Gifts from the Mountain Villagers

By Li Qing & Gao Lingya

“So barren in Jiangnan to find any decent present,

Just bestow you a flower adorned with spring tint.”

Profound meaning is conveyed in this ancient poem inscribed on the packages of this batch of special donations. It delivers the utmost kindness from the villagers in Changleping, a town located in Wufeng County of Yichang City, Hubei Province. This area is around 500 km away from Wuhan. Many of the villagers have never left their mountainous hometown in their entire life, nor have they visited Wuhan. However, climbing over mountains and wading through rivers, in the modest silence they came, bringing 85 tons of supplies.

“What a great love!” There was preserved meat, vegetable oil, radish, Chinese flowering cabbage, potato, rice, candied sesame chips, and more. Looking at all these bags of supplies, Wang Ning, an official from the Development and Reform Bureau of Wuchang District in Wuhan, while counting and moving all the donations, kept wiping his teary eyes and choked out, “I did not expect people from such a poverty-stricken mountain village to undertake so great a deed.” All of these supplies came from Changleping Town of Wufeng County, Hubei Province. They were collected and then carried to the donation site by over ten thousand local residents, plodding through the snow and rivers, on their shoulders and backs. These are indeed products of the mountain, with a smell of fresh soil.

江南無所有，聊贈一枝春。

在一批特殊的捐贈物資上寫著這首古老的詩，語義深遠。這是湖北省五峰縣長樂坪鎮(zhèn)老百姓心意的表達。該鎮(zhèn)距離武漢約500 公里，他們當中很多人，質(zhì)樸老實，甚至一輩子沒有走出大山，沒有到過武漢。但他們不聲不響，跋山涉水，送來85 噸物資。

“真是大愛?！迸D肉、菜籽油、蘿卜、菜薹、土豆、大米、麻糖……看著一包包沉甸甸的物資，武漢市武昌區(qū)發(fā)改局干部汪寧一邊搬運清點，一邊揉揉濕潤的眼睛，哽咽著說，“我真沒想到在這個貧困的山村，淳樸的村民們會有如此善舉?！边@些物資全部來自湖北省五峰縣長樂坪鎮(zhèn)，是當?shù)厣先f村民，蹚水踩雪，肩挑背扛湊出來的冒著“鄉(xiāng)土氣息”的純山貨。

長樂坪鎮(zhèn)位于五峰中部，全鎮(zhèn)皆為山區(qū)，位置最高的村，海拔有2000 米。2012年起，武昌區(qū)開始對口幫扶長樂坪鎮(zhèn)脫貧致富，派駐扶貧干部，給予資金和產(chǎn)業(yè)幫扶，特別支持長樂坪鎮(zhèn)衛(wèi)生院軟硬件建設，每年免費接收醫(yī)務人員進修培訓……

“我們對武漢人民的幫扶情誼銘記在心?！遍L樂坪鎮(zhèn)鎮(zhèn)長謝陳陳告訴我們。疫情發(fā)生后，村民們自發(fā)找到鎮(zhèn)政府，提出要為武漢出一份力。

“有什么就捐什么，把心意帶到武漢去?！痹阪?zhèn)政府的組織下，全鎮(zhèn)17 個村的村民們迅速行動。從2月18日起，村民把物資送到所在的村委會，絡繹不絕。

“幾乎所有的村民都下田下地，大家有什么就挖什么，實在沒有的，就準備家里的干貨，比如臘肉、豬腿、香腸、麻糖等。”謝陳陳說，淳樸的村民們毫無保留。

橋坪村海拔高達2000 米，從家里到村委會，單程4 公里。村民張爹爹前后跑了3 趟，用背架把自家吃的200 斤土豆扛下山，他腿腳不好，一路上拄著木棍，邊走邊歇。樸實的老人一輩子沒有去過武漢，他笑著說：“送去武漢比我自己吃，心里還要舒服。”

柴埠溪村是鎮(zhèn)上最偏遠的村，山路陡峭，地勢險要，村民毛師傅把300 多斤紅薯扛到索道旁運下山，再蹚過小河，送到馬路邊的貨車上，“這是我的紅薯種，今年就不種紅薯了”。

石橋溝村高師傅用棍子挑起4壺菜籽油就往村里跑，“我家里沒有種好多菜，這4 壺菜籽油是我親手榨的，干干凈凈可以直接下鍋”。百年關村的楊婆婆把自家做的調(diào)料、小菜滿滿裝了一袋，委托鄰居送到村委會。菖蒲溪的困難老人馮爹爹拿著幾棵大白菜，一步步送下山，“我只能提供一些蔬菜，這也是我的一點心意，一定幫我?guī)У轿錆h去”。

一位淳樸的老人匆匆送來一捆蔥和大蒜苗，每一根的根須都清洗得干干凈凈，每一把都用棕葉仔仔細細地捆好……

至今，一些海拔較高的村塆，積雪還未融化，為防止摔倒受傷，村民們肩挑背扛，結伴下山送物資。“踩在雪地里還有嘎吱嘎吱的聲音，但比起一線醫(yī)護人員，這點危險算什么？”村民們說。

Located in the middle of Wufeng, Changleping is an entirely mountainous area. The altitude of the village sitting at the highest point reaches 2000 meters. Since 2012, people in Wuchang District have been helping alleviate poverty in Changleping. Along with poverty alleviation measures, officials are sent to work in the front line; funding and assistance are allocated to develop local industries; further support has been particularly offered to advance both development and construction for Changleping Town Hospital; free training is provided for the local medical staff on a yearly basis.

