After adopting a child, Chen Daojin, who was already penniless, had no choice but to take up a side job - collecting scrap - in addition to farming, so that the child could drink formula. Afterwards, people often saw at the village entrance and in the town a frail old man carrying an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes on his back while picking up various scraps of junk. Nineteen years ago, when Chen Daojin, nearing seventy, found a crying baby girl at his doorstep, he could have sent her away the same way she came. However, he did not do so. For nineteen years, he has relied on farming and collecting scrap to raise the child with great difficulty. Now, what troubles Chen Daojin is that he is getting older and weaker, while the child's condition is becoming increasingly severe.
"She was wrapped in a very thin blanket, wearing only a tattered vest." Chen Daojin recalled that those days were particularly cold, with ice thick enough to walk on in the pond by his door. When he first saw the child's purple face, he thought it was due to the freezing weather.
The room was originally dimly lit, but through the cracks in the walls and the holes in the roof, beams of light shone in, creating speckled spots on the ground. Some cracks extended from the roof to the floor, wide enough for an adult to insert their hand.
When talking about Chen Yan's condition, Chen Daojin became worried. Outside came the cries of a baby.
There were only two rooms in the adobe house, with only one bedroom belonging to Chen Yan. Chen Lao Han's bed was placed in a corner of the hall. There was not a single decent piece of furniture in the house. A small broken television was the only electrical appliance. The most numerous items in the house were the various cardboard boxes and wine bottles collected by Chen Daojin.
Without much time to think, Chen Daojin quickly brought the baby girl inside.
In Suwan Town, Chaohu City, Jiedun Village, whenever villagers were asked about Chen Daojin and Chen Yan, this grandfather-granddaughter duo, they couldn't help but shed sympathetic tears.
However, soon after, a neighbor reminded him that the child's complexion didn't look normal. Indeed, upon examination, it was discovered that the child had congenital heart disease.
The first winter finally passed. Spring arrived, and although the house was in disrepair, beautiful swallows still flew in and built nests in their adobe house. Watching the gracefully dancing swallows, Chen Daojin suddenly got an idea and named the child "Chen Yan" (since Grandpa Chen was illiterate, the name "Yan" was written as "Yan" when Chen Yan registered for school).
For 19 years, Chen Daojin has relied on collecting scrap and later meager low-income assistance to raise the child bit by bit. However, watching little Chen Yan grow day by day, he himself is also aging. What troubles Chen Daojin the most is that Chen Yan's heart disease has become increasingly severe.
"You can barely support yourself, and the child has serious heart disease, it would be better if..." A neighbor suggested to Chen Daojin that he send the baby girl secretly to someone else's doorstep elsewhere using the same method. "It's so cold, if the child gets frozen, what will happen?" Regarding this suggestion, Chen Daojin stubbornly refused.
"If it weren't for my illness, I would definitely make my grandpa live a better life!" Chen Yan told reporters that after graduating from junior high school, due to the family's poor conditions, she gave up the opportunity to continue studying and began working at a wool sweater factory in the town. Now, she earns nearly 1000 yuan per month. "When I get paid, I buy some pastries for my grandpa, but every time I think about my illness, my grandpa scolds me for wasting money and even refuses to eat out of anger."
On February 5th in the afternoon, our reporter team came to Jiedun Village, Suwan Town. Hearing that reporters were going to interview at Chen Yan's home, many villagers enthusiastically offered to guide us. From afar, we noticed that among the villager's buildings, a dilapidated adobe house stood out conspicuously. The villagers pointed to that adobe house and said that it was where Chen Daojin and his granddaughter lived.
For 19 years, these two have depended on each other for survival.
Villager Hu Changxiu told reporters that in the village, Chen Daojin used to be a person of considerable prestige. Due to his hardworking nature, he became one of the few party members in the village when he was young, and subsequently became a village cadre.
The reporter noticed that Chen Yan's face, nose, and lips were all purple, and the distal joints of her hands were much larger than normal. According to the doctor's examination, apart from having congenital heart disease, Chen Yan also suffered from severe tetralogy of Fallot. "The doctor said surgery must be done as soon as possible, but with medical costs of over ten thousand yuan, how many more years will it take for me to save up?" Chen Yan sighed.
Looking at this unfortunate grandfather-granddaughter pair, everyone present couldn't help but sigh. Spring has come, and the cold days are about to pass. If there are kind-hearted people willing to lend a helping hand to this grandfather-granddaughter pair, please call our newspaper hotline: 96511, or contact Chen Yan directly at 18756518207.
"I'm still young, I can support myself," Chen Yan immediately smiled and consoled her grandfather, but soon after, her smile was filled with tears. "I'm just afraid that if this disease progresses, I won't even be able to work, then what will Grandpa and I do?" At this point, Chen Yan started sobbing.
"We haven't seen his two sons for decades!" Hu Changxiu told reporters, "His eldest son's wife died of illness many years ago, and he himself failed in business, owing others a lot of debt, and hasn't dared to return home for years. His younger son had a child, but later died in a car accident, and he divorced his wife. Now, no one knows where they are drifting."
"This house is at least 30 years old!" Neighbor Hu Changxiu pointed to the uneven muddy ground and told reporters, "Fortunately, it's sunny today, so the ground is dry. On rainy days, they have to wear rubber shoes indoors."
"Whenever I think of this grandfather-grandson pair, I want to cry!" Hu Changxiu said, "Usually, when they are short of something, neighbors around will help, sending them rice, oil, and vegetables! But the most crucial issue is the child's illness, which we are powerless to help with!"
In the winter of 1993, at dawn, 68-year-old Chen Daojin was suddenly awakened by the cries of a baby outside the door. "None of the left and right neighbors have newborns recently?" Puzzled, he quickly wrapped himself in a cotton coat and went out to check. As soon as he opened the door, he was shocked. He saw a frail baby girl lying on the bluestone slab in front of his door, her face purple.
Relying on collecting scrap to raise the child