China widow and family travel 1,000km to thank stranger who sends money for 4 years after fisherman husband died at sea
- Man drowns at sea leaving wife, mother, 2 children in huge debt
- Philanthropist supports family, says he will continue until children are 18
A woman in China has travelled more than 1,000km to thank a benefactor who secretly sent her 1,500 yuan (US$200) each month after her fisherman husband died in an accident four years ago.
With the help of the media in Zhoushan, eastern Zhejiang province, Meng Rui, 29, found the man who sent the financial help for her family, Jingzhou News reported.
Meng’s husband was drowned at sea in April 2020 when he worked as a fisherman for a company in the coastal city of Zhoushan.
His death was a huge blow for Meng, not least because he was the family’s sole breadwinner.
Compensation paid by his employer after his death, over 1.1 million yuan (US$150,000), was used to pay off debts he had accrued years before to treat his father’s serious illness.
Meng’s home is in a village in Queshan county, Henan province, central China. The couple have a son and a daughter who were eight years and seven months old respectively when the husband died, the report said.
To make ends meet, Meng, who was previously a full-time mother and housewife, found a job in a supermarket, earning less than 2,000 yuan (US$280) a month.
After hearing the plight of Meng’s family from a social worker, Yu Xiaolong, a marine technology enterprise owner in Zhoushan, contacted Meng on WeChat, using a pseudonym.
Since then, he has been transferring 1,500 yuan to Meng each month, and extra cash for important festivals such as the Lunar New Year.
On March 19, Meng, her mother-in-law and her four-year-old daughter met Yu at his company, after a 20-hour-long trip by coach and train.
They brought him a silk appreciation banner adorned with Chinese characters to thank him for his generosity.
“Thank you so much. Without your help, we could not live. Your monthly donation gives us hope,” Meng and her mother-in-law said, bowing before Yu.
“It’s not a big deal. No worries,” replied Yu, who asked his staff to buy some snacks for Meng’s daughter.
Meng also gave Yu a bag of peanuts.
“We do not have precious things to give you. These peanuts were planted by us. We hope you like them,” she said.
Besides Meng’s family, Yu also donates to five students. He declined to reveal more personal information, but vowed to fund Meng’s family until her two children are 18 years old, according to the report.
“To thank this benefactor face-to-face has been a wish in my heart for a few years, and now it has been realised,” said Meng.
“I will regard Mr Yu as a family member. I will educate my kids to remember his kindness and make their own contribution to society in the future.”
Stories involving the kindness of strangers often make headlines in China.
In December last year, a woman who was driving a luxury car, refused to accept financial compensation from a food delivery driver who crashed into her vehicle.
She even offered to pay for the medical treatment he needed after the accident.
