A 27-year-old mother of triplets who suffer from cerebral palsy, in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, often referred to as the Ice City because of its freezing winters, has fortunately seen the gentler side of the city and the generosity of people, after a local newspaper discovered her plight.

Last year, Liu Xing was basically a nobody who had opened a small stall with her husband, Zhang Yinglin, to sell oysters to cover the medical costs of their 3-year-olds, after consulting doctors in Beijing two years ago. One doctor explained to them that the earlier the treatment, the better the children's chances, unfortunately, the 600,000 yuan ($93,750) bill for the girls’ treatment was astronomical for an ordinary farm couple from the small city of Beian.


Liu Xing and her three daughters. [Photo/my399.com]

So, they decided to try to get treatment for the children in Harbin, which has much better medical facilities and doctors than the countryside. The couple, together with the children’s grandmother, took the triplet to receive massage therapy at 8:00 am every day, and then they bought steam-bun and soybean milk for children but nothing for themselves at noon, and in the afternoons, rush over to another hospital for rehabilitation training.

And that was their daily routine for two years, with the adults having hardly any lunch to save money, but the possibility of a possible recovery, though slim, giving strong support in facing the financial difficulties.

To make extra money, Liu works in her neighbor’s breakfast stall in the early morning and goes to the seafood market before 6:00 am to get several dozen oysters and prepare them. Then she takes the girls for treatment at 8:00 and, as soon as she returns home at around 3:00 pm, she goes out to sell the baked oysters for 2 yuan each, noting, “I won’t sell a bad oyster, because I don’t want to make money in an unwholesome way.”


Liu makes breakfast at her neighbor’s stall at 4:00 am. [Photo/my399.com]


People gather around Liu’s oyster stall. [Photo/my399.com]

Then a local newspaper reporter chanced to ask Liu why she was selling the oysters so cheaply, since most similar oysters go for 5 yuan at the night markets in Harbin, and she said she couldn’t afford the rent in those places. Even if she works hard and at times is too busy to have supper, she still earns no more than 2,000 yuan a month, which barely covers household expenses.

Her husband takes care of the girls with his mother and works a shift with his wife then, when she returns home, goes out to serve meals at a restaurant. And, in spite of their hardships and physical exertion, they still had a glimmer of hope for their three girls.

Then one journalist reported their story in the local media and went a step further by asking people to help the suffering family by buying more oysters at the stall. Then some WeChat users passed on the story which got about 700,000 readers and 9,700 clicks on “like” and numerous comments. It also brought in 50,000 yuan in donations in one day and had people from all over coming round to Liu’s stall and buy her oysters, with some not even buying or saying anything but just leaving some money for the family.

Some people even hung around to help Liu serve the customers, as more people came and stood in line to try her oysters, so that 100 baked oysters brought more than 33,000 yuan in just 3-hours’ time.


Strangers write blessing words to the family on a hand-made envelope with money inside. [Photo/my399.com]

Among the kind-hearted people visiting the stall was one elderly couple who caught some attention because the husband was in a wheelchair and the wife, Liu, explained that they could only walk around their neighborhood because her husband suffered from paralysis for many years, but, nonetheless they walked to show their concern for the three girls.


An elderly couple travel to Liu’s stall to try her oysters. [Photo/my399.com]

One local enterprise also donated cooking oil to Liu and promised to take charge of her oil supplies and the owner of a farm offered a box of organic vegetables packed on ice to keep fresh and commented, “We selected 10 types of vegetables and plan to give the family our home-grown products every week.”

Yet another man showed up to deliver some funds raised by dozens of Liu’s neighbors back home when they got to know about her hardship and members of a club made up of mothers came to give their support and comfort for Liu, with one of them saying she could understand Liu’s feelings.

And some doctors at a local hospital said they could provide free exams and therapy for the triplets, and some seafood wholesalers said they will provide good oysters at a low price, and the local urban management bureau helped Liu relocate to a night market in a densely populated area for her business.

When some kind people brought fruits and meat to provide the girls with some nutrition but found there was no refrigerator in Liu’s rented house, a local charity bought one for her as soon as they heard about it.


Volunteers bring a refrigerator to the family’s apartment. [Photo/my399.com]

Liu and her family said they owed a lot to all of the selfless people who helped them so she planned a reception for them. On that day, the little stall was surrounded by hundreds of people who consumed 500 free oysters in several hours, but left more than 80,000 yuan in a box, since many had not really come for the free oysters but showed up for sympathy and support for the family.

In several days, more than 140,000 yuan was raised by a ranging of people, from students to taxi drivers to retired people to overseas Chinese and, with the 45,000 yuan donated by WeChat users, the family received nearly 200,000 yuan.


Volunteers are busy working at Liu’s stall while she’s taking the girls to Beijing. [Photo/my399.com]


Volunteers prepare oysters for cooking at Liu’s stall in Harbin. [Photo/my399.com]

With the stream of visitors growing, Liu could hardly serve them herself but volunteers show up at the stall to assist her every day and this spiritual and material support helped the couple decide to try Beijing again. After a checkup in Beijing, they returned home immediately because they felt sorry for taking up so much time of the volunteers’ time.

Liu says she owes a great debt to the volunteers who gave their spare time freely to look after her business for days on end.