Later, my uncle shook my shoulder and asked me, "Which day is dad's funeral?" Only then did Rongrong wake up from her dream-like state and realize that her father, who used to be the dearest one in her life, had indeed passed away.
When she arrived at the scene of the accident, the shore was surrounded by a crowd offering help, making it impossible for her to pass through. She realized then that this was no joke. She could only call out desperately, "Dad—Dad—" until her voice was completely hoarse. "The village grandmother told me, if dad could hear my calls, the water wouldn't take him away." She tightly held her mobile phone, continuously dialing her father's number while ceaselessly shouting, "I called dad all night, so hoping his phone would still ring."
Fearlessly, Tang Aiguo, aged 49, used his last ounce of strength to achieve the ultimate rescue.
In the recollections of his neighbors, Tang Aiguo's decision to jump into the water to save someone despite not knowing how to swim was not accidental. "He was honest, hardworking, cared for his family, and was always ready to help others. He was too passionate; whenever there were difficulties for left or right neighbors, he was always the one they could count on," according to the neighbors. They said Tang Aiguo was always eager to do good deeds. If someone needed help, he would offer assistance unconditionally, even if it meant neglecting his own chores.
"When he was salvaged, Tang Aiguo's body was still in the position of lifting upwards," the citizens who participated in the salvage operation introduced.
Wang Hua told the Legal Affairs Weekly reporter that on the evening before, at this very spot, Tang Aiguo sacrificed his precious life to save a drowning woman.
Wang Hua (a pseudonym) came as usual, bringing fishing gear to fish around the We River along the riverside landscape belt near the car bridge south. "This morning at about 9 o'clock, I saw a pair of brand-new black men's leather shoes lying there, and not far from the opposite bank of the river, a ladder was submerged."
Tang Aiguo's cousin Xiao Long sighed, "In fact, he couldn't swim at all. But that's just the kind of enthusiastic person he was."
The rescued woman Hu Fengping was overwhelmed with grief. Tang Aiguo was with his son and daughter.
A week ago during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the father, she, and her younger brother enjoyed lunch together, and the three-person photo in her mobile phone was still vividly clear. "At that time, I even wanted to take a solo photo with dad, but he declined, saying there would be plenty of time and opportunities later," she recalled.
"Me and my younger brother had agreed that next time we gathered for dinner, we would definitely bring our boyfriends along so that dad could give his approval, which has been his long-held wish." Saying this, Rongrong burst into tears, "Dad, do you remember our agreement?" Still unwilling to believe that her father had left her forever.
"The hands of dad were still holding up in the gesture of lifting when he passed away." Tang Aiguo's 24-year-old daughter Rongrong couldn't accept that just a week ago, her father had shared the Mid-Autumn reunion dinner with her, and now he was gone after saving a stranger.
On September 18 at around 10:30 pm, Hu Fengping fell into the river accidentally near the car bridge south along the We River riverside landscape belt in Ningxiang County. Her loud cries for help were heard by Tang Aiguo who happened to pass by. He jumped into the river and struggled to lift Hu Fengping towards the shore. Ten minutes later, Hu Fengping was sent to the hospital by the police officers who arrived for rescue and was successfully saved. However, seven hours later, the search team only found Tang Aiguo's cold, stiff body.
Daughter: Still unwilling to believe father has left
Around 10:40 pm on the same evening, Officer Zhou Labing from the Yutan Police Station in Ningxiang County received a public call, "There is a woman yelling for help at the We River scenic belt."
About two minutes later, Zhou Labing and another three police officers rushed to the scene. The temperature in Ningxiang that night was about 18°C, and the river water was bone-chillingly cold.
"We initially didn't know there was another hero in the water. The rescued woman kept repeating, 'My benefactor hasn't come up yet.'" Zhou Labing and another officer escorted the woman to the hospital for examination. Two other officers remained on-site, calling 119 and 120, and the civilian salvage team also came to conduct the search.
At about 5:30 am, suddenly came three or four shouts, "Found him! Here!" A man's body surfaced steadily after floating in the water. The salvage team used two joined ladders to tie and drag him ashore.
Incident location: No signposts or riverside railings
Rongrong works at Hunan Broadcast Television's Legal Affairs Weekly. Around 1 am on September 19, a series of hurried phone rings woke her up.
"Cousin called me and said that dad jumped into the water to save people and disappeared himself." That night, Rongrong drove with relatives to the scene of the incident, muttering all the way, "I hope this is just a joke."
About 10 pm on the 18th, after eating at a friend's house, Hu Fengping walked home along the riverside landscape belt. "It was very dark on the road, I was wearing high heels, plus the rainy slippery road, I accidentally stepped into thin air and rolled down a steep slope into the river." Ms. Hu immediately cried for help. About four minutes later, a strange man passing by "plunged" into the river, "I vaguely felt that someone was desperately lifting me towards the shore."
Tang Aiguo was a truck driver with a son and a daughter, daughter Rongrong aged 24, and son Shaolong aged 20.
The relevant person in charge of the Party and Government Office of Yutan Town, Ningxiang County, upon hearing this matter, expressed deep sorrow and told the reporter, "After verifying the truth of the event, the government will certainly give the hero an explanation."
The relevant person in charge of Ningxiang County Political and Legal Affairs Commission told the Legal Affairs Weekly reporter that he was proud to have such a hero in Ningxiang, "After fully understanding the cause and effect of this matter, we will decide whether to award Comrade Tang Aiguo the title of 'Righteousness and Bravery.'"
Hu Fengping is currently in the hospital, most of the time she hides her head under the quilt, twisting her whole body to the corner of the wall, and the body wrapped in the quilt keeps trembling slightly. Relatives who came to take care of her said that she kept shedding tears and repeatedly murmuring, "How should I repay?"
This riverside fisherman looked somewhat gloomy, "I almost come here every day to fish. The mooring river water is about 3-4 meters deep, mostly mud below. There are no signposts or riverside railings here, which is quite dangerous." Wang Hua thought that after going home, he would make a signpost to place there to warn passers-by.