ECNS, Enshi, December 21 - A 60-Year-Old Single Man in Hubei Adopts an Abandoned Baby and Raises Him for Two Years. The Child Calls Him "Mom"
Author: Mou Lianxiang, Hu Junjie, Tang Xu
A single man from a poor family adopted an abandoned baby he found by the roadside two years ago. For two years, the man has acted as both father and mother, carefully nurturing the boy's growth. They rely on each other to survive, showing true human emotion even in poverty. He is Zhao Xianxiang, a farmer from Group One, Lianghui Village, Boyang Town, Lichuan City, Hubei Province.
Single Man, Poor Family Background
Zhao Xianxiang, 60 years old, is a simple and honest farmer. He has been frail since childhood, with no education or special skills, and thus remained a farmer after growing up. Due to his family's poverty, he never married.
Zhao Xianxiang's home is very simple. The house is built of stone blocks, with broken walls and covered with fragmented tiles. When you look up indoors, it feels like being outside, with stars visible through countless holes. His home lacks a proper stove; his cooking tools are just the traditional "fire pit" and a blackened "tripod pot".
Although his family is poor, he does not have the bad habit of laziness. He often helps villagers with farm work and odd jobs, and is seen as a warm-hearted person in everyone's eyes.
Kind-heartedness Leads to Adoption of an Abandoned Baby
One winter morning in 2009, it was raining heavily and extremely cold, but Zhao Xianxiang still went to the fields to work as usual. Around noon, while carrying a load on his way home, he heard a "wah wah" cry that made him stop in his tracks. He put down his load and followed the sound, only to be shocked by what he saw: a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, its little face frozen purple in the icy wind, with only weak cries echoing in the cold valley.
Whose child is this? Zhao Xianxiang called out in all directions, but there was no response. He finally confirmed that the baby had been abandoned by its parents. Without hesitation, Zhao Xianxiang immediately took off his own clothes, wrapped the child in them, and rushed home. At home, he warmed the child by the fire and found formula to feed him. He also gave the child a name: Zhao Anyue. "This child is really lucky. I didn't expect that I would be able to raise him, it's a miracle," Zhao Xianxiang said reflectively.
Tough Raising, Never Giving Up
After bringing the child home, many people advised Zhao Xianxiang to give up adopting him. But Zhao Xianxiang firmly and resolutely said, "No matter which child it is, he is a life. As long as I am alive, I will take care of him every day and let him grow up."
For more than two years, despite his sickly body, Zhao Xianxiang has taken care of the child every day whether he is farming or cooking. He acts as both father and mother, feeding the child, washing his clothes, bathing him, and putting him to sleep. Now the child is already two years old, healthy and obedient. "Mom..." During the interview, the child kept calling Zhao Xianxiang this way, and Zhao Xianxiang would occasionally hold the child and kiss him affectionately. "As long as I am still alive, I will take good care of him and find a way to let him go to school in the future," Zhao Xianxiang said firmly and hopefully. (End)