One person, one car, one promise
A visually impaired father rides 5000 miles to his hometown to cheer for his son's high school entrance examination
38 days, 2520 kilometers, riding an ordinary bicycle from Xiamen, Fujian to Luzhou, Sichuan.
This is the promise of a visually disabled second-level father to his son who is about to take the senior high school entrance examination.
On the evening of May 21st, Ren Zhongquan appeared in front of his son who was on weekend off.
I haven't seen each other for a year and a half. My son is already 1.7 meters tall, a little taller than my father.
Ren Zhongquan, 52, is from Hejiang, Luzhou.
More than a year ago, when he left home, he promised his younger son: "You study hard, listen to the teacher's words, and when the high school entrance examination is over, Dad will come back from Xiamen by bicycle to cheer you on." In this regard, his son did not believe: "You put your legs If you break it, you won't be able to close it."
But on May 21, Ren Zhongquan kept his promise.
a promise
Study hard, dad came back from Xiamen riding a bicycle during the senior high school entrance examination to cheer you on
Ren Zhongquan, 52, suffered from vision impairment in both eyes due to illness in his childhood.
"You can see it from 3 meters away, and it is muddy beyond 3 meters." Ren Zhongquan said.
His disability card reads "Visually Disabled".
Ren Zhongquan and his wife, who has a grade 4 physical disability, have been working in Xiamen for many years.
His wife has worked in a shoe factory for 16 years, and Ren Zhongquan has been working on various construction sites as temporary workers.
In 2017, Ren Zhongquan returned to his hometown to engage in planting and breeding.
"I also want to be at home. The baby comes back with hot meals and soup." Ren Zhongquan said that the couple has been outside, and the youngest son is taken care of by his grandmother, "The thinking of the older generation is different from that of the current baby. ."
Unexpectedly, Ren Zhongquan failed twice to start his own business and lost more than 100,000 yuan.
In 2019, Ren Zhongquan had a serious illness and was admitted to the hospital by accidental poisoning.
When he left his hometown and went to Xiamen again, Ren Zhongquan told his son: study hard and communicate with classmates with good grades.
After the high school entrance examination, Dad came back from Xiamen by bicycle to see you.
"He said, it's impossible. You can't even close the pedals if you break it. It's unrealistic." Ren Zhongquan said, and his son didn't believe it.
After returning to Xiamen, Ren Zhongquan started looking for the right bike.
"I am also a cycling enthusiast. When I first went to work in 1985, I learned to ride in Jiangjin, Chongqing."
Coincidentally, at the beginning of this year, the landlord’s neighbors packed up a Phoenix brand 28 bar bicycle and prepared to sell it as scrap.
"The parallel bars can bear 300 kilograms." Ren Zhongquan said that the landlord and neighbor offered 60 yuan, he quickly bought it, and then simply replaced the steel ring and trimmed it.
With the means of transportation, Ren Zhongquan began to plan his departure.
I bought a tent for 151 yuan, spare parts for a bicycle, inner tube, and pump for 300 yuan. I also prepared a reflective vest, strong light and self-defense equipment.
"I worked in a company run by a friend for a while and earned 4,200 yuan."
Before departure, the wife disapproved.
The road is so long and the health is not good. If there is an accident on the road, the family will not know.
But Ren Zhongquan insisted, "The son has just passed the rebellious period, and now he is sensible and stable. If he does not fulfill his promise, the son will only remember that his father lied and his words are not counted."
On April 14, Ren Zhongquan rode the car alone and set off.
all the way hard
One person and one bicycle, over mountains and mountains, travel more than 2,500 kilometers
Ren Zhongquan started from Xiamen, Fujian, entered Zhangpu County and Yunxiao County in Zhangzhou, and entered Dapu County, Meizhou City, Guangdong from Pinghe County, Zhangzhou.
He originally planned to go from Jieyang, Guangdong, all the way to Guangxi, Guizhou, and back to Sichuan, but due to the control of the epidemic in some places, Ren Zhongquan had to re-plan, from Ganzhou in Jiangxi to Zhuzhou and Loudi in Hunan, and entered Tongren and Xishui in Guizhou, and finally arrived at Luzhou, Sichuan. Jiang, "walked for a few more days".
From the beginning, he recorded his daily itinerary on the short video platform.
On the first day, I passed by the county seat where my eldest daughter was, but didn't dare to go.
"When I went to my car, I didn't have it anymore (it was confiscated by the eldest daughter)." Ren Zhongquan said that as soon as the video was posted, the eldest daughter saw it and called him quickly.
Ren Zhongquan's full set of equipment, including the car and luggage, weighs about 120 pounds.
The biggest supplies are water and dry food.
"For large bottles of mineral water, you need to buy three or four bottles at a time." Ren Zhongquan said that when he set off, in Fujian and Guangdong, the temperature was above 30 degrees.
Entering Hunan, it is only a little over 20°C.
