Xinhua News Agency, Shijiazhuang, April 11th - Title: The Most Heartwarming Story of Spring – Several Graduates from Hebei Agricultural University Comfort and Support the Parents of Their Deceased Classmate for 15 Years
Reporters Wang Kun, Qi Leijie, and Zhang Qin for Xinhua News Agency's "China Web Affairs"
For 15 years, several graduates from Hebei Agricultural University have consistently comforted and supported the parents of their deceased classmate, touching the hearts of millions of internet users. This story has been hailed as "the most heartwarming story of spring" and has sparked heated discussions among netizens about "moral education in the era."
"The 15-year support by graduates of Hebei Agricultural University to the parents of their deceased classmate" has become a hot search term on Baidu, with nearly four thousand related links. Recently, reporters from Xinhua News Agency's "China Web Affairs" visited the people involved in this touching story.
[Core Web Story] "The Most Heartwarming Story of Spring" Touches Millions of Netizens
Fifteen years ago, Li Baoyuan from the Horticulture Department of Hebei Agricultural University passed away due to illness. His classmates decided to take care of his parents after hearing the words, "We must take care of Baoyuan's parents." This promise has been kept alive for 15 years.
This act has moved millions of netizens and is called "the most heartwarming story of spring," sparking heated discussions among netizens about "moral education in the era."
Many netizens said they read the story with tears in their eyes. A netizen named "Xia Mianmian" from TieXue Community said, "I cried my eyes out after reading this story; it's incredibly moving! There is still true affection in this world!"
A netizen from Beijing on the People's Daily Strong Nation Forum said, "This is the 'clear sound of moral education in the era.' In today's materialistic society, these ordinary people upheld a simple promise for fifteen years, which is truly precious."
A netizen from Zhejiang on Sina Weibo wrote a short poem: "Love is like the sunlight shining in winter, making the impoverished and diseased feel the warmth of humanity; love is like the spring water appearing in the desert, giving those on the brink of despair hope for life."
A Sina Weibo user named "Chengcheng" said, "Reports of cold human relationships, unfilial children, lack of integrity, and indifference and selfishness flood the internet, inevitably causing frustration, chill, and helplessness. The persistence of the students of Hebei Agricultural University over 15 years has made people realize again the value of genuine feelings and touched our innermost being."
A netizen named "Xiao Ao Cang Qiong" from NetEase said, "The most heartwarming story of spring resonates strongly, proving that truth, goodness, and beauty are eternal and need to be advocated. There is always a story that makes us shed tears."
[Extended Reading] A Promise Made, A Promise Kept for 15 Years
(1) A Promise: "We Must Take Care of Baoyuan's Parents"
On March 25, 2011, 66-year-old Li Weihé traveled from Chengde to Baoding to meet the "sons and daughters" who had consoled and supported him for fifteen years.
As memories unfolded, time rewound to 15 years ago. Li Weihé and his wife, who had already lost their eldest son, faced another tragedy when their younger son, Li Baoyuan, succumbed to dilated cardiomyopathy, leaving only two elderly parents behind. Devastated, Li Weihé’s wife swallowed a large amount of sleeping pills and was unconscious for seven days before waking up.
On the last night before graduation, the 26 classmates of Li Baoyuan gathered together. "As usual, we naturally talked about Baoyuan. Niu Shuqi said, 'We must take care of Baoyuan's parents,' and then wrote down 'Li Weihé, Wulongji Village, Xiabancheng Town, Chengde County, Chengde City, 067400' on the blackboard," recalled Shi Cuiping, the former Youth League Secretary. "At that moment, no one spoke. Everyone silently copied the address into their notebooks."
Niu Shuqi told reporters, "It was natural to say and do what we did. The hardest thing during our four years at university was losing Li Baoyuan. Seeing the elders so heartbroken and knowing they would be left alone afterward, we decided to take care of Baoyuan's parents on his behalf."
(2) Fifteen Years of Commitment: 15 Remittance Slips and Over 100 Letters Home
In order to treat both of Li Baoyuan's sons, the originally impoverished family incurred a massive debt of 70,000 yuan. "Both of my sons are gone, and I'm left with a mountain of debt. At that time, I really didn't want to live anymore," said Li Weihé.