“The help from the people of Wuhan is and will be always born in the depth of our hearts,” Xie Chenchen, head of Changleping Town, said to us yesterday. Hearing about the outbreak of the epidemic, villagers, acting on their own initiative, came to the office of the local government, asking to make their due contributions to helping Wuhan.

“We will donate whatever we have, and show our support and sympathy for Wuhan.” Organized by the local government, people from the 17 villages of the town acted quickly. From February 18, supplies had been continuously sent to each village community center.

‘It is fair to say that nearly all the villagers went to their fields, collecting whatever could be found. Those who truly do not have any goods in the field would prepare dry goods at home to donate, such as preserved meat, hams, sausage, or candied sesame chips,” stated Xie Chenchen. These lovely people would give without any reservation.

Qiaoping Village is at an altitude of 2000 meters. Uncle Zhang, a villager there, used a back pad to carry 100 kg of potatoes, which he had originally saved for his family, from his home to the village community center. With 4 km of distance between these two spots, he managed to finish this mission by making 3 trips altogether. His legs are not that strong so he needed to rely on a stick and take breaks rather frequently on his way. He has never been to Wuhan, but he said with a smile, “I feel even better sending them to Wuhan than having them myself.”

Chaibuxi Village is the most remote village in the town with steep mountainous roads and a dangerous terrain. A villager, Mr. Mao, carried over 150 kg of sweet potatoes to the cableway site to send them down the hill, and then crossed a river to get them onto the truck pulled over by the road. He said, “These are my sweet potato seeds, and I am not going to plant potatoes this year.”

Mr. Gao in Shiqiaogou Village ran all the way to the village community center, carrying 4 pots of vegetable oil with a stick. He said, “There are not many vegetables in my field. These 4 pots of rapeseed oil are squeezed by myself and can be used in cooking directly.”

Aunt Yang in Bainianguan Village filled a bag with homemade spices and pickles, and asked her neighbor to send them to the village community center.

Uncle Feng in Changpuxi is among the most poverty-stricken of the population. Backing some Chinese cabbages, he walked step by step down the mountain. “What I can offer are some vegetables and they are my token of care. Please make sure that they are sent to Wuhan.”

Another senior villager brought in a bunch of spring onion and garlic sprouts. They were washed so clean that even their roots are free of mud. Each handful of them were tied neatly with palm leaves.

Even now, the snow has not melted in some villages of high altitude. To avoid falling over and getting injured, local people formed teams to walk down the mountain and deliver donations with their shoulders and backs. “While walking on the snow, we could hear the crunching sound of our footsteps. However, the danger we experienced was nothing compared to what the frontline medical staff are going through,” local villagers told us.

Many of them have never been to Wuhan, and some have never left this mountain. Yet they willingly and generously donate what little they have to help Wuhan, a city that is least familiar to them to defeat the epidemic. The heavy burden on their shoulders has crooked their back, but by no means could it withhold their passion for supporting Wuhan.

By February 19, the yard of the community center of Changleping is full of supplies from 17 villages across the town.

To ensure supplies of high quality are sent to Wuhan, Xie Chenchen said that volunteers and government staff from Changleping were organized to reprocess and repack the food to a standard that is higher than that required for common commercial vegetables.

Dozens of villagers and government officials gathered voluntarily to pack supplies with storage bags, paper boxes, and ropes. They told us, “If any rotten leave or mud is found, we will remove it and make sure everything is good and clean.”

Villagers carrying their donations to the village committee on their backs and shoulders 村民們肩挑背扛，把各家捐贈的物資搬到村委會集中

On the evening of February 21, those supplies weighing 85 tons in total found their way into 5 heavy logistic trucks.

The fleet of trucks arrived in Wuchang the next morning, where workers started unloading. We were told that those donations would be delivered to needy residents and welfare agencies in Wuchang and Caidian Districts, in hope of helping people there weather the difficult time.

“So barren in Jiangnan to find any decent present, just bestow you a flower adorned with spring tint.” Xie Chenchen told us that many volunteers wrote their wishes on the packages. They strongly believe that, their care and love for Wuhan embedded in those supplies, though limited in quantity, is of inestimable value. (Translation: Zhang Xueqin)

他們中，有不少人沒有來過武漢，甚至一輩子都沒有走出大山，卻愿意為武漢這座陌生城市戰(zhàn)勝疫情，慷慨解囊傾其所有。肩上的重擔，壓歪了他們的脊梁，卻無法阻擋他們一心援漢的淳樸熱情。

至2月19日，來自全鎮(zhèn)17 個村的物資，已將鎮(zhèn)政府大院擠得滿滿當當。

謝陳陳說，為確保把最好的物資送到武漢去，長樂坪鎮(zhèn)組織志愿者、干部群眾對所有捐贈物資進行再加工再包裝，以高于成品菜標準進行分裝整理。

10 位村民和機關干部又自發(fā)集合，大家用蛇皮袋、紙盒、繩子等，有序整理打包，“但凡有一點爛葉子和泥巴，我們都要清理干凈”。

2月21日晚，這批85 噸重的物資，裝上了5 輛大貨車。

次日清晨，車隊抵達武昌，工作人員開始組織卸貨，據(jù)介紹，這批物資將分發(fā)至武昌及蔡甸兩個城區(qū)的困難居民及福利機構，幫助他們渡過難關。

“長樂無所有，聊贈一枝春?！敝x陳陳說，不少志愿者在打包袋上寫下祝福，大家說，物資數(shù)量有限，但這情誼，無價。