The old couple has adhered to the "anti-cancer kitchen" for 17 years
"1 yuan cooking" to support the small kitchen of cancer patients' families to witness the warmth and coldness of humanity
From 11 noon every day, in a narrow alley near Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, more than 30 stoves are lined up. Some people are shopping for vegetables and some are cooking.
Mapo tofu, sea bass tofu soup...a delicious home-cooked dish in just ten minutes to take away.
The people who cook here do not know each other, but they all have a common identity-they are all cancer patients or family members of cancer patients.
This alley dedicated to cooking for the families of cancer patients is also called the "anti-cancer kitchen" by their families.
Seventeen years ago, the enthusiastic Wan Zuocheng and Xiong Genxiang provided a stove to cook for the first cancer patient free of charge.
Today, tens of thousands of family members of cancer patients cook in the "anti-cancer kitchen" every year, and Mrs. Xiong Genxiang warms the hearts of many cancer patients with their simple actions.
"Cancer patients are already very pitiful. We are very happy to provide them with a little meager service," said Xiong Genxiang, who is almost 70 years old.
Text, Picture/Xiao Huanhuan, All Media Reporter, Guangzhou Daily
"Anti-cancer first has to eat a full meal"
Ge Yubao, 52, is from Shangrao, Jiangxi. Six months ago, his wife was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. He felt that the sky had fallen.
Ge Yubao said that the doctor told him at the time that there must be a special person to take care of him in the hospital, and that the sick person recovered quickly.
After thinking about it, Ge Yubao decided to quit his job to take care of his wife.
At first, he bought food in a restaurant near the hospital, but he always felt that the taste was not satisfactory.
Two weeks later, someone told Ge Yubao that there was an "anti-cancer kitchen" next to the cancer hospital, where patients' families could use the stove to cook their own meals. Ge Yubao was overjoyed.
He said that his wife is accustomed to eating hometown food and likes to drink soup, but the cost of eating in a restaurant outside is very high. If you go to the vegetable market and cook it yourself, you will only charge 1 yuan for a dish and 2 for a soup. Yuan, the cost can be saved by more than half.
"To fight cancer, you must first eat a full meal. If you don't eat well, you will be in a bad mood, and the illness will definitely slow down." Ge Yubao said.
Deng Hongmei, 62, has been cooking in this "anti-cancer kitchen" for 3 years.
Every morning at 6 o'clock in the morning, the old man will get up to cook porridge for her daughter, and at 11:30 noon, she will also cook lunch for her daughter in the kitchen in the alley on time.
"Since the establishment of this caring kitchen, my daughter's food has improved a lot." Deng Hongmei said.
Deng Hongmei said that this "anti-cancer kitchen" has helped patients and their families a lot. It not only saves living expenses, but also tastes hometown.
"1 yuan cooking" persisted for 17 years
More than 20 years ago, Wan Zuocheng's father died of cancer.
"The old man didn't eat very well until he left. At that time, his family was poor, his hometown was in the country, and no one served him at home." Wan Zuocheng knew well the pain of being a family member of cancer patients, so he and his wife decided to provide for the families of these patients. help.
As early as 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Xiong Genxiang set up a stall selling fried dough sticks and soy milk on the road of the college.
She remembered that a couple walked to the stall with a sick child and asked her with pleading eyes whether she could borrow her stove after she sold breakfast, because the child wanted to eat the mother's meal.
Looking at the child in front of her, Xiong Genxiang felt sad, and she agreed without thinking.
Since then, every day at noon and evening, the couple will borrow Xiong Genxiang’s stove to cook for their children.
Xiong Genxiang would feel very satisfied to see the happy eyes of the mother every time after cooking for her son.
"To be honest, I didn't expect at the time that my stove would bring such a great help to this family."
Since then, news has spread that there are good-hearted people near Jiangxi Cancer Hospital who can provide cooking stoves for cooking. Patients and their families have brought vegetables to borrow stoves.
At first, there were a dozen people every day, and at most, there were more than 200 people a day. Now, 10,000 people cook here every year.
The "anti-cancer kitchen" is free. As the number of people increases, Xiong Genxiang and his wife have bought some pots and utensils, and the cost of water and coal has also increased. The family members are overwhelmed and have to pay the old couple.
In order to reassure the family members and to maintain the cost of the kitchen, they decided to charge 5 yuan per dish for their family members for frying. It was not until 2016 that it rose to 1 yuan per dish and 2 yuan for a pot of soup.
Xiong Genxiang said that the reason why briquettes are still used as fuel until now is that the cost of using briquettes is lower. If electricity or natural gas is used as fuel, the cost is higher, and the burden on the families of patients will increase.
In July 2019, the government of Hufang Town, Qingshan Lake District, Nanchang City invested 130,000 yuan to renovate this caring kitchen on College Road.
The renovated "anti-cancer kitchen" expanded from outdoor to indoor. There are two kitchens on the first floor, with a total area of 100 square meters.
Believe that love will illuminate the way forward
“Many families are prepared to fight cancer for a long time, so they come here to cook and eat from the first day they are admitted to the hospital, and do whatever they want.” Xiong Genxiang said that cooking is also a relief for the patient’s family members. Many family members take care of cancer patients all the year round. They are exhausted physically and mentally. There are still tears in their eyes when they are cooking.
Every time he saw his family members cry, Xiong Genxiang would persuade them to look forward.
"Since you are sick, then face it. Only by eating well and eating well can you have the strength to fight cancer. If the patient doesn't even eat well, how can he be in a good mood and heal quickly?"
Because of Xiong Genxiang’s kind personality, many family members of the patients would kindly call her "Aunt Xiang" when they saw her. Xiong Genxiang said that although he had seen too many cases of life and death in the past 17 years, every time he heard the patient’s family tell about his family She still feels sad about the story of cancer.
"There is a woman who has been cooking for seven or eight years on my side, but in the end her husband still did not keep it. It is better to have a good body if you have Jinshan Yinshan at home." This is after Xiong Genxiang has dealt with cancer patients' families for so many years the conclusion.
Over the years, there have been too many cases where the couple burst into tears.
Xiong Genxiang said that it is this power of love between family members that has been inspiring her to move forward.
Will continue to serve as long as it can move
Xiong Genxiang and his wife are nearly seventy years old. Wan Zuocheng gets up on time at 4 a.m. every morning and uses wood to light a coal stove. Because some patients’ family members need to make breakfast in the morning, they must start the stove early; after a short break, it’s 9 a.m. At that time, the patient’s family members would bring vegetables to cook.
"We have people coming here all day long," Xiong Genxiang said.
After waiting for the family members of the patients to cook the dishes every day, Mr. and Mrs. Xiong Genxiang will also tidy up the kitchen so that the next day the family members of the patients will have a clean and comfortable environment when they come to fry.
She was busy every day until 10 o'clock in the evening, and her body began to feel a little overwhelmed.
In the second half of last year, their son asked them to help bring their grandchildren. The old couple refused, and they still stayed behind in this "anti-cancer kitchen."
"Compared to those families with cancer patients, we are lucky, so as long as we can help them, we are also very happy." Xiong Genxiang said, as long as she can move for one day, she will provide services for the patients' families for one day.
Because she firmly believes that love will illuminate the way for more people.
"Even if there is no cure for some people's illness, but at least eat well every day, their mood will be much better, and their family members will not leave regrets in the end. We are a little tired, and our hearts are sweet." The old man said.