Abandoned girl changes fate after graduating from university to become a teacher in hometown

In August 1998, Liang Yan was merely an infant and yet had been abandoned by her parents. Some 23 years later in 2021, after she graduated from university, Liang chose to become a primary school teacher in her hometown under the influence of a teacher who offered enormous support and help to her.

Photo shows Liang Yan (right) and her teacher Liu Hui. (Photo/Lai Xin)

In August 1998, Liang Xianjiang, a villager from Pingmu Township, Qinzhou city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region found an infant girl on the roadside and adopted her. Liang, who was nearly 60 years old and living alone, was impoverished. However, despite all the difficulties, he managed to raise the girl, naming her “Liang Yan.”

In 2004, the older Liang suffered a recurrence of lower back problems. Because he couldn’t pay for any medical treatment, Liang had to just lie in bed. Feeling that he was a burden for Liang Yan, he told the girl about her biological parents, encouraging her to go look for them and reunite with them.

Liang, who was only six years old at that time, refused to leave her adopted father and insisted that she must stay behind to look after him. She also shouldered the burden of all the housework and even learned to make hand-woven products to earn money.

Photo shows Liang Yan taking care of her adopted father. (Photo/Ao Shuaichang)

When Liang Yan was a fifth-grader, her teacher Liu Hui found that she had always been late for school and asked her why. After knowing about Liang’s story, Liu decided that she must help the poor girl. She reported Liang’s situation to the local government, which afterwards included Liang’s family in a low subsistence living system, while installing tap water facilities for the family and building a new house for the family.

In June 2012, Liang received the fifth highest score for the local junior middle school entrance exam in her township. She could have been admitted by a very good junior middle school located in the county seat based on her score, but Liang eventually chose one located in the township so that she could look after her adopted father after school.

Photo shows Liang Yan making hand-woven products while taking care of her adopted father. (Photo/Ao Shuaichang)

In October 2012, the father’s illness worsened, which left him unable to take care of himself. While having never missed a single class at school, Liang also found time to tend to her ailing guardian, washing him at least three times a day. In 2013, Liang was nominated for China’s 4th national ethical role model prize and won the title of “most beautiful teenager with filial piety” for her deeds.

Thanks to the assistance from the local government and kind-hearted people, the livelihoods of Liang and her adopted father were guaranteed. In September 2018, Liang was admitted by a university. While at school, she studied hard, having been a recipient of the scholarship established by the government of the autonomous region. She also secured a part-time job to earn pocket money.

In June 2021, when Liang graduated from the university, she chose to become a teacher at the primary school where she had been to, becoming a colleague of her teacher Liu Hui. “I want to be a good teacher like her so as to contribute my efforts to improving the educational conditions in my hometown,” Liang said. 

Photo shows Liang Yan in the middle of a class at her primary school. (Photo/Mao Liting)

Photo shows Liang Yan, who now works as a primary school teacher. (Photo/Lai Xin)