Every Thursday, people who order at the cafe of Beijing Waiyan Bookstore will get a bookmark with the twenty-four solar terms on it.
The bookmarks are not to remind readers of the solar terms of the day, but to introduce them to a shop assistant, Kang Rui, the author of the patterns on the bookmarks.
Kang Rui is 23 years old and has been working in Waiyan Bookstore for nearly 4 years. He only comes to the bookstore on Thursdays every week.
Even if you happened to visit the bookstore on this day, you might not meet him.
Kang Rui spends most of his time painting in the studio next to the bookstore cafe, with the door closed.
His work is to draw posters for events held by the bookstore, as well as to draw bookmarks, postcards and other cultural and creative products.
Occasionally, he would suddenly rush out of the studio and wander into bookstore corridors or coffee shops.
Once, Kang Rui went straight to a female college student who was quietly reading and drinking coffee, and suddenly sat down, took her hand, and asked loudly, "Sister! What year were you born?"
The female college student panicked with fright, and her boyfriend was furious.
The general manager of the bookstore, Fu Shuai, rushed to apologize: "I'm sorry! He is our clerk and suffers from autism. He has no malicious intentions, but sometimes he can't control his behavior."
Since then, every Thursday when Kang Rui comes to work, Waiyan Bookstore Cafe will present bookmarks to customers and tell them that the author of the hand-painted patterns on the bookmarks is our colleague Kang Rui.
He is an autistic person, and sometimes his behavior is a little special. If I accidentally disturb you today, please bear with me.
If you can only go home after graduation, "it's equivalent to being beaten back to its original shape"
Before Kang Rui came to work in Beijing Waiyan Bookstore, Fu Shuai had only seen his paintings, but had never seen this person.
The lines, colors, and light and shade of Kang Rui's works are just right, giving people a bright and warm feeling.
Fu Shuai saw Kang Rui's painting at the exhibition of the winning works of the National Art Competition for Children with Disabilities.
Because of co-organizing the event, he approached the Golden Wings Art Rehabilitation Service Center for Disabled Children (hereinafter referred to as "Golden Wings"), one of the organizers.
In the process of communicating with Zhang Junru, the founder of Jinyuyi, Fu Shuai began to understand the autism group.
Autism is a congenital mental illness, and the appearance of autistic people is not much different from ordinary people.
With the popularization of science and the efforts of various parties in recent years, many social institutions have begun to provide support for children with autism in learning and rehabilitation.
"But it will be difficult after they become adults," Zhang Junru said to Fu Shuai, looking at the boys who came to the stage to accept the award.
They are all about 1.8 meters tall, and they look like big boys, and they can't see anything unusual.
"At present, most of the support society and schools can provide for children with autism are until they are 18-year-old adults. After graduating from school, they actually have nowhere to go." Zhang Junru said.
Autism, also known as autism, is one of the main characteristics of this group is social interaction impairment.
They have difficulty understanding the emotional reactions of others and adjusting their behavior to social situations.
For people with autism, entering the workplace is almost unimaginable.
Zhang Junru was very impressed. There was an autistic child she had contact with who was in good condition when she graduated from a special education school at the age of 18.
Compared to school, the closed environment after graduation made him feel uncomfortable.
At the beginning, he went downstairs for a walk every day, but he would hit people when he couldn't control his emotions.
Because he injured the security guard in the community, his family dared not let him go out again.
His condition worsened and he didn't even speak anymore.
While autistic people are not socially adept, they also have a desire to get out of the house.
The support and assistance from all walks of life for children with autism is aimed at helping these children who are deeply lonely learn to contact the outside world and adapt to social life.
However, because they often have nowhere to live in society when they become adults, they can only go back to their homes and re-enclose themselves, which is "equivalent to being beaten back to their original shape."
Zhang Junru, who has been dealing with this special group for more than ten years, is very sorry.
Kang Rui has been learning to paint since he was 12 years old with "Golden Wings". Zhang Junru watched him grow from a teenager to a young man, and his painting level became higher and higher.
They also created many opportunities to take Kang Rui to participate in art exhibitions and cultural exchange activities around the world.
Seeing that Kang Rui is about to leave the campus and leave "Golden Wings" and other social institutions for children with autism, what will his future be like?
Zhang Junru didn't even dare to think about it.
The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.
Fu Shuai felt that he might be able to help Kang Rui, and that Kang Rui might also be able to help the bookstore—for a long time, Fu Shuai had always hoped that there would be a clerk who could draw and draw hand-painted posters for the bookstore’s book sharing meetings and other activities. .
Fu Shuai especially likes a book called "Today's Store Closed". The author Sakamoto Kenichi runs a second-hand bookstore called Qingkong Shufang in Osaka, Japan, all his life.
Later, when the store was closed every week due to aging and frailty, Mr. Sakamoto always hand-painted posters to inform readers.
In addition to the store closure information, he will also write his nostalgia for the book on the poster, and draw warm feelings about the four seasons of life.
Over time, the poster itself has also become a cultural symbol of Qingkong Study.
