China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Wang Xinxin intern Li Xinyi
A fun place – this is what many children in Tongji Town, Zhongjiang County, Sichuan Province, say about the Lu family compound.
Li Jiayue, 11, loves backgammon and table tennis here, and she learned a lot about the Olympic Games here. 8-year-old Pan Xiangyu learned to roll iron rings here, and his classmate Sun Tianyi is good at badminton, and the two often play each other in the spacious compound in front of the old house.
On weekends, an average of forty or fifty children gather here, from kindergarten to middle school, of all ages. Sports, games, reading, homework are the main activities here, and there are some interesting folk experiences during the New Year's Festival.
In Tongji Town, the Lu family compound is famous, not only because it has a history of more than 250 years, it is a cultural relics protection building in Zhongjiang County, but also because of the sign of "Children's Companion Home" hanging on the door. In the hearts of local left-behind children and their families, the Lu Family Compound is another paradise for children at home and beyond school.
Children jump rope in the Lu family compound. China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Wang Xinxin / photo
For the past three years, Li Jiayue has been a regular visitor in the compound. The studious fifth-grader said that she learned a lot in the compound, China's national essence, national bird, China's first level, how many Chinese characters there are, the damage of glacier melting to polar bears... It's all learned here.
Li Jiayue's family lives in Shengshou Village, and it takes half an hour to walk to the Lu family compound in Guihua Bay, Tongji Village. But she doesn't feel far away, she said that there are friends who are farther away than herself who often come, and this year she brought her 3-year-old brother to the Lu family compound to play together.
On the day when the compound "opens", the secluded Osmanthus Bay will instantly become lively. Old people gathered from all directions with children, some riding battery cars, some riding tricycles pulling goods, and the children chattered, frightening the kittens and puppies in the yard to hide in the corners.
When they come to the compound, the children will obey Sister Yan's arrangement. The children's sister is Lu Xinyan, the owner of the Lu family compound, and it is she who decided to take out the old mansion belonging to the Lu family as a "children's companion home".
The children play table tennis in the Lu family compound. China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Wang Xinxin / photo
In more than 250 years of history, this old mansion was once the ancestral hall of the Lu family, also served as an academy, and was once a warehouse for grain. Now, it belongs to several families, but most of the time, only Lu Xinyan's father and another elderly member of the family live here.
The house is large, plus the yard has more than 2400 square meters, but most of the area is idle. Lu Xinyan wanted to be "empty anyway", so in 2012 she used the house as a "left-behind children's home". Later, she felt that it was inappropriate to label the children as "left behind", so she changed it to "Happy Student Home".
In October 2017, the Sichuan League organizations at all levels launched the "Child Companion Program" to care for left-behind children, which was renamed "Child Companion Home", and Lu Xinyan was the "Child Companion Mother". The League organization provided a sum of money to support the activities of the "Children's Companion Home".
The hall house of the old mansion was transformed into a classroom Wang Xinxin/ photo by Wang Xinxin, a reporter of the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily
In the eyes of the children, no matter how the name is changed, the Lu family compound is their paradise. Parents are also willing to send their children over, and nearby villagers Zeng Dayou said that as grandparents, we will send our children wherever they are lively, and playing in the Lu family compound can also increase their insight.
Lu Xinyan, who works in Chengdu, drives more than 100 kilometers back every weekend, on the one hand, to accompany her father, on the other hand, to "manage" these left-behind children. She saw that many left-behind children in the village had poor hygiene habits and wanted the children to change.
The homeschooling of left-behind children also worries her. "Children do not obey, some elderly people will start to beat, or buy some snacks that are not suitable for children to eat to appease children." She hopes to make up for the lesson of homeschooling for her children through her own efforts.
When the children are in the compound, Lu Xinyan, who is born in the 90s, plays the role of mother and teacher. She took her children to do their homework quietly, developed the habit of reading, and reminded them to cut their nails, wash their hands frequently, and pay attention to personal hygiene.
The lack of family education for left-behind children's families has also been compensated to a certain extent in the Lu family compound. In the WeChat group, she maintains communication with parents, and parents who work in other places can understand another aspect of their children's learning and life through WeChat.
Many elderly people came to tutor their homework at the beginning, and they mistakenly thought that Lu Xinyan was running a free cram school, so they sent their children to the Lu family compound. I didn't expect the children to have fun here, and they didn't delay their studies, which made the old people see unexpected gains.
The hall house of the old house has been converted into a classroom, where children read and write homework. China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Wang Xinxin / photo
Li Jiayue's mother heard about the Lu family compound at a friend's place, so she sent the child to experience. After coming two or three times, Li Jiayue liked it here. "In school, there is not much time to play, and it is fun here."
As the ancestral hall of the Lui clan, there were strict rules, such as children could not walk the middle steps, and the main entrance of the hall was only opened when distinguished guests came. And now in the Lu family compound, children can play freely, freely and happily, they can read their favorite books, and they can also play their favorite games.
The hall house was converted into a classroom, and Ms. Lui bought desks and chairs from a closed village for the children to read and do their homework. In a clearing outside the courtyard, there is also a set of slides, which is a paradise for smaller children.
Mini amusement park outside the old house. China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Wang Xinxin / photo
Many cultural and sports supplies and facilities were donated by Lu Xinyan's friends. Lu Xinyan is a member of the Sichuan Provincial Youth Federation, and many of her friends in her social circle have provided support for the Lu family compound, and some friends in professional fields have also come from time to time to open popular science courses for children.
She initiated the Zhongjiang County Aijiayi Volunteer Association, organized volunteers to maintain daily activities, and donated funds for the education of children in financial difficulties every year. Every year during the holidays, there are also college student volunteers who go to the Lu family compound to participate in social practice and become new friends of the children.
Some of the children who used to play in the Lu family compound have now gone to college or even graduated, and when they go home during the holidays, they often return to the Lu family compound, but they change their roles - volunteers.
They worked as assistants to Sister Yan, accompanying the younger local children until the children were picked up by their grandparents and grandparents in the evening, and after a noisy day, the Lu family compound became silent again, waiting for the next week's laughter.