Humans of China: "I Discovered That One of My Old Classmates Was Sleeping Rough"

This article comes from Humans of China (WeChat ID: humans-of-china), which aims to document and tell the stories of the many varied people of this vast country, one individual at a time. This time, Hack interviews a man from Jiangxi.

Around 2010 I discovered that one of my old classmates was sleeping rough on the street and I couldn't bear to see him like that. He had a long dirty beard and hadn't had the chance to take a bath for a long time. He'd been sleeping rough ever since he went through a divorce and lost his job, and his two daughters didn't really care about him.

After speaking to my wife we both agreed that he could live with us for some time, rent-free until he got himself back on his feet. We took him to the hospital to make sure he was healthy, took him for a haircut, and then back to our house for a good wash.

We have a spare bedroom on the first floor that we let him live in. My wife would cook for him and I would sometimes give him some new clothes, cigarettes, and money if he needed it. He didn't really have a job but he would collect old cardboard and plastic bottles to recycle for money.

My wife and I also love to dance and most evenings we go to the park to dance with other like-minded couples who all agreed that if he looked after the speaker, charges it up, and carries it to the park each day then each month we would give him 50 yuan between us.

He left us last year. He went to live with his daughters, they needed him to go back home and sign some papers so the government would give them some money because the old house he owned needed to be knocked down and built again. The daughters only cared about the money they'd get and not about their dad. Since he left we haven't seen him, I don't think his daughters will let him visit us.

I work for the local government. I often spend my days visiting the elderly and poor bringing with me things like oil, rice, and some food. I also help them cut their hair, clean their house, and do other odd jobs. My dad was a carpenter and he helped me build the house I live in now and he taught me a lot.

A few years ago I was visited by CCTV and they produced a small TV article about the things I've done. Not long after, the government gave me a small red book and inside was a certificate. The certificate was for doing good deeds and for helping people in need.

READ: "My Father Taught Me How to Cut Hair Using a Sickle When I Was 12 Years Old"

Photo: Cameron Hack