted to her in the trash accidentally, but I wasn’t, driven to question her by my confusion and my own, sorrows, but this confusion, this sorrow, accompanied me a long, long, time.

Even as these materials would intentionally get discarded, or because we had to leave them behind, what we should cherish is that the love behind these small things will, keep on going.  On  the eve of my marriage, I’d returned to my hometown, and gone on a trip with my parents, as we traveled to the sights, they’d stood in front of the distant mountains, turned around, and sang for me, “I Hope You’ll be, Happy!” I was too surprised, and heard them sing the song for me from start to finish, felt that it was mysterious, why they’d, done it.  And now, many years had, passed, I’d found, when life tried me hard, that song would be heard from inside of my, heart: I’ll give you that gift of love, no matter where you are, or the time, don’t you forget about my wishes for you…………

“I’m angry at you, you can’t step on my flowers!”, my dear daughter stopped running away, and she’d blurted what she’d felt at the moment, and with her childish naiveness, started, getting to know what her own emotions, entailed.

“You loved the flowers, don’t you?  That’s why you’d, picked them and given them to me.”

She’d nodded.

“You are so amazing.  Mommy will protect you, will you still feel sad?”

She placed her head against my shoulders, and I’d, wrapped my arms around this, dear little, child of mine, and we both received that gift of love.  And I’m more than certain, that this gift of love will, raise her spirits up and be a light to her when she, needs.

And so, this is how this mom helped her own young child deal with a rejection, and, this is just how straightforward kids are to each other, because they hadn’t gotten TAINTED by the adult world yet, they’re straightforward about what they like and what they don’t, and they would tell the adults, and each other straight up, and sometimes, this bluntness can, hurt the tender young minds, but this is a lesson that children needs to learn on their own, and all we can do, as their adult counterparts, is to make sure we are there for them when they need us, to offer them the love they need.

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March 18, 2026 · 1:41 am

Can You Let Me Latch onto Your Elbows?

From a visually-impaired person’s world, being helped, and offering help to those with a worse sight than he has…translated…

Being visually impaired, when I’m out and about, I’d normally needed assistance from strangers to help guide my, way.

Once I was taking the trains, the door opened up, as I was about to use my white cane, to test the distance between the platforms and trains, I got pulled back suddenly.  It was a helpful station attendant, wanted to help lead me straightaway onto the platform.  But he’d failed to realize, that my guiding cane wasn’t just used to help me find the way, but it’s also, an extension of the senses of my, body, moving it without caution, it can cause me to start to panic, and become, disoriented, which would be even more dangerous for me.

There was one other time, I was trapped by the red dragon of the winding way that led to the counter of a super convenience store.  As a woman saw, she’d approached to help me out, she got behind me, and, grabbed my shoulders with both her hands, like she was operating the handlebars of a scooter, attempted to steer me to the right directions to help me get to the checkout.  But unfortunately, we weren’t synchronized enough, we both got stuck.  And ultimately, she’d spoken: “this is harder than I thought…”, then she’d, turned and left, leaving me where I, was.

like this, offering help to someone in need…photo from online

Surely, there were those, better moments.  Once, I went to a friend’s house, she’d come to the alley to get me, and, soon as she saw me, she’d offered me her hand, like the prince asking a princess to dance.  I’d placed my hand on her shoulder then, and we’d, taken that short stroll for a bit, until I finally couldn’t control myself and began laughing, and told her, she didn’t need to perform this grand a gesture, in guiding a visually impaired, person, she’d only needed to drop her arms, and allow me to wrap my arms around her elbows, then I will be able to, follow her.

As my friend heard, she’d felt stunned for a short bit, then, smacked my back, told me, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner, you want me to lead you on like this, are you shitting me?”

And more of the times, I’d met the “professional-grade” strangers.  They’d lightly asked me if I needed help, then, they’d naturally lifted their elbows, or signaled that I could used their shoulders or backpacks to move around.  And, every time I’d, latched onto these kind people, my brain automatically switched to autopilot mode, I’d let go of my worries, and put my trust completely in the individual guiding me, until I got to where I was supposed to go, then, the GPS signal would then get, turned, back on again.

It’s just, because I got led so many times, that does NOT mean that I would make a good guide myself.

Last year I’d gone out with a group of visually impaired friends, and because I have the best sight in the group, I’d, shouldered the responsibility of guiding a completely visually impaired friend.  All the way, my senses were turned completely on, I’d kept reminded him, “there’s a ramp here”, “get ready to go down the steps”.  And, despite how I was completely, focused, because I wasn’t familiar with the way, we’d still kept, bumping into the obstructions on the road, and finally, we were, caught up with others.  As I felt so ashamed and apologized to my friend, the completely visually-impaired friend, he made fun of me, “this proves, that Shih-Wei’s sight really, isn’t all that, good.”

