Singers held hands and sang on the street. Half a month ago, Xu Chunlan from Chongqing learned about Yu Meiling, a leukemia girl from Yunyang County, through TV. Renmin University stated that the woman who fell from a building on campus was not a student.
On December 18th, after a busy day, Xu Chunlan returned home and saw Chongqing Television reporting on the story of a teenage girl battling leukemia for two years in Yunyang County. This teenager was Yu Meiling, dressed in a white down jacket at the scene, who is now 19 years old and had dropped out of school to fight her illness. Over the past two years, Meiling's family had accumulated heavy debts; her father worked as a laborer, eating steamed buns and leftovers, spending only 1.5 yuan per day.
This story deeply touched Xu Chunlan. After discussing with her husband, she decided to donate 1000 yuan to the girl the next day. She sent a text message to Yu Meiling: "If you need help, sister is here to chat with you." Thus began their communication, exchanging over a thousand messages in 13 days.
On December 17th, Meiling told her "Xu Sister" that there was a band in the main city willing to help her raise funds by singing. Xu Chunlan was skeptical but decided to observe quietly. She recorded every donation amount and location while keeping in touch with the girl... Every day, Meiling and her father deposited all the money into their account without exception.
After three days of observation, Xu Chunlan was reassured that the singers were indeed kind-hearted people. The baton of love was then passed on to the mysterious man in sunglasses under Xu Chunlan's cautious care.
Yesterday, as the band left, the Chongqing Evening News reporter stopped the man in sunglasses. He firmly said: "I don't want to be famous, really." But hearing he could help Meiling, he stayed and shared his story with the girl.
The man in sunglasses is Guan Huaqian, a 41-year-old professional in organizing weddings and funerals. His company name, "Anti-Violence One-Stop Service," is quite unique. For ten years, he has been providing wedding and funeral services, owning a storefront and an apartment. Every afternoon, Guan Huaqian contacts singers and musicians for gigs.
"I also saw Meiling's story on TV." On December 5th, Guan Huaqian transferred 500 yuan to Meiling's account and kept in contact with her. To help her, Guan Huaqian organized charity performances. He contacted volunteer singers and musicians, all of whom agreed to help.
On December 17th, accompanied by her father, Meiling arrived in the main city and met Guan Huaqian. The next morning, they gathered four people and set up instruments to sing and raise funds in Xinglong Street.
"This is the fifth day and the sixth performance." On the first day, they performed both in the morning and afternoon, collapsing after finishing at 5 PM, then rushing off to other gigs.
After each performance, Guan Huaqian would be moved to tears. "To hide my tears, I have to wear sunglasses," Guan Huaqian explained. "Also, to cover the dark circles from lack of sleep."
Guan Huaqian's wife Yuan Shiqin said: "Wedding and funeral services mainly happen at night, usually finishing around one or two AM. Sometimes we have noon gigs too, I worry he can't handle it."
The couple let the girl live in their newlywed home
Guan Huaqian married Yuan Shiqin last year. After renovating the house, they rarely lived in it due to their busy business schedule.
To give Meiling a warm home, Guan Huaqian and his wife moved to the storefront and let Meiling use their new home.
Yesterday afternoon, following Meiling, the Chongqing Evening News reporter visited Guan Huaqian's two-bedroom, two-living room apartment in Jiagxin Garden neighborhood, which spans over 100 square meters.
In the master bedroom, the wedding photos had been taken down and placed aside. "This is my bedroom, my sister took down her wedding photos so I could stay comfortably," Meiling wiped the frames with a cloth, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Every day, she cooks for us," Meiling's father Yu Shaohsing stroked the warm red quilt. "This is their wedding quilt, now being used by our child." Not only did Guan's family organize charity performances, but they also provided free food and lodging.
Bone marrow found, surgery costs 300,000 yuan
By yesterday, a total of 23,770 yuan had been raised for Meiling through charity performances. Although far from the goal of 300,000 yuan, Guan Huaqian was confident and determined to continue.
In 2009, just after graduating from junior high school, Meiling was diagnosed with leukemia. As an ordinary villager in Panlong Town, Yunyang County, Yu Shaohsing couldn't afford the treatment costs for his daughter.
That year, after learning about the situation, the Yunyang County Volunteers Association issued a call for donations, and the local women's federation also paid attention to Meiling's condition. That year, the few ten thousand yuan collected temporarily improved Meiling's condition.
In March 2011, Meiling's condition worsened, and she was readmitted to Wanzhou Three Gorges Hospital. Soon, she came to Xin Qiao Hospital in the main city for chemotherapy and learned that bone marrow transplantation was required. After further testing at a Beijing specialist hospital, the bone marrow sample sent by Xin Qiao Hospital matched successfully.
However, the 300,000 yuan surgery cost was astronomical for this impoverished family. Local television stations and media once again reached out to help Meiling, and many people visited the hospital to encourage her.
This news spread to the main city, reaching a group of kind-hearted individuals.
She wants to pass on the baton of love
Ms. Zhang, a kind-hearted person, visited Meiling at home for the fourth time yesterday. She met Meiling during the band's first charity performance. Yesterday, several others, who didn't know each other, came together to visit Meiling because they cared about this stranger.
"I never imagined there are such good people," Yu Shaohsing said. "It feels like a dream." Pointing to his daughter's clothes, he said: "All these clothes were bought by Yuan Shiqin and other kind-hearted people, even my clothes were donated."
"What can I do to thank you for doing so much for us?" This was the most repeated sentence by Yu Shaohsing. Each time he said it, tears streamed down his face.
Meiling remained silent but quietly asked the Chongqing Evening News reporter: "If I get better, how can I repay them?"
Then, she added, if she unfortunately passed away, she wanted to donate her organs to help those in need, passing on the baton of love through herself.