In the middle of summer under the scorching sun, on the bustling streets of downtown Zhengzhou, a small truck loaded with fresh watermelons is very conspicuous.
What's even more striking is that there is a long queue around the truck, and everyone is scrambling to scan the QR code at the back of the car to pay for their favorite delicious fruit.
Some pedestrians hurriedly scanned the code with their mobile phones in their hands and left in a hurry, as if they didn't even have time to get the watermelons in the car; some people drove thousands of miles to the car, and as soon as they got off the car, they couldn't wait to walk towards the melon stalls, patiently waiting for the scan and payment; and some people were holding their mobile phones to share the scene in real time, begging the Internet people to lend a helping hand.
Seeing this scene, the general public was puzzled -- why did this ordinary watermelon stall attract so many customers to flock to it? However, the stall owner was nowhere to be found, which made people think that there must be a touching story hidden behind this seemingly ordinary melon stall, full of the great love and kindness of the Chinese nation.
Facts have proved that the owner of this small truck full of fresh watermelons is actually an old man in his late teens - Grandpa Zhu. A few weeks ago, Grandpa Zhu drove the truck alone from his hometown of Kaifeng and brought the fresh melons and fruits to the streets and alleys of Zhengzhou.
He hopes to raise as much money as possible for his two-year-old granddaughter, Xinxin, to treat an extremely rare and dangerous disease - neuroblastoma, the "king of childhood tumors", by selling these delicious fruits.
After learning the news, Grandpa Zhu and his family were shocked, and their hearts hurt as if they had been cut by a knife. Xinxin is the pearl of their family, and since the moment she fell to the ground, she has become the heart of the whole family.
Grandpa Zhu has entered old age, and other than that, he has almost no other extravagant hopes. But now when he heard that Xin Xin was suffering from such a serious illness that could threaten his life, he instantly felt the world spinning and was overwhelmed with grief.
On that sunny morning, in a village in Kaifeng City, Henan Province, the Zhu family suffered a sudden disaster. Xinxin, a two-year-old girl who was originally innocent, suddenly began to cry loudly, and then her body temperature rose sharply, and her condition was serious.
After learning the news, Xinxin's mother felt like a bolt from the blue, and instantly felt dizzy and almost collapsed to the ground. She pleaded with the doctor in pain: "I beg you to do everything you can to save my poor precious girl! Either way, it will be enough to restore Xinxin to health!" Seeing this, the doctor immediately calmed her emotions and patiently explained to her that although neuroblastoma is difficult to treat, it is not completely impossible to cure, but it will require a long and difficult treatment process.
In order to raise the cost of Xinxin's treatment, Uncle Zhu decided to go to Zhengzhou to sell melons without hesitation. This old man, who is already in his prime, carried a cart full of fresh watermelons from his hometown, and stuck to the streets and alleys all day in the scorching summer, hoping to sell more in exchange for more medical funds.
Uncle Zhu is no stranger to the life of setting up a stall and selling melons, and for many years, he has earned his needs through hard work. Now, in order to save his granddaughter, he is willing to take on this heavy work again, and has endured countless toils and hardships.
Sometimes, the tires of the car would be punctured by stones on the road and he had to go to repair them alone, and sometimes the scorching sun could not stop him from loving his granddaughter, and he persevered.
Xinxin's condition fluctuated, and the high cost of treatment plunged the already poor family into a huge debt crisis.
The people of the Zhu family were panicked, and everyone was worried for fear that something would go wrong.
Every time I see Xinxin emaciated and suffering from illness due to chemotherapy, endless grief wells up in everyone's hearts. In order to treat his granddaughter, Uncle Zhu has given everything he has, but with their meager income alone, it is really difficult to support Xinxin through this difficulty.
Xinxin's parents had to leave their hometown to work, so they could only leave the elderly Uncle Zhu and Grandma Zhu at home to take care of the children. In that hot summer, the deep sighs of Uncle Zhu and Grandma often echoed in the home.
Looking at the once lively and lovely Xinxin who is now pale and sickly, Grandma Zhu often can't help but burst into tears, and her heart is full of endless pain.
Before leaving, Uncle Zhu silently said to himself: "This time, we must sell it at a good price to raise more treatment costs for Xinxin!" However, when the truck finally arrived in Zhengzhou, the old man was already exhausted and in a worrying condition.
He could only hurriedly set up his own small stall on the side of the road and muster up the courage to continue selling melons.
However, less than half a day passed, and Uncle Zhu couldn't help but sigh to himself, the business situation here is really not optimistic! Moreover, time will not stand still easily, and he still needs to return to his hometown as soon as possible to put the wheat fields that are ripe for harvest into the barn.
So, he took out a piece of cardboard from the car and wrote in neat and clear handwriting: "My lively and lovely granddaughter unfortunately suffered from 'neuroblastoma' and urgently needed to raise money for treatment, so I sold melons for help, and promised to return here within three days."
Immediately afterwards, he hung the cardboard with the QR code on the back of the car, and at this moment, the 73-year-old man relied on his wisdom and courage to resolutely implement this novel and unique "unmanned stall" strategy, with pious hope to wave goodbye to this place, and set out on the way home.
Not long after, a caring netizen happened to pass by on the way, and inadvertently saw the cardboard on Uncle Zhu's stall full of the child's condition, and his heart suddenly surged with deep sympathy and concern.
So, without hesitation, he picked up his mobile phone, took a picture of this special melon stall and uploaded it to the online platform.
This news was like a spark that spread in the ocean of the Internet in an instant, arousing the enthusiastic attention of the majority of netizens.
Countless netizens were touched by the touching story of the 73-year-old man who did not hesitate to sell melons in order to save the life of his young granddaughter, and reposted comments one after another, calling on more people to join this relay of love and send warm care to this poor child and his family.
Soon, this incident set off huge waves on the Internet like a snowball effect, and countless netizens were infected by this deep ancestral emotion and donated generously.
In fact, when Uncle Zhu returned to the melon stall again, he was shocked by the scene in front of him: the crowd was weaving, people rushed to scan the QR code to make donations, and the atmosphere was warm and extraordinary.
What's more, many people drove dozens of kilometers to come to help, and wanderers from far away also responded positively on the Internet, reaching out one after another, and even some pedestrians who did not plan to buy watermelons also stopped to scan the QR code and dedicate their own strength.
Uncle Zhu stood helplessly in the middle of the crowd, tears glistening in his eyes. At this time, a zealous person noticed his arrival and immediately led the crowd to open a passage for the old man.