In a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York, USA, a female owner named Luo Jiaxin is recording the restaurant’s income today. Luo Jiaxin said that she is 61 years old this year. “I was born in a small rural area in Guangdong, China. At that time, girls didn’t have many opportunities to study.” When she mentioned this, she sighed and shook her head. Young Luo Jiaxin was unwilling to be an uneducated rural woman all her life. When she was working outside, she heard her colleagues mention her cousin who lived in the United States. “I heard her say that her cousin made a lot of money in the United States, eating, drinking and having fun every day. I was envious and said that I also want to live such a life.” At that time, young Luo Jiaxin secretly set up a goal for herself, that is to live in the United States for the rest of her life.
Luo Jiaxin was already 47 years old when she first came to the United States. She had lived in China for almost half her life and had not studied for a few years. She faced considerable challenges in learning the language and adapting to the local American culture. Recalling her life when she first arrived, Luo Jiaxin couldn’t control her tears. “I came here by myself at that time, and I didn’t know anyone here,” she said, wiping tears. “I wanted to get to know other people but I couldn’t speak their language. I was very lonely at the time.” The feeling of loneliness and helplessness enveloped Luo Jiaxin, and she once wanted to give up and stay in the United States.
However, Luo Jiaxin has a strong personality, and she would not allow these difficulties stop her from moving forward. She realized that improving her English was crucial to her future development. “I found a job in Chinatown, I was serving dishes in a restaurant. I didn’t speak English at the time, and there were a lot of customers who didn’t want me to serve them,” she explained. “But the boss and his family are very nice. They would teach me a little English when the restaurant was empty. The boss’s wife would patiently correct my pronunciation over and over again.”
Hard work pays off. Under the patient guidance of the boss and his family for several years, Luo Jiaxin gradually understood what the customers were saying, and sometimes she could exchange a few words with them. As the business got better and better, Luo Jiaxin decided to open a branch restaurant after discussing with the boss and his family, with Luo Jiaxin as the branch restaurant owner. Her cheerful personality has accumulated many loyal customers over the years. Since the opening of the restaurant, there has been no shortage of customers.
Many of the employees in Luo Jiaxin’s restaurant are people with similar experiences to her, and many of them don’t speak English. In her spare time, Luo Jiaxin teaches the employees in the restaurant just like the boss and his family taught her English. The employees in the restaurant also expressed their gratitude to Luo Jiaxin, saying, “If she hadn’t been willing to give us this job, we might not have money to eat.” When asked why she wanted to help the employees, Luo Jiaxin smiled. She said, “I want to spread kindness and love to the world. Today I helped them, then tomorrow they will help others.” Luo Jiaxin said that one thing she learned in the United States is that “kindness is like the warm sunshine, it makes people feel warmth of the world.”