In Guizhou, the coldest time is only 12 ℃.
Ren Zhongquan only brought two sets of short sleeves and one set of autumn clothes.
Ren Zhongquan remembered that on a mountain road in Jiangxi, the whole journey took 7 hours, and there was no one car or one person. There was a cliff on one side and a stream on the other, and only the sound of running water could be heard.
In Shiqian County, Tongren, Guizhou, climbing a mountain road, Ren Zhongquan pushed a car and walked in the dense drizzle.
Although it wasn't raining much, it slowly penetrated into the raincoat, and Ren Zhongquan was shivering with cold.
On the way, he took shelter from the rain under the eaves of a farmhouse. There was only one old man at home, and the old man moved a stool for Ren Zhongquan.
But the more he sat, the colder he became. Ren Zhongquan was worried that his body temperature would drop too much, so he had to continue pushing the cart forward.
Over the mountain, it was foggy again, and the visibility was less than 1.5 meters.
Fortunately, Ren Zhongquan brought two sets of reflective vests.
"It's terrible." Ren Zhongquan had lingering fears.
After finally arriving in a town, Ren Zhongquan checked into a hotel and asked the boss to find a piece of ginger and boil ginger soup to drive away the cold.
When the boss heard that he was going to ride back to Luzhou to cheer for his son's high school entrance examination, he took the initiative to reduce the room rate from 100 yuan a night to 80 yuan, and made a free meal for Ren Zhongquan in the evening, "Fried meat, vegetarian vegetables, and spare ribs. soup".
What moved Ren Zhongquan was the care he received at the epidemic prevention and control point.
Last year, a community in Xiamen where Ren Zhongquan lived suffered a local epidemic. He took the initiative to participate in volunteer work for 32 days. On the way back to his hometown by bicycle, when he scanned the code at the checkpoint and presented the nucleic acid test report, the staff saw His volunteer experience, both sides felt very cordial, invited him to rest at the card point, and brought him water and food, "it's like coming home".
On National Highway 208 in Xishui, Guizhou, pits formed by falling rocks can be seen everywhere, and some of them have just been repaired.
Ren Zhongquan said that the entire 28 kilometers, at least 20 kilometers, were all in such road conditions, and he did not dare to stop to take pictures.
In this way, I set up a tent when it was sunny, and stayed in a hotel when it rained. The longest day was 112 kilometers, and the shortest day was 35 kilometers of mountain roads.
All the way, the original plan was 2340 kilometers, but the result was 2520 kilometers, which lasted 38 days, including 33 days of riding and 5 days of rest.
On May 21, Ren Zhongquan finally returned to Hejiang County, Luzhou, Sichuan.
a regret
I want to stay in my hometown to start a business and accompany my son to grow up
"I originally planned to arrive on May 23." Ren Zhongquan said that he entered Hejiang on May 21 and found the hospital to complete the nucleic acid test. He planned to stay for one night, but he was worried that there were too many relatives and friends who came to pick him up, which would affect the epidemic. Prevention and control, I didn't say hello to everyone, and quietly rode back home.
When I got home, it was already late.
The son, who came home for the weekend, was very surprised to see that his father really showed up.
"He still can't believe it." Ren Zhongquan said that when he rode to Hunan, there were media interviews and reports, and the news was seen by other parents and forwarded to the teacher.
"The teacher called me and asked my son to say a few words to me." Ren Zhongquan said that his son told him to pay attention to safety on the phone.
Speaking of his son, Ren Zhongquan's tone was filled with regret and guilt.
For a long time, his son stayed in his hometown. As a parent, he neglected to take care and discipline.
On the eve of this high school entrance examination, the teacher asked the parents to help their children choose schools. Only then did Ren Zhongquan realize that he knew very little about his son's grades, strengths, and interests.
The father and son are a little unfamiliar, especially when the son is in the rebellious period, there is less communication with the parents.
This time, seeing that his father really fulfilled his promise and came back by bike, the son didn't say much, but immediately helped his father clean up the room.
On Sunday morning, my son and classmates went to the market to buy daily necessities, and went back to school in the afternoon. Ren Zhongquan had something to delay, so he couldn't sit down and chat with his son.
Ren Zhongquan said that riding home safely is a challenge for him.
For his son, he hoped to be an encouragement to persevere and not give up.
"No matter how he did in the exam this time, I just hope (by fulfilling his promise) that he can be encouraged." Ren Zhongquan said that even if his son failed in the high school entrance examination, parents have the responsibility.
This time, Ren Zhongquan hopes to start the third ecological farming business in his hometown, stay by his son's side and accompany him to study.
"After the exam, I asked him to go to Xiamen with his uncle during the summer vacation to do decorations and exercise at the construction site." Ren Zhongquan said that he had lost a lot because of his visual impairment, and he always hoped that his son could study hard.
To experience the difficulty of construction work can help you learn better.
"With culture, we can contribute to society."
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Yu Zunsu