An elderly man begs with a camel
Trainee reporter Zhang Qinghua (text and photos)
At noon yesterday, at the intersection of Qingyuan Street and Yuhua East Road in the provincial capital, an elderly man with gray hair was sitting by the roadside begging while leading a camel, drawing the attention of many citizens. Many citizens took out money and put it into the old man's begging jar.
The elderly man's clothes were very ragged. He held an iron pot which contained coins of one yuan, five jiao, and one jiao, and the largest amount of paper money was only five yuan. A huge camel lying next to him caught everyone's eyes. The camel carried bedding, clothes, and other items belonging to the old man.
During our conversation, we learned that he is 86 years old and hails from Shanxi Province. When the reporter asked the old man for his name, he requested to write it down on a notebook. After taking the reporter’s notebook and pen, the old man neatly wrote down the three characters "Yang Meilao." "I attended primary school, never got married, and I still have brothers. My two mu of land are cultivated by my brother," said the old man.
The old man started begging when he was 42 and has been to multiple places such as Beijing, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Hebei. Nineteen years ago, a 41-year-old Chinese engineer went to Vietnam to find a bride. During this time, the old man bought the camel in Inner Mongolia using 8000 yuan he had saved over 14 years. Since then, he has traveled across the country with the camel for begging. "The camel is a good companion, but sometimes it doesn't listen and has a bad temper," said the old man. While the old man begged, the camel would always kneel beside him, sometimes making noises after long periods. The old man said he had never ridden the camel because he didn't want to tire it. "Today at noon, the camel and I ate steamed buns given by others." As he spoke, the old man pointed to the camel's body, saying, "There are water and many steamed buns in the pocket, all given by kind-hearted people."
The owner of a tobacco and liquor store at the intersection gave the old man ten yuan and offered to cook for him, asking him to eat before leaving. However, the old man insisted that he had already eaten. Many passersby also casually placed one or two coins in the old man's iron pot.
The camel by the old man's side attracted many citizens to watch. Many people took pictures of the camel with their mobile phones or cameras. "It's the first time I've seen someone beg with a camel," said some citizens.
The old man said that he had been out of Shanxi for more than a month this time. Every night, he stayed by the roadside or under a bridge. "At night, the camel can keep me warm, but the weather is about to get cold soon. I will return to Shanxi and stay there through the winter before coming out again," said the old man.
The old man led the camel to a bank at the intersection, tied it to a tree outside, and went inside to exchange money. "These coins are hard to carry, so exchanging them for paper money makes it easier," said the old man. After coming out of the bank, the old man tidied up the luggage on the camel and continued begging along Qingyuan Street.
It is reported that rescue stations and many kind-hearted citizens have previously offered to help the old man, but he refused each time.
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