Du Laohan's neighbor, Wang Xiaole's twelve-year-old daughter Mengmeng, was found to have a brain tumor in the county hospital and had to go to the provincial hospital for surgery. Wang Xiaole had trouble with her legs and feet, so she set up a shoe repair stall in the town and couldn't earn much money. How could she have so much money to pay for her daughter's medical expenses? Du Laohan wanted to help Mengmeng, but Mengmeng's mother, Wu Man, spent a year ago arguing with Du Laohan's wife because an old hen raised by Du Laohan ate food from her home, and also beat Du Laohan's wife. Since then, the two families have formed a feud. Du Laohan thought that Wang Xiaole would definitely not accept his donation, and his wife would quarrel with him if she found out.
Du Laohan, who was in his sixties, was a famous bruise doctor in the surrounding area. He had a good income and was a wealthy household in the village.
Old Man Du was kind-hearted and begged him to treat the injured patient. If he was poor, he would not accept the money for the time being, but treat the disease first, and then pay it back when he had money. Mengmeng was smart, popular, and had good grades in school. When she saw Old Man Du, she called him "Uncle Du" sweetly. Even if her mother later became enmity with Old Man Du's wife, Mengmeng still called him "Uncle Du" sweetly as before, and there was no barrier, which made Old Man Du very happy. He couldn't just watch Mengmeng suffer because he didn't have money for medical treatment, so he decided to help Mengmeng without telling his wife.
Due to a foot disability, Wang Xiaole had to repair his shoes in the town until 5 p.m. to ride his electric bike home.
The village party secretary called on the whole village to donate money to Mengmeng. Everyone donated actively ranging from tens of yuan, 100 yuan or a few hundred yuan. Old Man Du took 5,000 yuan from the bank and put it in his pocket. Just as he was about to walk to the village headquarters, he was chased by his wife and asked, "Where are you going?" Old Man Du said, "Just walk around." Old Man Du asked, "Are you going to donate money?" Old Man Du glanced at his wife and said, "I forgot about this. Do we donate some money?" Old Man said, "If you don't donate money, Wu Manhua is unreasonable. Now that her daughter is sick, it is God's punishment for their family." Old Man Du said angrily, "Your words are too much. How can the fault of adults be involved in children? For the sake of children, donate some money." His wife said, "It's their business to donate, and our family doesn't donate." Seeing that his wife was unreasonable, Old Man Du didn't say much, and walked slowly towards the path leading to the village.
When they arrived at the village department, the village party secretary said, "The donation has come?" Du Laohan asked, "Will the name of the donation be announced?" The village party secretary said, "It will be announced, this is called giving love. Whoever encounters natural and man-made disasters in the future, everyone will donate to help, and everyone will gather firewood and flames. There is no difficulty that cannot be solved, right?" Du Laohan agreed. If the list of donations is announced, my wife will know that there will be trouble again. If you donate one or two hundred, people will not say anything; if you donate five thousand, what will people say about me? In order not to gossip, he dragged the village party secretary and whispered in a whisper. The village party secretary said, "This method is good, but you have become an unsung hero." Du Laohan said, "As long as you can cure Mengmeng well, it is worth it!"
At the call of the village party secretary, the whole village donated more than 20,000 yuan. As soon as the list of donations was announced, some people said: "Du Laodong's living conditions are so good, but he doesn't donate a penny, he really can do it." Others said: "The two families are at odds, so it's okay if you don't donate." Some said: "Mengmeng didn't hurt others, how can you hold a grudge and not donate? He looks pretty good at ordinary times, but he doesn't have love at critical moments." Du Laohan stood behind the village party secretary and heard it clearly. The village party secretary pulled him away and persuaded him to open up. Du Laohan said, "It's okay, I don't know."
When he got home, his wife blamed him: "Your brain is not enlightened, and if you say you don't donate, you don't mean it at all. If you donate fifty yuan, you can also donate, and you can block people's mouths. You listen to people talking about our lack of love, and if we have difficulties in the future, who will help us?" Du Laohan said, "You donate." The wife said, "The list is out, what are you still donating?"
Mengmeng went to the provincial capital for surgery. Fortunately, it was a benign tumor. She recovered and was discharged from the hospital a few months later.
A few years later, Mengmeng was admitted to a provincial key university, majoring in law, and was assigned to work in the county court after graduation.
Du Laohan passed away due to lung cancer. On the day of the funeral, not many people attended, and neither did Wang Xiaole's family. The village party secretary looked at the heartache, and asked Du Laohan's coffin to stop under the big camphor tree at entrance of the village to hold a grand memorial service for Du Laohan. He asked the whole village to attend on the village radio, and no one was allowed to be absent, and he also specially informed Mengmeng.
After receiving the phone call, Mengmeng hurried back to the village. The village party secretary took her to the coffin of Du Xiaohan and said, "Please pay homage to Uncle Du." Although Mengmeng did not understand why the village party secretary attached so much importance to Du Laohan's funeral, she still paid homage respectfully. Then, the village party secretary said to everyone, "Today, I announced something to everyone. When Mengmeng suffered from a brain tumor, everyone extended a helping hand. After the list of donations was announced, everyone accused Old Du of being unloving. But did you know that Old Du donated 5,000 yuan to Mengmeng? Because his wife had a holiday with Wang Xiaole's wife, he knew that Wang Xiaole would not accept his donation and did not want his wife to know about it, causing unnecessary trouble, so he begged me not to publish his name. This note issued by accountant Wang for his donation that year is still with me. "Saying that, the village party secretary raised the note in his hand for everyone to see. After reading them one by one, everyone was moved by Du Laohan's love, and people sent Du Laohan's coffin all the way to the mountain. Mengmeng's family cried like tears.
It turned out that when Du Laohan donated money, he didn't want any notes, but the village party secretary said, "No, I have to write a note to prove it." After writing the note, Du Laohan signed it, and several cadres in the village also signed it, and according to Du Laohan's instructions, he kept the secret for himself.