Through the inscription he carried with him during his daily round: "Please donate your unwanted things to help boost education and the cultivation of personality," he was able to collect such items as discarded books, newspapers, bottles and pieces of metal, and make a small income through re-selling them as scrap.
但這一切並沒有擊倒他，他忍受所有的痛苦，拚命活動，儘量不讓自己躺在床上，身上那兒不舒坦，就活動那兒，並用筆在牆上寫著：「老怪笑嘻嘻，無人比我癡，但求心願滿，哲理有天知。」