"My son, Liu Baoma, was born in the spring.
"At that time, Liu Ben and I didn't know much about taking care of a child, and we were poor. Right after he was born, I found some manual work to do at home so I could look after him while working.
"Although I said I took care of him, I was often too busy with my work to give him much time. So, most of the time, I would place him on his small bed, where he would stay for more than half the day. He never cried or fussed, just lay on the bed quietly, watching me.
"He was different from other children. He seldom cried or fussed, was very undemanding, and never woke us up crying in the middle of the night..."
The woman began by speaking of Liu Baoma from the time of his birth.
Though her words were irrelevant to Wang Pingfan and the others, none of them had the heart to interrupt the woman, so immersed was she in her past.
