Mr. Zhuang walked with his donkey to Nanjing. The donkey's back hooves were injured, so it had to wear shoes.
At 9 p.m. the day before yesterday, on the Chengxi Road section of the Water West Gate in Nanjing City, citizens found a young man leading a donkey walking from south to north on the overpass. Reporters learned that the man surnamed Zhuang, and the donkey was bought from Heilongjiang Province. Mr. Zhuang had been walking all the way with the donkey to Nanjing for five months, and his destination was Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. Last night, Mr. Zhuang led the donkey again, heading south.
Donkey Story
Unable to carry heavy loads, he thought of a donkey
From Xi'an, Beijing, to Heilongjiang, he finally bought a donkey
At 9:30 p.m. yesterday, I met Mr. Zhuang leading the donkey on Hanxi Gate Street in Nanjing. He told me that he came from the Yangtze River Bridge, but once he entered the city, he got confused and ended up on the overpass. "When we first arrived in Nanjing, the donkey's right hind hoof was injured by the cement road and couldn't walk anymore. Later, we put broken shoes on its hooves, and it could barely walk."
Mr. Zhuang told reporters that he is from Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, and is 34 years old. He has been working in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province for a long time. Originally, Mr. Zhuang helped people carry stone materials on construction sites. Since he often had to carry heavy objects uphill, which was tiring, he thought buying a donkey would solve the problem because donkeys are strong and have good temperaments. In July this year, Mr. Zhuang set out from the construction site in Huzhou and traveled northward to look for where to buy donkeys. On the way, Mr. Zhuang visited places like Xi'an and Beijing, and finally found two donkeys at the livestock market in Qinggang County, Heilongjiang Province. One was four years old and cost 2200 yuan, while the other was eight years old and pregnant, costing 2000 yuan.
Driving Donkeys
Five months, over 2000 kilometers
Mr. Zhuang naively thought that riding two donkeys from Heilongjiang back to Zhejiang wouldn't be too far, so he drove the two donkeys along the national highway and started his journey home. When they reached Shenyang, Liaoning Province, one of the pregnant female donkeys couldn't move anymore and frequently "collapsed". Later, when they reached Tianjin, the female donkey couldn't move at all, and Mr. Zhuang had no choice but to sell it to a taxi driver in Tianjin for 1555 yuan.
I used Baidu Maps to check, and the total distance from Qinggang County, Heilongjiang Province to Nanjing City exceeds 2200 kilometers, and Mr. Zhuang took nearly five months. According to his account, starting from Qinggang County in Heilongjiang, he first reached Shenyang, Liaoning Province, bypassed Beijing, went to Tianjin, then passed through Hebei and Shandong, eventually reaching Jiangsu.
Mr. Zhuang said that as they continued to go south, they looked at the road signs at the crossroads. He also adjusted his direction based on the position of the sun.
Dependent on bread and cookies on the road
When I first met Mr. Zhuang, I took him to a noodle shop on Hanxi Gate Street. Facing a bowl of steaming noodles, Mr. Zhuang told me that he hadn't eaten anything hot for several months. To save expenses, every time he reached a city, he bought some bread and cookies and put them in his bag, eating them when he was hungry. When the donkey was hungry, it would call out, and Mr. Zhuang would stop, drive the donkey to the side of the road, let it eat grass by the roadside, and stop to let the donkey drink water when there was water available. He also shared some of his saved bread and cookies with the donkey.
In about a week, he will be home
Reporters learned that so far, Mr. Zhuang has spent more than 10,000 yuan, mainly on food and drinks, as well as buying shoes. From Heilongjiang to Nanjing, he doesn't remember how many pairs of shoes he has worn out. After helping him calculate, the distance from Nanjing to Huzhou, Zhejiang is approximately 200 kilometers. Mr. Zhuang said that if he doesn't rest, he can walk 30 kilometers a day, so it will take him about a week to get home. Mr. Zhuang told reporters that the New Year is coming, and he wants to get to Huzhou as soon as possible to settle down his "old buddy", and then return to his hometown in Jiangxi to spend the New Year with his family.
Interesting Stories Along the Way
Caught as a thief
On the way, Mr. Zhuang was mistaken by the police as a donkey thief. At that time, he was in Linghai City, Liaoning Province, walking along the national highway when a police car suddenly stopped in front of him. The police officers at the station suspected that his two donkeys were stolen. Helplessly, Mr. Zhuang had to buy a train ticket back to the Qinggang County Livestock Market in Heilongjiang to retrieve the proof, and only after that was he allowed to lead the donkey out. Later, he basically started traveling in the afternoon, using the darkness to walk on the national highway, and during the day, he would find a forest to sleep in.
The Stubborn Donkey Kneeling
For five months on the road, locals along the way often urged Mr. Zhuang to sell the donkey, but he refused every time. Thanks to this "old buddy" accompanying him, otherwise, he might not have been able to persist alone. Mr. Zhuang recalled that when they reached Linyi City, Shandong Province, it snowed heavily at night, and they couldn't find a place to sleep, so they just slept in the snow. Suddenly, the "old buddy" knelt down in front of Mr. Zhuang and couldn't be pulled up no matter what. "I was almost crying at that moment." This stubborn donkey refused to get up no matter how much he pulled. However, the next morning, it got up easily when pulled.