Fu Shuai felt the unique warmth of a bookstore.
Looking at Kang Rui's paintings, Fu Shuai felt that maybe he was the person he had been looking for, so he offered to invite Kang Rui to work in the bookstore.
"I'm going to work, a new life begins"
The first person who thought it was impossible was Kang Rui's mother.
Although she was overjoyed at the job opportunity that fell from the sky, she knew Kang Rui too well, and she was worried that her son would not be up to the job.
Fu Shuai asked Kang Rui's mother to meet and wanted to know more about the situation, but Kang Rui's mother asked more questions:
"There are a lot of people in the bookstore. Kang Rui often sees strangers, what should I do if I'm nervous and afraid?" - "We will assign a special studio to let him paint alone in it."
"What if Kang Rui can't sit still and can't insist on going to work every day?" - "You can come one day a week, and you can coordinate the rest of the time, as long as you finish the scheduled painting work on time."
"The bookstore staff have no experience in contact with autistic groups. What should I do if the uncontrollable situation delays the normal operation of the bookstore?" - "We really don't understand, you can accompany Kang Rui to work, and we will work with him together. communication."
"The environment of the bookstore is quiet. What if Kang Rui couldn't control his excitement and yelled suddenly, or ran around and disturbed the readers?" - "We will find a way to explain to the readers."
...
Fu Shuai gave answers to these doubts one by one, and he insisted on offering this job to Kang Rui: "This will not only allow Kang Rui to contact the society, but also allow the society to contact him and get to know them. , Where does understanding and tolerance come from? Bookstores are a display window of culture, but also a display window of civilization. A civilized society should provide them with opportunities to integrate.”
Kang Rui's mother couldn't think of any more reason to reject her son's job opportunity.
On April 2, 2018, World Autism Day, Kang Rui officially became a clerk in this bookstore, and the bookstore also held an induction ceremony for him.
When Kang Rui joined the bookstore, he gave a painting to the bookstore: flowers are red and willows green, blue sky and white clouds, and birds are soaring at the top of the rainbow.
There is also a boy wearing a white shirt, tie and bag, which is painted by Kang Rui.
Next to it is written "I'm going to work, a new life begins".
Fu Shuai framed this childlike painting and hung it in the studio prepared for Kang Rui by the bookstore.
"Actually, he doesn't understand what work is." Kang Rui's mother told reporters, "I asked him to draw this. I told him to draw something beautiful, something that can express your joy. Then stare at him and draw Otherwise, when he draws birds, he always draws a piece of shit under the bird, and I don't know why."
But everyone can see that Kang Rui is really happy to come to work.
"He said he was going to work in the bookstore every Thursday. He was very excited and urged me to put on my coat and go out early in the morning." Kang Rui's mother said, "Kang Rui especially likes to go to the children's reading area in the bookstore. I often go to that area to read." And the workplace bullying that Kang Rui's mother had faintly worried about never happened.
Fu Shuai was glad that Kang Rui's mother accompanied her son to work.
Kang Rui suddenly shouted loudly and ran to disturb the readers. It didn't happen much. The clerks mainly suffered from not knowing how to communicate with him, and often had to rely on Kang Rui's mother to "translate" from it.
Kang Rui didn't always understand what his colleagues were saying, or couldn't listen at all.
More often, he is immersed in his own world, talking to himself or laughing.
The tasks arranged in the store can only be given to his mother, who urges him to complete them.
It takes a certain amount of time to convince Kang Rui to paint as required, and let him understand that the content to be painted also takes a certain amount of time, and the painting itself takes more time.
Obviously, it is better to paint his favorite Journey to the West, Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf as he likes. Kang Rui sometimes gets anxious and even procrastinates.
Beijing Waiyan Bookstore is affiliated to Beijing Foreign Studies University.
2021 is the 80th anniversary of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Before the school celebration, Kang Rui will draw a set of school landscape paintings, hang them at the ceremony site, and make postcards for the alumni who return to the school to participate in the activities.
It took Kang Rui several months to draw this set of postcards.
During that time, he often clenched his fists and said loudly: "80th anniversary of BFSU! 80th anniversary of BFSU! 80th anniversary of BFSU!" Draw in peace at your desk.
Kang Rui's mother explained that he is not good at drawing these things, and knowing that this is a work task that he has to draw, he will feel pressure.
He's not a painting genius, he's just imitating
Kang Rui's paintings are not only displayed in the bookstore, but also hang in the campus teaching building.
The paintings he created for the Beijing Winter Olympics were donated by the Winter Olympics volunteers from Beijing Foreign Studies University to the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee and hung in the office area for athletes and staff to see.
Kang Rui's paintings have also been made into bookmarks, postcards, desk calendars, throw pillows and other derivatives.
When people see these paintings and learn the author's story, they will inevitably exclaim "Autistic people are geniuses! When God closes a door for them, it also opens a window".
But Zhang Junru shook his head and said, "There are literary and artistic talents in the autistic group, and the proportion is similar to that of the general population, and they have to undergo more difficult long-term training."
At the age of 5, Kang Rui could not even hold a pen.