Then, in the group’s laughter, I’d scratched my head, awkwardly, thought: all who’d helped guide my way from before, they were not just kind, but also, quite, brave.

And so, this experience taught you how difficult it is, for someone to guide you, as you were on the receiving end of the unknown strangers’ assistance, and, because of all those kind people who saw your need, and offered you a hand, it’d made you feel even more, blessed.

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March 15, 2026 · 4:34 am

Lin: My Father Taught Me, Give Those Hit by the Hard Times of Life a Helping Hand

Someone who’s making a HUGE difference in the world right now, this IS what we’re in dire need of in the world, more “cases” like hers…off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

“When I was on the escape from the law, I’d lived as a homeless person, and had to crouch down at the offering tables of the Land Guardian Temples to sleep at night.”, Lee at age sixty-six, experienced through the highs and lows of her life, or maybe, it’s this character of “female head of the house” that’s made her more accepting to the reformed inmates released from prison, and she took the released inmates who had been reformed to return back to the society step by step.

When Lin was thirty years old, she’d already owned more than a dozen properties in Taichung, she’d run a travel agency, a hardware wholesales that sold to the larger wholesale stores too, she also invested in the orchids.

In 2000, Taiwan was in a feeding frenzy over the orchids, the rare species’ prices skyrocketed, Dahmora orchid rose up to tens of millions of dollars, Lin put in a lot of funding, and purchased a whole lot, but, in a turn of an eye, the orchids lost favorite, causing the tens of thousands of dollars of the original worth to only a couple thousands dollars, to stop herself from losing all funds, she had to, sell off all her flowers to get what she can back.

The Prices of Orchids Collapsed, She Went on the Run & Became Homeless

Lin recalled, she still couldn’t make up for what she’d lost, and had to, sell off her properties one by one, and there was still over a hundred million dollars N.T. she was owing to the loan sharks, she’d worried that the loan sharks might come after her, so she took her whole family on the run.  At the time, she’d placed her three children with her families and relatives in the different cities and towns, she and her husband also went separate ways, to prevent the debtors from finding them.

“When I was on the run, I’d appeared on T.V. to sell the medicines, to preach the ways of my life as a counterexample for those who will listen: because I knew how to read the fortunes, I’d done that for free, offered those who sought out advice, how they could get themselves out of their hard times.”  Later, she’d gone into hiding in Yuanli, Miaoli, and lived as a homeless person for a while.

She isn’t Afraid of Haunting, But Bumping into Those Who Knew Her

She’d told, she was really down on her life then, didn’t even know where she could find a place to sleep, and at night, she’d slouched down at the offering tables in the Land Guardians’ Temples, and she’d walked into Yuankeng, and set her eyes on the deserted old mansion, it’d offered a roof over her head, and nobody would disturb her, although she’d heard the stories of haunting of the old mansion, but “my thought was, I’m only afraid of bumping into people, and I’d comforted myself, that even the spirits are fearful of getting my bad luck on them!”, and immediately put the rent down on the mansion.  “My father held education of the family in high regards, and taught us to offer anyone who needs help, that when someone in need comes to us, we need to, at least, offer the individual a hand to pull her/him up.”  Lin recalled, or maybe, it’s how the similarities of predicaments in life can attract, when she was reconstructing the old mansion, there were those former inmates who’d come to find help at Donglijiafeng, and now as she’d recalled, she’d sighed, that she and those who came to stay were out on their luck, and only wanted to shut themselves in, not dared bumping into anyone whom they knew before, “we are living together, to find something common in the shared situations of our own, lives, nothing more.”

For over twenty years, there’d been thousands of released former inmates who’d come and gone out of the home, there was a head mobster who’d come and told her that he needed a place to crash, then, shortly afterwards, a group of his gang members all came, they took their families to move in.

“We don’t take ‘return customers’, nor do we welcome the released former inmates with drug habits, or who will steal from others; who will accept that someone from your own houses who steals and take the money to buy more drugs?”  Lin said, she’d made long-term observations, that when the drug addicts and those who steal from others are living in this big family, there were only more problems that will come of it, and the worst kinds of person are those who are lazy, the ones that nobody can wake up in the mornings, she’d chased them off her property one by one, “the felons are the easiest to care, and they have your backs too.”

And so, because the woman had her share of hard times, and now she’s able, she’s giving back to the community, by setting up this place of stay for the released former inmates, because the world is not as kind, nor as forgiving to these released and reformed former criminals, and they are in dire need to have a place like this, that won’t judge them, that allows them to start off on the right foot, and this place this woman started, offered them just that.

