Peninsula All Media Reporter Wang Lei
There was once a Qingdao villager in a foreign country, every April and May, he sighed, the cherries that missed the north house the most, but the distance was not conducive to transportation, and the annual cherry ripening season could only swallow saliva across the ocean. However, the blessing of Qingdao people is just around the corner!
Eating cherries in the north house, Qingdao people's "sense of ceremony"
It's the cherry season in Beizhai again, and in another three or four days, the cherries in Beizhai will ripen one after another. Beizhai cherries are famous far and wide, not to mention the beautiful scenery and pollution-free natural environment to grow, coupled with the abundant sunshine and the nourishment of the water and soil of the Laoshan Mountains, the Beizhai cherry can be described as the best cherry in the natural pollution-free. Not only that, the North House cherries are sweet and sour, delicious and nutritious. Due to the delicate appearance of the North House cherries and difficult to transport, it is difficult to buy authentic North House cherries on the market. Therefore, going to the mountains to eat cherries freshly picked from the trees is a very ceremonial love in the cherry season. Walking out to enjoy the beautiful scenery and picking cherries in the cherry orchard can be enjoyed throughout the summer.
At the beginning of May every year, the fruit farmers in Beizhai usher in a bumper harvest and busy days. However, for some elderly families who lack labor and are impoverished due to illness, every cherry season makes them unhappy. The garden is full of cherries and no one picks them, and the best time of the year, half a month is fleeting. Cherries could have been converted into economic benefits to subsidize the families of these elderly people in need, but they could only watch with their eyes
When the cherries are ripe, they are too late to pick and all of them fall to the ground and rot.
In his old age, he took care of his sick wife alone
Recently, the reporter came to Xiagechang Village, Beizhai Street, and visited several elderly people from difficult families in the community. This year's 83-year-old Jiang Xiangyun lives with his wife, who is bedridden all the year round. His wife suffered from severe spondylosis and was bedridden for many years, and although the old man had two sons, he died of illness a few years ago. Although the old man Jiang Xiangyun was also seriously ill, he had to take care of his wife on the sickbed, laundry, cooking, working in the fields, and all the work inside and outside was pressed on this old man who should have enjoyed his old age in peace.
The cherry trees planted by Jiang Xiangyun and his wife more than ten years ago are now just the right time for both taste and yield. Due to the lack of labor at home to pick and sell in time, most of the cherries fell to the ground and rotted. Seeing that the cherries were ripe day by day, the old man Jiang Xiangyun said that he was so worried that he couldn't sleep at night.
The cherry tree of the old man Jiang Xiangyun was planted more than 20 years ago.
His wife and children were seriously ill, and the cherries were ripe and the old man was worried
66-year-old Duan Wenkai planted more than 20 cherry trees when he was young, and for decades, with a pair of hard-working hands, he has taken care of the cherry trees every year. The cherry trees, which are more than 20 years old, are just at the time when they can produce a lot of economic benefits, but the old man Duan Wenkai's family has suffered misfortunes one after another.
No one picked the cherries, which made the old man Duan Wenkai worried.
Duan Wenkai's wife has a congenital hearing impairment, and in recent years, she has suffered from various severe geriatric diseases and mental disorders, and she is no longer able to work. The only son suddenly suffered from kidney cancer and other diseases, and the departure of his daughter-in-law, who had just been married for a few years, exacerbated the family's misfortune. The old man has to take care of his sick wife on the one hand, and he has to worry about his son who has been hospitalized for a long time, and all the pressure of life is on the old man Duan Wenkai. Seeing that the cherries were becoming red day by day, the old man Duan Wenkai was anxious, but he was unable to take care of these cherry trees at home anymore.
The hard-working fruit farmer suddenly fell seriously ill, and the cherry trees were full of cherries and no one picked them
78-year-old Yan Hengzhi is a simple and hard-working old man born and raised in the north house, although his wife suffers from a serious leg disability, but because the old man is very diligent, and has many years of experience in cherry care, every year in the cherry harvest season, Uncle Yan's cherries are always fruitful, and the dull days are dull and stable because of Uncle Yan's hard work.