The special education teacher who helped him with sensory integration training told Mother Kang Rui that children with autism are particularly sensitive, and for ordinary people, touching things with their hands is a very common thing, but it is very exciting to them.
Kang Rui's mother gently brushes her son's palm with a small brush every day, and teaches him to pinch some plastic balls with blunt thorns.
It took a while for Kang Rui to desensitize his hands.
At the age of 12, when Kang Rui first came to "Golden Wings" to learn how to draw, he struggled even to draw a circle.
The father who accompanies him to class only thinks that his son has a place to go out. He never expects him to be able to draw anything, and he never imagines that one day in the future, Kang Rui will still be able to get a job by drawing.
Although Kang Rui rarely expresses in words, painting teacher Wang Junjun can still see from his paintings that he gradually has his own ideas in some details such as light and shade.
Even so, he can only imitate objects or photographs, rather than create from imagination.
Kang Rui is good at painting landscapes and still lifes, and his figures are always eccentric.
Kang Rui's mother analyzed that it may be because the faces in his eyes are different from those seen by ordinary people.
People painted by Kang Rui always have no chin, and he never scrubs his chin when he wipes his mouth and face, as if he doesn't grow at all.
The honor and positive feedback brought by painting will make Kang Rui happy, but what really drives him to complete the painting task is not these so-called sense of accomplishment, but the promise of his mother.
"When I was a child, I promised to buy him something after painting, but later I wanted to buy him something delicious." Kang Rui's mother said with a smile, "Now the delicious food is too scare. Usually, you have to promise him, after painting a picture. Big job, take him out for a trip."
Kang Rui's mother not only has to accompany Kang Rui to and from get off work, to help him "translate" the work, but also to fulfill various promises to him.
Life is busy and compact, and mother Kang Rui not only has no complaints, but also enjoys it.
For the two of them, there is nothing more comforting than "there is a place to go and something to do".
Give them hope with inclusion and integration
In the past, both Kang Rui's small family and the entire society had limited understanding of autism.
Before Kang Rui was 5 years old, he had not been diagnosed with autism. Once Kang Rui's eyes were uncomfortable, his mother took him to the hospital for examination.
Faced with Kang Rui's abnormal reaction, the ophthalmologist was at a loss, and said helplessly to Kang Rui's mother, "Don't bring such a child out in the future."
Even the doctor said that, and even the hospital was not allowed to go, where else could they go?
Mother Kang Rui's tears flowed down on the spot.
Since Kang Rui was born, her mother has never been able to go to work, and she has grown up alone and hard with Kang Rui.
For a long time, Kang Rui's father couldn't take him out alone because he couldn't stand the attention and comments of others about his abnormal behavior.
Kang Rui, who was immersed in his own world, could not feel these, unless direct conflict would stimulate him.
Kang Rui's mother is not always strong, until in recent years, those strange eyes have disappeared, and there have been more understanding voices, and she has finally become "immune".
After Kang Rui was diagnosed with autism, he has been studying in a special education school.
Mi Jie, a teacher at Beijing Jianxiang School, was Kang Rui's former head teacher.
She told reporters that after entering high school, the school will teach autistic children to take care of hotel beds, bake pastries, supermarket cashiers and other specific vocational skills, and Kang Rui can learn some of them.
But no matter how hard the school is, it can only teach them until they are 18 years old. What should they do after graduation?
Schools really can't go that far.
Autistic people are physically able, mentally disabled, and rarely cured.
When they are young, society will be more tolerant and friendly towards them.
When they grow up to about 20 years old, although they have grown up physically, they will still be three or five-year-old children mentally, or even worse.
Because it is difficult for ordinary people to identify, they will simply think that they have mental illnesses and avoid them, and they lose their love for their children.
Fu Shuai's daughter is in elementary school, and recalling her daughter's childhood, he felt that he could understand Kang Rui's behavior.
"Just treat him like a kid!" he always said to those around him.
But when Kang Rui pestered Fu Shuai in the bookstore and told him that his favorite Hunan Satellite TV variety show couldn't be stopped at all, Fu Shuai would also be a little overwhelmed.
Zhang Junru is very clear that hiring an autistic employee is not cost-effective for most companies.
"You have to provide him with extra space, equipment, and especially manpower to take care of them. But for families with autism, this job can make a big difference. Parents don't expect them to rely on this job. To earn money to be self-reliant, but to see that this special group has hope of being accepted and integrated by society.”
Because people with autism are unable to take care of themselves and need family care all their lives, their parents are most afraid of their own aging.
"The more we live, the more we can take care of him." The more Kang Rui's father said that, the more worried he was about the child's future. After all, both he and Kang Rui's mother had gray hair.
There is no never-ending feast.
Fu Shuai would worry that because of his job transfer, he would not be able to take care of Kang Rui like he is now.
Fortunately, all the employees in the store treat Kang Rui as their own family.
Although he doesn't know where he will retire, Fu Shuai hopes that Kang Rui can retire in the bookstore and always regard the bookstore as another home.
(Yin Pingping)