"At a time of despair, we received a letter signed by 'All Students of Class 9301 Horticulture.' It read, 'Although Baoyuan is gone, we remain. From now on, your living expenses will be covered by us. We are about to graduate, but the unfinished tasks of Baoyuan will be continued by us... You must live well for Baoyuan and everyone else.'"
No one expected that such special "letters home" would continue for fifteen years, totaling over 100 letters. Li Weihé said, "Over the years, they have become my real sons and daughters, the spiritual pillar for my wife and me to keep going."
Despite leading mostly modest lives after graduation, everyone still persisted in sending money to the elderly couple. They said, "That sentence back then was equivalent to carving an agreement in our hearts. There is no expiration date for this agreement. As long as the elders are alive, we will take care of them!"
Yang Zhengwu sent 300 yuan to Li Weihé during his first month of work when he earned only 300 yuan per month. He stopped sending money while paying off his mortgage but resumed once the loan was cleared. Shi Cuiping and her husband Niu Shuqi would write letters every twelfth lunar month just like they were writing to their own parents, often sending 100 yuan, 200 yuan, or 500 yuan. During their ten-year reunion in 2007, the class pooled together 1000 yuan to send to the elders...
Besides providing financial support, Li Baoyuan's classmates also sent more than 100 "letters home" to the elderly couple over fifteen years. Li Weihé said, "Every time I received a letter, my wife would lock the door and cry her heart out." Du Yanmin, the former class monitor, said, "We were afraid of bringing up painful memories for the elders, so we didn't dare to write too many letters. We only sent one letter each year during the twelfth lunar month to wish them well, comfort them to take care of their health, and remind them to pick up the remittances."
"Receiving the letter means receiving the heart. Sending even one cent and writing one sentence make us feel less lonely and helpless," said Li Weihé. "Without the comfort and encouragement of our classmates, we wouldn't know how to go on."
(3) Tears Flow Upon Meeting: "You Are Our Real Sons and Daughters"
To pay off debts, Li Weihé sold the newly built house and struggled to manage a few acres of orchards, worked various jobs, lived frugally, while also taking care of his sick wife. The villagers all said the debts didn't need to be paid back immediately, as they couldn't bear to see Li Weihé laboring so hard after losing his sons. However, Li Weihé said, "For my son, for my son's classmates, I must pay off all the debts as soon as possible."
After the Spring Festival this year, Li Weihé finally paid off the 70,000 yuan debt. On Qingming Festival, Du Yanmin, Shi Cuiping, Yang Zhengwu, Li Jinggang, and others represented the entire class to visit the elders in Chengde County and laid flowers at Li Baoyuan's grave. "Baoyuan, your classmates have come to see you. They are just like my own flesh and blood, supporting me year after year, making me strong enough to live on. They have taken on the things you didn't finish. You can rest in peace in the netherworld," said Li Weihé, tears streaming down his face at his son's grave.
After clearing the debts, Li Weihé said he had one more wish unfulfilled—to thank the classmates of his son who had consoled and supported him for fifteen years in Baoding. The CEO of the company where Li Weihé worked was deeply moved by the story and decided to sponsor Old Li to fulfill this wish.
On March 25, Li Weihé arrived in Baoding, facing the classmates of his son. Niu Shuqi, Du Yanmin, Shi Cuiping, Li Jinggang, Qi Yefeng, and others were all middle-aged people nearing forty. Li Weihé took out a letter from his pocket: "My dear children, you all have your own parents and children, yet you have always remembered two elders with no blood relation to you. What Baoyuan could not do, you have done for him. You are our real sons and daughters!" Everyone present was deeply moved.
Professor Ge Chenhong from Renmin University of China said, "The 15-year persistence of agricultural university students is golden quality, embodying the most beautiful love, responsibility, and dedication in humanity. All those moved by nobility will walk alongside nobility."
Wang Binglin, Vice President of Beijing Normal University, said, "In the tide of the market economy, moral integrity is scarce and therefore precious. The sincere care of agricultural university students is a powerful rebuttal to the theory of 'money above all.'"