Despite being labeled a "fool", Feng Yaning has never ceased to take care of her adopted son.
In the winter of 2003, Feng found a baby boy at a spot near her home in Ancun township in Lantian county, Shaanxi province. She took the deserted child back home.
"The boy looked cute, and I hoped he could become a companion for my daughter," Feng said. She called the boy Feifei.
When Feifei was one year old, however, he was found to "neither be able to turn over nor crawl, and his head would fall back when he cried." He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in the hospital. Upon learning the diagnosis, Feng burst into tears.
At the time, Feng's husband was working in neighboring Henan province, and she farmed 4 mu (0.26 hectares) of land on her own to make a living.
Despite being called a "fool" by people around her, Feng insisted on raising Feifei.
"He has been abandoned once, how cruel would it be if I abandoned him again?" she said.
The woman surmounted many difficulties in taking care of Feifei as the boy could not walk, eat, or relieve himself.
When she went to labor in the field, Feng put the boy on her back while leading her daughter by hand.
In 2008, Feng and her husband brought Feifei to Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi, to seek jobs. The two have changed jobs many times, ultimately becoming sanitation workers.
Whatever their jobs, the couple never leaves Feifei alone at their rented home in suburban Xi'an and they take care of the boy in turns around the clock.
Feifei, now 14, has learned to walk, how to count and can murmur some simple sentences.
Feng said she was happy to see her daughter, who is 20 years old, also shows her love to Feifei.
Hu Qiliang, Feng's husband, said they would not abandon the boy, no matter what difficulties confront them in the future.
