(Minghui.org) I am a farmer, but I do not have my own land. To make a living, I renovated my house and yard, turning them into a hotel.
Eight years have passed since then, and I have many experiences to share.
Clean Money
Located in a mountain town, my hotel is plain. With its family-style amenities, it is nonetheless cozy and convenient for travelers.
From time to time, however, there would be people who would check in and ask for a prostitute. They offered to pay more, and some even brought call girls with them. Sometimes, a man and a woman would come in and ask for a room for only a couple of hours.
Had I not been a Falun Dafa practitioner, I would have had a difficult time dealing with this. But with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, things become easy: I would point to the hotel policy and tell them those services are not provided here.
Some guests were annoyed and left. Some laughed, pointed at me, and chided, “I have never seen a hotel like this. How can you turn down money like this? I think your business will not last long.” “Stop pretending to be a saint!” one of them remarked.
These sarcastic words had no effect on me. In fact, I was a bit sad and pitied them, thinking their lives were like a boat without a sail or rudder. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I know what is righteous in this society. That is, I make a living with my own efforts and will not accept money if it is not clean.
A Conversation with a Customer
Once, a guest from Heilongjiang Province who was about 50 years old checked in and asked for a hooker. He spoke about it very naturally and without any embarrassment. I do not like talking about it, so I changed the topic and carried on with another task.
After a few minutes, he came back and again asked for a hooker. Seeing he would not stop, I brought him a cup of tea and had a talk with him. We chatted about his family, and I said, “I can tell that you are an honest person, so I will be frank with you too.” I said to him that he had traveled a long distance from Heilongjiang Province to this mountain town to do business. Back home, his wife had to raise the children, take care of the elderly family members, and worry about him.
“Please think about it. The money you have made belong to you and your family, not the call girls. Plus, when you do things like this, what would your wife think of it? This would break her heart!” I told him that I practice Falun Dafa, which teaches me to be a good person. “Please, do not do something like that. When a person cheats on others, he is actually cheating on himself, because heaven is watching all of us,” I continued.
I paused and looked at him. He was silent, and I could see tears in his eyes.
After a while, he said, “I am very sorry. What you said is right, and I am really ashamed of myself. Over these years, you are the only one who has said something like this to me. I think I will change. Otherwise, I cannot be called a human being.” Pressing his palms together in front of his chest, he thanked me, “I am very grateful that a Falun Dafa practitioner can tell me this. Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) and Falun Dafa are indeed great.”
Since then, he has always stayed here when he comes to this area for business. After I explained to him how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imprisons and tortures practitioners for their faith, he renounced his membership in the Party organizations.
A Book That Made a Difference
One guest from Hebei Province was always busy. He often came back late in the evening and could only eat instant noodles. I sometimes would offer him some dishes from my own family. He was moved and asked why I was different from other hotel owners. I told him about Falun Dafa as well as why one should quit the Chinese communist organizations. He agreed with both.
Later he said he wanted to read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. I lent him a copy, and he enjoyed reading it. For the next two days, he stayed in his room and hardly came out. When he returned the book to me afterward, he said, “Now I know why you are such a good person—it’s because of this book!” He said he would contact practitioners in his hometown and take up the practice when he got home.
There were many stories like this. Some read Zhuan Falun, learned the exercises from me, or read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, while some listened to audio files I gave them about traditional Chinese culture. I am delighted to see more and more people coming to my hotel. More importantly, I am happy for them because they have found something very valuable in their lives.
My Husband Changes
My husband is not a practitioner and did not understand me in the beginning. He told me other hotel owners have phone numbers of call girls, and they provide them to guests when asked. Because we do not have this service, some guests have left for another hotel across the street.
To earn more money, my husband kept some of these guests when it was his shift. I found out and told him to stop: “I know you do not practice Falun Dafa, but we have discussed this before, and we cannot do this to harm families or society. If the money we earn is not clean, it will not do us any good.” My husband agreed and said he would not do it anymore.
In the hotel lobby, I often played audio files on traditional Chinese culture or the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. My husband listened to them, and he has completely changed.
Once, a man and a woman came in for a room. It was my husband's shift, and from their conversation, he knew that they were not a couple. “I think you'd better have two separate rooms,” he said to them, “The police have inspected us closely lately, and I do not want to pay a fine.” The two people were embarrassed and left.
When I came back, my husband told me about this, and I gave him a thumbs-up and said he did the right thing. He said to me with a chuckle, “You are following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a better person, and I cannot let you down. Right?”