According to the relevant personnel of the village committee, the old man Yan Hengzhi originally suffered from eye vision impairment, and in 2023, he was found to have a blood disease, and he could not undergo surgery due to his age, so he had to regularly check the medication every month, and he has spent more than 50,000 yuan in medical expenses. This is undoubtedly a sky-high price for old couples who need to rely on pensions for their daily life. This year's cherry harvest was also the busiest day for the old man Yan Hengzhi in previous years, and seeing that the cherry trees that had been carefully maintained for a year were unable to pick them, Uncle Yan was worried.
This year's cherry harvest is abundant, but Uncle Yan can't pick it.
Authentic North House cherries, which are rare to see on the market
Duan Hua, secretary of Xiagechang Village, told reporters that there are more than 20 families in the village like Jiang Xiangyun, Duan Wenkai, and Yan Hengzhi who have encountered cherry picking and sales problems, and some elderly people are seriously ill and in urgent need of treatment expenses. Duan Hua told reporters, "Most of the cherry trees in the village are 15 to 20 years old, and each cherry tree can bear as little as 20 or 30 catties of cherries and as much as 50 or 60 catties in the whole fruit season." Based on the yield and market price of cherries per tree, the pledge price of 300 yuan per tree is actually far lower than the actual price of cherries for the whole tree. Beizhai Xia Ge site is located in the Laoshan District water source protection area, the cherries have no pollution, the taste is very special, because it is not conducive to transportation is difficult to preserve, it is difficult to buy on the market. ”
For 300 yuan, you can pack a love tree in Laoshan
Since 2017, the "I Pick Cherries for the Elderly" campaign has been held for the eighth consecutive year, and every year Peninsula Charity has set up a "Cherry Tree Pledge Group" to carry out pledge work for these families. In the past 8 years, more than 1,000 caring people have participated in the pledge, and a total of more than 1,100 cherry trees have been pledged for more than 100 people/time in Beizhai, and more than 1,100 cherry trees have been pledged for the elderly, and more than 300,000 yuan has been pledged for the elderly.
To participate in the pledge, the name tag of the pledgee will be hung on each tree. (File photo)
Representatives of caring people who pledged cherry trees participated in the distribution of pledges. (Photo of this newspaper)
The reporter learned that among the caring people who pledged, there were many "old acquaintances" who had been "sticking to it", and they insisted on pledging for many years and continued to pay attention to helping these old people. For example, Qingdao Kechuang Trading Co., Ltd. has been "rounding" 33 cherry trees of Wang Guixiang's old man for 7 consecutive years, and regularly organizes employees to visit the elderly, purchase household appliances for the elderly, and assist the elderly to solve family difficulties. Ms. Ding Guolei of Taomuba Furniture Company not only insisted on donating fruit trees every year, but also helped children from poor families in the village and subsidized their tuition fees. There are many more caring people, before the fruit is ripe, urging pledges, and handing in pledges in advance; There are also many caring people from other places who have paid pledges and have not come to eat cherries for a long time, just to help these elderly people in need......
Representatives of the beneficiary families received cherry pledges on the spot. (Photo of this newspaper)
Helping farmers and eating cherries are not wrong
With the support of many enthusiastic citizens, hundreds of cherry trees of these families were sold out at a price of 300 yuan each. Over the years, these pledges that condense the warmth of caring people have not only solved the urgent needs of the elderly in these sick families, but also improved the quality of life of the elderly......
Pledge of cherry trees and issuance of pledge certificates. (Photo of this newspaper)
In order to continue to help these families, before the arrival of this year's cherry season, we once again solicited caring people to pack a cherry tree for a family in need. The donor does not need to manage the cherry trees, but only waits for the cherries to be ripe and picks, and all the cherries in the whole tree for one fruit season this year will go to the pledgee. When the cherries are ripe, the community notifies caring people to go and pick them.
Specific pledging methods:
Scan the QR code below to join the "2024 Peninsula Charity I Help the Elderly Pick Cherries" pledging group, pay to the staff of the community where the elderly are helped, and leave your contact information and name in the remarks to participate in the pledge.
Scan the QR code above to join the pledging group to participate in the pledge. Before making a pledge, please check the pledge announcement before making a pledge.