Lei Feng is a name.

Lei Feng is a kind of spirit.

Lei Feng represents a flag.

Lei Feng dedicated his whole life to the motherland and the people. Lei Feng represents an immortal monument with his youth. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Mao Zedong and other revolutionaries of the older generation writing inscriptions for Comrade Lei Feng. Nowadays, Lei Feng’s name is popular among average people with his deeds deeply rooted in people’s hearts. His spirit nourishes the hearts of generations of Chinese people.

In Baoshan, there are also heroes like “Lei Feng” who are selfless and dedicated themselves to the people. They write their heroic stories in their own way as Baoshan people. Let’s listen to their stories.

Grandpa Umbrella

The 75-year-old man is nick-named as “Grandpa Umbrella”. People know him and will ask him for help if their umbrella breaks down. His name is Zhang Yongxing.

In 2004, a medical certificate interrupted the quiet life of Zhang Yongxing’s family. His wife suffered from cancer. Zhang Yongxing took care of his wife, and Mrs. Zhang is getting better. However, their stable life was damaged again when Mr. Zhang met his misfortune. In 2007, Zhang Yongxing was diagnosed with rectal cancer. During the gloomy days, the concern, visit, and sympathy from people around him gave him great support. Zhang Yongxing was not defeated by the cancer at last and survived from the battle. Since then, he began to breed a grateful idea in his heart.

In 2014, on a rainy day, Zhang Yongxing decided to serve the people around him by repairing umbrellas. It seems simple to repair an umbrella, but in fact, the process is complicated. Zhang Yongxing has never repaired an umbrella before, so there is no way to start at first. He learned step by step, took apart all the umbrellas he had picked up, washed the umbrella cover, and classified the umbrella ribs, umbrella poles, switches, and handles one by one. Then, he began to disassemble and assemble the components and bought the missing accessories from the umbrella repair stall, and then went to the building materials store to buy lead wire, small nails, glue, and adhesive tape. At the beginning, he repeated the process of assembly and disassembly, and sometimes cut his hand into bleeding accidentally.

Gradually, Zhang Yongxing became famous for repairing umbrellas, and residents in the community all asked him for help to repair their umbrellas. He even repaired more than a dozen umbrellas in a single day. Sometimes, if some umbrellas have not been given to others, he hung them one by one on the shelf of the patio. Zhang Yongxing also sent the repaired umbrella to the guard room of the community occasionally for residents to borrow. People in the community also cherish these umbrellas. They often borrow and return the umbrellas on time. Love, in this way, is conveyed when the umbrellas are borrowed and returned.

“Master Zhang not only obtain high skills in repairing umbrellas, but more importantly, he never charges a penny.” After getting the repaired umbrella, people in the community said with heartfelt sincerity. However, Zhang Yongxing thinks this is what he should do: “Although we spent a lot of money on medical treatment, it is different from repairing umbrellas. I don’t repair umbrellas for money but for goodness.” Knowing that there are free repairing services for umbrellas in the community, some residents took more than a dozen of broken umbrellas to Mr. Zhang to repair many times. Some neighbors think it is improper, but Zhang Yongxing is still cheerful: “Someone took the umbrella to me for repair, because they trust me.”

Ordinary and great public toilet cleaners

Cleaning public toilets is a “dirty job” in many people’s eyes, but Zong Guomei has been working in this ordinary post for 20 years, from her youth to middle age, and making extraordinary achievements in a simple “toilet cleaning” position.

The public toilets where Zong Gomei works are close to hospitals and schools, and more than 2,000 people use the toilet within one day when the flow of people reach the maximum number. Zong Guomei gets up at 4:30 in the morning, attends a morning meeting at 5:20, arrives at the public toilet at 6:00 to start the day’s cleaning work, and uses the “nine-step cleaning method” to clean the toilet. The method refers to different cleaning tools and methods in different areas. When more and more people use the toilet in the morning, she will adopt the method of “one guest, one clean”. When there are fewer people at noon, she will adopt the “full-effect cleaning method”, and some places that are easy to ignore or difficult to clean, such as the joints of walls and floors, the water inlets and drains in squatting positions, the back of hand basins, coat hooks, door handles, faucets, etc., will be deeply cleaned and disinfected. Before getting off work in the evening, Zong Guomei will clean all the corners of the public toilets. She washes the toilets with mixed water of washing powder and 84 disinfectant, then rinse with clear water. After rinsing, scrape all the water on the ground with sponge mop, and then wipe all facilities and equipment with clean towels.