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March 15, 2026 · 4:06 am

Turning the Ruins into a Home for Released Inmates

Because she knew how it’d felt, getting hit by the hard times, and now, she’d offered practical help to those released inmates, so they can start their lives again, after they’d served their time, paid for their, crimes…such an inspiration to the society!  Off of the Front Page Sections, translated…

Lin and the Group of Volunteers Fixed Up the Hundred-Year-Old Old Mansions, & Helped Many to Start on a Brand New Page of Their Lives

“Sis, what would happen to all of us, if the old mansion were to, close down?” these words from the reformed former inmates, was all it took for the founder of Dongli Jia Feng, Lin to grit her teeth down, to pass through the trials that the pandemic brought; she’d gone from the heights of her career, to bankrupting and living on the streets, then, she took a group of those “who were similar to her in their situations in life” to return, Lin continued to write her own legendary tales.

“The residents living her are not normal, this is not the place the normal can stay for long…”, the released inmate, “Jih”, was talking about their “home” after their release from prison—the Dongli Jiafeng.

This traditional Minangese old style mansion is a very rare well-preserved red brick and pottery architecture, a registered ancient site by the Miaoli government, the place where the soaps come for the out takes, but twenty years ago, it was, a total, ruin. It was the sixty-six-year-old Lin who brought the place back to its former days of, glory.

a video of the place, what it’s about, found on YouTube, how Lin and her group of volunteers fixed up the old mansion…from YouTube, and yes, the link works.

CTWANT 社會傳真 / 「東里家風」割稻飯飄香　女強人修復古厝也修復人生 – YouTube

By age eighteen, Lin had made enough money for the purchasing of the mansion, at age twenty, she’d started up her own travel agencies, and the hardware import company, she’d accumulated dozens of properties in Taichung then, but, she’d made the bad investments in a species of orchids, and, lost it all, with tens of billion dollars that she took out in loans with the loan sharks, she had to place her three young children with relatives and families emergently, and escaped from the loan sharks separately with her husband then.

From Not Being Expected to Succeed to the Experts Getting Onboard the “Programs”

In 2000, Lin had retreated to the township of Yuanli, Miaoli, felt the deserted old mansion, the “Donglijiafeng” was a place of shelter, and she could get away from public attention too, she’d immediately rented this 140-plus year-old ancient home.  Although, the neighbors didn’t believe that an outsider like her can renovate the old mansion, but Lin didn’t care, she’d set up the Fishery Farming Tourism Association, took the volunteers to pick up the pieces of the ancient ruins, she’d managed to recycle and reuse the doors, windows, and the shingles too, even found the constructing materials from the cemeteries, and three years later, the T.V. stations came to film, and the old master of the ancient home’s reconstruction even showed how to mix the mud with the brown sugar and hay, to make the bricks, the ancient methods in building, to assist in remodeling of the historical site.

Maybe, because of how the principle of the place that it attracts those who are down on their lucks, there were the released inmates who came to seek out help from the foundation’s headquarters.  “Ji”, a released inmate told that he wanted to live with more dignity, he didn’t want to beg for money for a pack of cigarettes he wanted to smoke, “those days really get to me”, he’d told, he was originally an manual laborer, working in moving the bricks for the construction sites, painting places, and temporary janitorial work, because he’d injured someone in a fight, charged with assault, he was sent to prison, the employers didn’t dare hire him again, he’d gone to the firms to find work, but soon as the firms asked for the proof of character, he couldn’t provide, and he was introduced to find a place at the foundation, placed in charge of electrician and plumbing work, he only asked for a place to sleep at night, and the meals provided.

After the old mansion got fixed up completely, it earned the government verification to become a B&B, the entire space became the places where the visitors could move around in, later because of the local soap opera’s filming there, the Dong-Li Jia Feng started offering the guests who were staying the clothes to dress themselves up as the various traditional roles to act in a self-scripted comedy, which helped attracted more visitors.

The Major Impacts from the Pandemic, She’d Rented the Lots Out to Planters to be Sold

During the pandemic, the tourism industry had come to a dead halt, this was the hardest couple of years for the historical site foundation, Lin admitted, that those were the hardest times, she’d carried the livelihoods of more than a hundred, and had originally planned to stop this “business”  she’d begun with the released inmates, but the words from them, “Whatever will happen to us if you closed down shop?”, so she’d, rented a lot, and took the employees to plant the crops in the fields, then gone door-to-door to sell the vegetables and fruits they’d harvested.

