Employees of the Wenzhou Charity Federation visited Elder Zhou on his sickbed.
To outsiders, Zhou Shaowen, an octogenarian living alone, seemed like a stubborn "strange old man": even though he had several thousand yuan in pension every month, he made a living by scavenging; for over a decade, he was extraordinarily frugal, not using a single unit of electricity or water at home, instead using rainwater that he had collected...
However, those who knew him said that this frugal elder had the purest soul in the world. It's hard to imagine that the elder donated everything he saved to charity. From 2001 to now, he has insisted on donating every month, even progressing to "nakedly" donating his entire pension for seven or eight consecutive years. In total, over 130 times, the amount has reached more than 275,000 yuan.
This elderly man, who once received honors such as one of the "Ten Most Touching People of Wenzhou in 2006" and "One of the First Hundred Charitable Elders of Wenzhou," suddenly fell ill a month ago. At a critical moment, the society to which the elder continuously contributed responded: the Wenzhou Charity Federation and the community where the elder lived took action...
The neighbors all knew about the "naked donation" of the pension.
In the Taoli Community of Shuixin Street, Lucheng District, Wenzhou, where Elder Zhou Shaowen lived, everyone seemed to know something about his charitable deeds.
"When the community organizes some charitable activities, he often donates hundreds of yuan at a time. If we don't accept it, he gets upset," recalled a security guard from the community.
Many people know one of Elder Zhou's stories: On a cold morning in January 2001, dressed in an old cotton jacket, Zhou Shaowen hurriedly found the preparatory committee of the Wenzhou Charity Federation, handed over 1,000 yuan in cash to the staff, and requested to donate it to charity.
At the same time as donating, the elder also promised the staff on the spot: From now on, I will donate every month until my last breath.
When many people heard the elder's words, they thought it might just be talk, but they were wrong.
Since then, the elder really did donate regularly every month, with the amount gradually increasing from the initial 1,000 yuan to eventually "nakedly" donating his entire pension.
"He currently receives more than 4,000 yuan in pension each month. As soon as it is deposited into his account, he withdraws it the next day to donate," said Xia Xiuping, the secretary of the Taoli Community General Branch of the Communist Party.
Not only that, on the second day after the Wenchuan earthquake, he walked all the way to the Wenzhou Charity Federation and handed over a weighty ten thousand yuan; to help an unknown impoverished family, he decided to donate ten thousand yuan. Not having enough money on hand, he made installment donations, fulfilling his promise in five months...
When asked why he did this, Zhou Shaowen would say that he had participated in the Korean War and was influenced by Chang Xiangyu's donation of planes.
Very generous when donating, extremely stingy with himself
Zhou Shaowen successively received more than ten provincial and municipal honorary titles, including one of the "Top Ten Philanthropists of Wenzhou in 30 Years of Reform and Opening-up," and the "Individual Award of Zhejiang Charity Award" in 2008 and 2010.
In September this year, Zhou Shaowen was also selected as one of the "First Hundred Charitable Elders of Wenzhou."
However, compared to the "generosity" of his donations, Zhou Shaowen could be said to be "extremely stingy" with himself.
As a retired cadre from the Wenzhou grain system, Zhou Shaowen's main source of income in his later years was his pension. After "nakedly" donating, he relied on scavenging for garbage to survive.
In the house on the second floor of Building 15 in the Taoli Group in Shuixin, generally no one could enter, "partly because he didn't like others coming in, and partly because the house was filled with waste items he picked up, making the air very foul," said Xia Xiuping.
He even went without electricity or water for over a decade and slept directly on the ground.
Considering his situation, staff from the charity department and community cadres had tried to persuade him not to donate so much and to consider his own retirement, but he refused every time and continued as usual.
After being elected as one of the "Ten Most Touching People of Wenzhou in 2006," the award speech written for Zhou Shaowen read, "An elder who lives frugally has the purest soul in the world."
Before falling ill unexpectedly, he was still donating.
In October last year, the community set up a "Love Restaurant" for home-based elderly care, where elders could pay more than 300 yuan per month to have lunch and dinner.
The Wenzhou Charity Federation quietly reached an "agreement" with the community to help pay for six months of meal fees, "tricking" Zhou Shaowen into eating at the restaurant for "free."
Chef Xie Meixin and neighborhood security guard Dong Guangrong, knowing how difficult it was for Zhou Shaowen, cared for him especially attentively on a daily basis.
On the noon of November 10 this year, Xie Meixin noticed that Zhou Shaowen hadn't come for lunch, and subsequently informed Xia Xiuping.
That afternoon, Xia Xiuping went to the elder's home with her colleagues.
"We heard Elder Zhou respond, but the door wasn't opened," said Xia Xiuping. With Dong Guangrong's assistance in opening the door, they found Elder Zhou lying on the ground, having lost control of his bladder and bowels.
Xia Xiuping quickly notified Deputy Secretary-General Chen Xiaolan of the Wenzhou Charity Federation, "It's hard for ordinary people to move Elder Zhou; the people from the charity department are who he trusts most."
"He didn't want to go to the hospital, fearing the cost, so we had to 'trick' him, saying we were just taking him to visit the Wenzhou Charity Federation," said Xia Xiuping.
The elder reluctantly agreed, but then said, "Let's go on the 6th."
Originally, the 6th or 7th of every month was the day the elder "nakedly" donated his pension, "At the time, his speech was already somewhat confused, but he still remembered these things."
Xia Xiuping also mentioned another incident: just two days before Zhou Shaowen's accident, community workers assisting him with bathing found two receipts in his clothing pocket.
One was for a donation of more than 4,000 yuan, likely the receipt for donating his pension in October this year; the other was a personal donation receipt from the Wenzhou Charity Federation dated November, with "Ten Thousand Yuan Whole" written on it.
He helps everyone
Everyone also helps him
After much persuasion, Zhou Shaowen was sent to the hospital for treatment.
"It wasn't until we got to the hospital that we saw clearly; his face was swollen, probably from a fall," said Xia Xiuping.
After the Kangning Hospital treated him, they found that the elder had cerebral hemorrhage, and if it had been delayed any longer, it could have endangered his life.
The next day, the elder was urgently transferred to the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College. That afternoon, the elder underwent brain surgery.
Xia Xiuping and others were also busy, helping the elder make up medical insurance procedures while trying their best to contact his family.
Ultimately, Zhou Shaowen's brother and sister, both over seventy, received the news and quickly arrived at the hospital.
Currently, under the specialized care hired by the Wenzhou Charity Federation, Zhou Shaowen has been transferred to the geriatric ward of Min Kang Hospital for medical treatment.
Yesterday afternoon, the staff of the Wenzhou Charity Federation visited the elder again.
The elder's vital signs are basically stable, but he has developed brain shrinkage and is undergoing treatment to slow down the condition.
Public information shows that for such philanthropists encountering difficulties, the charity department will coordinate with their relatives to provide priority assistance.
In recent days, Elder Zhou Shaowen's story has sparked heated discussions in the community.
Most people believe that society needs love like Elder Zhou's, but do not advocate the "naked donation" method.
Relevant personnel from the Wenzhou Charity Federation also told the media that there are many elderly people in Wenzhou participating in acts of kindness, which is a good tradition locally, but they do not advocate "naked donations" like Elder Zhou Shaowen's, nor do they advocate elderly borrowing money for charitable donations. "Charity work welcomes contributions according to one's ability."