Cover News Reporter Huang Xiaoqing
Xiong Jiaqi, a 2024 graduate of Weiyuan Middle School in Sichuan Province, was congenitally blind in her right eye. Her mother ran away from home when she was 1 year old and lost contact with her. Her father died of illness when she was 8 years old. Whenever she wrote essays about her parents in elementary school, she felt a little helpless, with only a few vague memories of her father remaining in her mind.
Under the care of her grandparents and uncle, Xiong Jiaqi did not feel inferior or timid because of her family situation. She studied hard, had a bright and cheerful personality, and took the initiative to help others. She was awarded the title of Outstanding Student Cadre every year in high school. In this year's college entrance examination, she scored 532 points in liberal arts, which was 3 points higher than the first-class score.
html On July 30, at her home in Nihe Village, Shanwang Town, Weiyuan County, Xiong Jiaqi shared her growth story.
Xiong Jiaqi
Unfortunate events happened one after another
htmlAt the age of 58, his father passed away and he was diagnosed with blindness in his right eye
Xiong Jiaqi’s home is a bungalow built through a dilapidated house renovation project a few years ago. The government subsidizes 20,000 yuan, and the rest is borne by the family. To this day, the family still owes With a loan of 15,000 yuan. Although the floor is not tiled and the walls are not painted white, the house is clean and tidy inside and outside.
Sitting on the bench in the living room, Xiong Jiaqi's grandmother Kan Youying recalled the past, her eyes turned red and she kept wiping tears. Her husband, Xiong Deming, had worked in a coal mine for 20 to 30 years when he was young. His thumb was amputated by a machine and he also suffered from pneumoconiosis. The eldest son Xiong Jian, Xiong Jiaqi’s father, died of uremia in 2013, and the younger son Xiong Jie is 37 years old this year.
The family's income mainly depends on Xiong Jie's odd jobs at the construction site. The village provides subsistence allowances for Xiong Jiaqi and Xiong Deming, and they receive a monthly subsidy of 580 yuan.
The family was busy making a living and never noticed that Xiong Jiaqi’s eyes were abnormal. It wasn't until she was 8 years old, shortly after her father passed away, that the head teacher reported to her grandmother that Xiong Jiaqi liked to look sideways when looking at things and suggested that she go to the hospital for a check-up, and then she was diagnosed with congenital retinal detachment in her right eye. It is impossible to restore vision, but in order to prevent eyeball shrinkage from affecting her appearance, Xiong Jiaqi underwent surgery with donations and loans from volunteers, and her eyes look like ordinary people.
Xiong Jiaqi (left) and his brother-in-law Xiong Jie
Have been excellent in both character and study since childhood
Save money to buy school supplies and take more notes to deepen your memory
When her mother ran away and her father died, Xiong Jiaqi became a de facto orphan. Knowing that only studying can change her destiny, she has been sensible and motivated since she was a child. From elementary school to middle school, her grades have always been among the best.
When she was in primary school, Xiong Jiaqi studied in a village primary school. In addition to doing homework when she came home from school, she would also help her grandparents with farm work and cooking. When she was in middle school, she went to the county town to study. Although the school exempted accommodation fees and tuition fees, her living expenses were still limited. "Sometimes when we come back to collect living expenses, we try to find ways to make up for it, such as selling some chickens and ducks." Kan Youying said.
Xiong Jiaqi does not compare with others. Most of her clothes were worn by relatives. "As long as you can eat enough and wear warm clothes, that's all." Xiong Jiaqi said frankly. Sometimes she needs to buy school supplies, but she is too embarrassed to ask her family for them. Instead, she chooses to eat less or less that week. She often catches colds due to lack of nutrition.
After being admitted to Weiyuan Middle School from high school, Xiong Jiaqi worked even harder and sometimes rotated her seats. When she couldn't see the electronic whiteboard clearly from the back row, she would move her stool to the front row to listen. She wrote down all the key points that the teacher said and read them several times to deepen her memory. She always took more notes than her classmates. During her studies, she almost never bought any extracurricular textbooks at her own expense. Apart from the fact that they were given by teachers, it was more about thoroughly studying the teaching materials issued by the school. She was always ranked among the top three in her class in the mock exams for her senior year of high school.
Cheerful and outgoing
Enthusiastic about helping classmates Working during the summer to earn college tuition
According to high school teacher Ou Tao, the most valuable thing about Xiong Jiaqi is her optimistic and cheerful attitude. For the past three years, I have been serving as a class cadre and a cadre of the school self-government association. I not only assist teachers and schools in carrying out relevant work, but also enthusiastically help classmates.
Xiong Jiaqi said that she was a little nervous during the college entrance examination and did not perform well in the math test. A score of 532 was not her ideal score. Despite this, she accepted the reality. She applied for the college entrance examination from a second-tier college in Sichuan. Unlike other students, she does not yearn for a big city. She just wants to be close to home so she can take care of her grandparents.
Not long ago, Xiong Jiaqi found a summer job in Weiyuan County, doing telesales at an insurance company, practicing her eloquence and earning some college tuition at the same time.
Uncle Xiong Jie was very pleased to see Xiong Jiaqi taking the initiative to share the burden for the family. Eleven years ago, his brother died and was left alone. He tearfully promised to raise his niece no matter what. In order to fulfill this promise, he worked overtime on the construction site and asked for his wife to accept his niece. Although he is still unmarried, he has no regrets.
As job opportunities have decreased in the past two years, Xiong Jie's income has also decreased. During the interview, because the previous project was over and the next project had not yet been completed, he was resting at home and was worried about Xiong Jiaqi's upcoming college expenses.