Zong Guomei, who loves cleanliness, always takes care of the public toilets as her own toilets. Any dirt or unpleasant smell will make her feel uncomfortable. When you walk into the 60-square-meter public toilet, you will smell the fragrance of sandalwood and washing powder, and see the shiny floor tiles, spotless windows and mirrors, and flowers decorated every corner.

Because of the work, Zong Guomei seldom takes care of her daughter. When she gets home from work at 10 o’clock in the evening, her daughter often goes to bed. Sometimes, when her daughter finishes her homework on weekends, she will visit Zong Guomei and help her “wipe and clean” together. Zong Gomei said to her daughter once: “Labor is glorious. No matter what you do, you should do it carefully. Cleaning the toilets is my job and I will make sure that every corner is clean.” When her daughter and fellow classmates pass by the place where Zong Gomei works, she will proudly say to her classmates: “This public toilet is cleaned by my mother. She cleans it very carefully!”

In 2016, Zong Guomei won the May Day Labor Medal of Shanghai. At the same time, her team was rated as a civilized post for women in Shanghai, and the public toilets she served were rated as civilized public toilets in Shanghai and excellent service windows in Baoshan District, and nominated as “the most beautiful public toilets in Shanghai”.

Professor Su in the village

In 2013, Su Jincheng, an associate professor and master tutor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Shanghai University who lives nearby, accidentally came to Fengcun Village and found that most villagers are keen to pass the time at mahjong tables. Therefore, he contacted the village committee, hoping to change an idle room in the village into a book studio, set up a “Fengcun Lecture Hall”, and held lectures twice a week with each lasting for half a day.

After the news came out, the elderly, children and people from all walks of life in the village actively signed up for study, and the small painting and calligraphy room soon were full of villagers who came here continuously. Su Jincheng pushed off many other social activities and giving up his rest time. Once, the school arranged a visit to Japan, which he could not refuse, he arranged his graduate students to help him attend classes in the painting and calligraphy room. During this period, he also called to ask about the children’s study. He often said: “What I concern for the most is these children in the village.”

The small painting and calligraphy room brings a good cultural atmosphere to the whole village. When villagers encounter weddings, funerals, and weddings, they will ask Mr. Su to write a word, and when they encounter children’s art learning problems, they will also ask him for help. However, a sudden illness disrupted his original teaching plan. In the first half of 2014, Su Jincheng suffered from sudden and explosive liver failure, the mortality rate of which was as high as 70%, so liver transplantation must be performed immediately. Fortunately, the hospital successfully found a matching liver and performed the operation smoothly. However, the medical expenses of one million RMB made his family situation worse. His family gave everything, and his friends helped him to pay all the operation expenses and help him tide over the difficulties.

Students and children are concerned about Professor Su’s illness, thinking that he may no longer teach them art knowledge again. However, Mr. Su Jincheng is still missing his “rural students” on his bed. Just after the rejection period of transplant surgery, he returned to the studio and classroom and actively prepared lessons, attended classes, and drew pictures. With the increase number of young children, he also added lectures on traditional Chinese studies such as Disciples’ Rules to teach children Chinese traditional culture and improve their cultural accomplishment.

Gradually, “Fengcun Small Forum” became the most important part of Su Jincheng’s life. And he has persisted this career until now. He also set up a “Charity Foundation for Helping the Poor and Helping the Needy” with the auction proceeds of his paintings and planned to help those in need by means of charitable donations and charity sales. Su Jincheng said: “People helped me fight against fate. My second life was given by all of them. I will try my best to give back to the society.”

Lin Hao, director of Pride Rescue Youth Emergency Service Center in Baoshan District, is a graphic designer. He rushed to Lushan County, the epicenter of the Ya’an earthquake in Sichuan Province, and participated in many major natural disasters and emergency rescue of sudden water accidents in Shanghai as a volunteer for maritime search and rescue.

Wei Gang, a volunteer of the First Neighborhood Committee of Songnanwu Villages in Songnan Town, has been volunteering for 18 years since he retired, and has handled more than 800 cases of mediation. He published his mobile phone number at 188 gates of buildings in the community, telling residents to find him whenever they need. He didn’t give up volunteering even if suffering from cancer.

Zhao Kelan, who lives in Gucun Town, once shouldered the heavy responsibility of supporting eight old people, from her parents to the parents of her deceased ex-husband, from the parents of her current husband to two lonely old people she didn’t know. Now, she has become a “master of caring for the elderly” in her community. Besides taking care of five elderly people living alone in pairs, she has also set up a studio to train elderly helpers for Gucun town Neighborhood Committee.

There are still many stories of “Lei Feng” unfolding or about to unfold in Baoshan District. They have their own names, but ordinary people call them “Lei Feng” around us, and the spirit of Lei Feng will never leave!