“During the pandemic, we were all out running around town, like we were, invincible, but, the doors we knocked, were all shut in our faces, because the residents feared we were, carriers…”  as Lin recalled those harder times a couple of years ago, she’d taken a long sigh, that she’d, passed through it all, currently, the foundation rented a total of sixteen acres lots of farm for the vegetables and fruits in Tongxiao, Yuanli, and Cholang and other locations, they’d planted the dragon fruits, the figs, the watermelons and other crops, and close by the lots, they’d rented the housing for the families and the released inmates to live, and there are more than twenty single released inmates who are living at her home in the foundation she’d set up.

a HUGE success of setting up the booths to sell the goods for the New Years, around New Year’s this year…photo from online

The county magistrate of Miaoli, Chung knew how difficult it is for the released inmates to return to work, and held firm to the beliefs of “to err is human, so long as people are willing to admit their wrongdoings, and change, then they all deserve a second chance.”, combining this with the protection for the reformed, the honorary reformed released inmates, the volunteers from the justice systems and other government, local agencies, they’d begun the “Miaoli Released Inmates Care Foundation” in 2023, with Lin as the acting C.E.O., but, it still was quite difficult to remove the labels of the reformed inmates.

The C.E.O. of the association, Chen said, many of the enterprises, the stores in the job interviews would inquire if the applicants had priors of criminal histories, this made the inmates who’d been reformed and released felt defeated, and are forced into working the temp jobs, and if they’re without the support from the families, plus they don’t have enough persistence, then, they have a very high chance to return back to their old ways of crimes.

She’d Started the Food Banks, to Help Out the Homeless & the Needy

New Year’s Eve, and it’s cold, but the members of this large family are warmed up, they are engaging in conversations, connecting with each other, and there are the laughter that came spilling to the outside.  Lin told, that in recent years, she and the partners she works with in the B&B had poured their hearts into the nonprofit work, they’d set up the food bank stations for the families in need, and the homeless to get the foods they need, hoping to let those who were released from prison to know, “when you guys were hit by the hard times, we’d helped you guys out, and now, please give back to the communities if you’re, able to.”

In her sixty years of life, she’d fallen from the higher up places, and, as she hit the dead-ends, the path became clearer; she doesn’t have enough funds, but, those who are in need can go to her for assistance, “I will never back down, in turning people’s lives around”, this is, Lin’s motto.

And, because this woman had seen the highs AND lows of life, lived through all of it, she gained more empathy for those who are having it hard, those who’d been sent to prison, and are now released, and knew that finding work was too hard for them, so she’d offered these individuals a place called “home”, allowed them to find a place to settle themselves down in, to start their lives over again.  She’d offered them a chance of starting their new life, a place where there’s no judgments of them based off their past crimes, all because she knew what it’d felt like, getting HIT with her hard times.

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February 21, 2026 · 4:24 am

A Gift Given to Me by the Japanese Visitor in the Hotel Where I Work

How kindness is shown, and, reciprocated, lending that helping hand to someone in need…translated…

After the outbreaks slowed, I part-timed at a hotel as a night time janitorial.  Maybe, the CoVid had made everyone fell, trapped in, sinc ethe travel ban orders had been, lifted, the hotel had been, fully booked every single, day.  Those covered-in-dusts suitcases, dragged out of storage, resumed their, work, with those worn wheels, leaving the drag marks on the lobby’s floors, and, mopping up the floors of the hotel lobby became the most, time-consuming.

One day, I’d noted a female guest walked toward the payphones with the phone card slot, but she seemed to not be able to, make the calls.  The hotel attendant told her that the phone isn’t, working, then, went on to something else.  Seeing how distressed she was, I’d walked over, told her that there’s another phone booth on the left of the hotel’s entrance that she could try, or, I can lend her my cellphone too.  She’d thanked me repeatedly, and told me she wanted to contact her friend in Taipei, but because of the pandemic, she’d not returned from Japan for many years, that the phone card was purchased from many years before.

The following day, in the evenings, I was on shift, I bumped into the woman in the lobby again, she’d told me to wait for her a while, then, she’d gone upstairs in the elevators.  As I saw her again, she had a souvenir gift from Japan in her hand, and she’d told me that I must, accept.  And at that very moment, my heart was filled with, gratitude.

So, this is, how good it feels, not to mention the physical rewards that we may or may not, receive from helping someone in need.  You only offered assistance to the foreigner that was distressed, because she couldn’t find a payphone to make a call, and you’d pointed her to the right direction, she’d gotten to make her call to whoever she needs to call, and she was grateful toward your assistance, and, she’d, given a gift to you, and that warmed your heart, which will motivate you to help someone else, not because of the gift you’d received, but how it felt, offering your assistance to someone in need, because helping someone out, it makes us feel, good!

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