Guangzhou Daily
In the northern part of Raoping County in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, in the Hakka mountainous area, a five-year-old boy named Xiao Wei is taking care of his 29-year-old mother who suffers from uremia day and night.
He is too short and has to stand on a bamboo stool to reach the kitchen range when cooking sweet potato leaves for his mother; he is too young and secretly calls the doctor offering to give his kidney to his mother.
Lying in bed, the mother, in order to hide the possible outcome from her understanding son, writes several letters to her future son at night. The dates on the letters are 2012, 2015...
Five-Year-Old Boy Knows How to Cook
At noon on the 11th, the firewood in the earthen stove at the little boy's home was burning brightly, and the big iron pot was steaming with heat. This frail five-year-old boy stood on a small bamboo stool by the stove, holding a spatula almost as long as his arm, seriously stir-frying sweet potato leaves. But there was no oil in the pot, nor salt. He carefully scooped up the sweet potato leaves and put them on a plate, carefully carrying this dish to his mom who was leaning against the bed.
The mother, Cuilian, was diagnosed with uremia three months ago. Her husband had to leave his wife and son to work far away in Fujian. The five-year-old boy Xiao Wei doesn't know what illness his mother has, but he knows that she is sick, cannot eat oil, and cannot eat salt.
While feeding his mother, he also mimics an adult's tone: "Mom, why do you drop so many grains like I did when I was little?"
Telling the Doctor About Donating His Kidney
After being diagnosed with uremia, Cuilian mostly stays at home for rest and dialysis treatment. Whenever she feels unwell, she calls Dr. Zhan Futai from the town health center for a house call. Dr. Zhan's phone number is written on a piece of paper and placed by the bedside.
Dr. Zhan Futai clearly remembers receiving a call from Xiao Wei a few days ago. Xiao Wei sneaked out and called Dr. Zhan without his mother noticing, making a request: "I want to give my kidney to Mom to save her."
Dr. Zhan Futai told reporters that he was very surprised when he received this call, not knowing how to communicate with this five-year-old child.
Xiao Wei doesn't know what it means to donate a kidney; he doesn't even know that the kidney is inside his own body. He just heard his mother mention "kidney transplant" to someone else, and he just wants to save his mother. "Mom looks most beautiful in dark red clothes. I hope one day we can both wear dark red clothes and go out together."
Mother's "Letters to the Future"
On the night of September 19th, as Typhoon Fanapi approached, Cuilian lay awake all night: if her condition worsens, her son mustn't know, she has to hide it from him. "Let him have something to look forward to. When adults here pass away, they usually lie to their children, telling them they are working outside." Cuilian said.
That night, she wrote and tore, tore and rewrote, staying up all night, she finished two letters, dated 2012 and 2015 respectively. Cuilian kept the two letters, planning to hand them over to relatives only in case of absolute necessity.