A handful of rice and a knife

People like to use "the end of an era" to describe the departure of great figures. On May 22nd a year ago, we bid farewell to two giants on the same day: Yuan Longping and Wu Mengchao.

Today, perhaps we can put aside their glory for a moment and just talk about their stories that are not often told by humans.

One life, one thing

“The road ahead is long and arduous, but I will continue to search for it.” People are not born with goals, but how many people can stick to their goals for a lifetime?

Yuan Longping's vague interest in agriculture may have begun in the first grade of elementary school.

At that time, the teacher took the children on an outing. In his memory, the flowers in the garden were so numerous that they looked like "carpets on the ground", and there were also red peaches and juicy grapes...

But later when he talked about that outing, he laughed and said that what he saw was not the real countryside. If he had seen the real countryside, he might not have studied agriculture. But that's another story.

In the summer of 1949, Yuan Longping graduated from high school. When choosing a school, he rejected his father's advice and said that he wanted to be an agricultural scientist.

Data map: Hybrid rice planted around the Pujiang Shangshan site. Photo by Zhu Song

At this time, Yuan Longping had just entered the industry, while Wu Mengchao had already taken the first step in his "one life, one thing" -

When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Wu Mengchao graduated from university and became a real doctor.

At that time, liver surgery was still a blank, but China concentrated about half of the world's liver cancer patients. Under the advice of his teacher Qiu Fazu, Wu Mengchao decided to "throw the hat of China, a major liver cancer country, into the Pacific Ocean."

But when Wu Mengchao decided to return to China nine years ago, it was not to become a doctor, but to "find the Communist Party and go to the front line to fight against Japan." However, due to the war blockade at that time, it was difficult for him to reach Yan'an, so he went to school after returning to China. It was at that time that Wu Mengchao became a student of Qiu Fazu, who was known as the "Father of Chinese Surgery."

Thanks to Wu Mengchao's dedicated research and in-depth study, in the 1960s and 1970s, he performed many "firsts in China" and even "firsts in the world" operations, raising the success rate of liver cancer operations in China from less than 50% to more than 90%, shocking the world.

Data map: 89-year-old Wu Mengchao wears high-power reading glasses, but his hands are dexterous and skillful. Photo source: Xinhua News Agency, Wang Jianmin

If Wu Mengchao's medical career was a natural progression, then what strengthened Yuan Longping's conviction can be glimpsed from a story he told.

In August 1953, Yuan Longping graduated. A few years later, he met an old lady who said, "I am willing to die if I can have a full meal now." It was then that Yuan Longping realized that the Chinese people must hold their own rice bowls.

At that time, he saw too many hungry people.

Later, when Yuan Longping was asked, "Are you afraid of not having enough food to eat again?", he answered without hesitation, "No, no."

One is "having enough food to eat" and the other is "curing diseases". These two simple wishes of the people have become their lifelong careers.

Two hands, three dreams

"In my dream, the super hybrid rice in the experimental field will grow as tall as sorghum, the rice ears will be as long as brooms, and the grains will be as big as peanuts. I will sit under the rice and enjoy the cool breeze leisurely..." Yuan Longping's "dream of enjoying the cool breeze under the rice" is almost known to everyone.

Data map: Yuan Longping wrote: Dream of enjoying the coolness under the rice. Photo by Li Yan

But he actually has two dreams, and the other one is - "the dream of hybrid rice covering the world."

The "dream of enjoying the shade of rice" is to strive for an output of 1,200 kilograms per mu, and to constantly pursue high and higher yields and high and higher quality; the "dream of covering the world" is to hope that hybrid rice will develop in various African countries and solve Africa's food security problem.

Ultimately, it is the hope that there will be no more hunger in the world.

On the other hand, liver cancer, the "king of cancers" that has threatened the lives and health of the Chinese people for many years, is Wu Mengchao's "biggest concern".

File photo: Wu Mengchao performs surgery on a patient. Photo by Yin Liqin, a reporter from China News Service

He once said that his lifelong wish was to "no longer have liver cancer in the world." And his "weapon" to fight liver cancer was his own hands.

The thumb, index finger and middle finger of his right hand are bent and close together... Wu Mengchao's hands have been in this state for many years, which is different from that of ordinary people. However, experts know that this is the result of surgeons holding hemostatic forceps for many years, which has caused their fingers to become deformed.

But once on the operating table, these hands can always remain stable, even if the surgery lasts for an hour.

File photo: Wu Mengchao prepares for surgery. Photo by Yin Liqin, a reporter from China News Service

According to media reports, Japanese colleagues came and filmed Wu Mengchao's operation from beginning to end with cameras, but they could not figure out why his magical hands seemed to have eyes; American colleagues watched the operation on site for three consecutive days, and if he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that a surgeon in his eighties or nineties could still stand on the operating table.

Outside the operating table, every time Wu Mengchao visited a patient, he would rub his hands to warm them up before coming into contact with the patient. He would also carefully close the screen or tuck in the corners of the quilt for the patient when leaving.

A pair of hands holding a handful of rice, a pair of hands holding a knife, have become the greatest reliance for many people to "live well".

Three surgeries, four visits

Wu Mengchao has been a doctor for more than 70 years, performed more than 16,000 liver surgeries, and saved nearly 20,000 patients... These numbers seem too "big", so perhaps we can look at them more concretely:

Wu Mengchao, 88 years old, performed 190 liver tumor resection operations in 2010, setting a Guinness World Record for the oldest surgeon who still performs operations frequently.

Even at the age of over 90, Wu Mengchao still insists on performing more than three surgeries a week. He said, "Even if I collapse in the operating room one day, it will be the greatest happiness of my life!"

Wu Mengchao performed a liver tumor removal operation. Image source: Xinhua News Agency, photo by Wang Jianmin

A nurse who had worked with Wu Mengchao for more than 30 years recalled: After an operation, Wu Mengchao leaned on a chair in the lounge, his surgical gown soaked through, his arms resting on the armrests, and sighed softly: "If I really collapse in the operating room one day, remember to wipe me clean, don't let others see my sweaty face. You know, I love cleanliness the most."

In 2019, Wu Mengchao was already 97 years old and he finally retired. But in his retirement speech, he still wrote: As long as the patient needs it, he can go into battle at any time.

In 2019, the year Wu Mengchao retired, Yuan Longping, who was already 89 years old, was not as strong as before.

Data map: Physical exercise is an indispensable part of Yuan Longping's daily routine. Photo by Zhang Yu, China News Service

Yuan Longping had a very good physique. When he was young, he loved swimming and was a national-level swimmer. In his early 20s, he passed the selection of air force pilots, but did not join the army because the Korean War had ended.

Perhaps it is this kind of "foundation" that makes Yuan Longping very "confident" about his health. In fact, he has heart disease and high blood pressure, and the doctor has repeatedly suggested that he be hospitalized, but he thought he was just short of breath and didn't think he should rest.

Or maybe he just didn't want to leave the rice fields where he had spent his entire life.

For many years, Yuan Longping went to the fields four times a day: once in the early morning, once at noon, and once before and after dinner.

On October 22, 2019, Yuan Longping led guests to observe in the field. Photo by Yang Huafeng, a reporter from China News Service

Peng Yulin, an associate researcher at the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center who looks after Yuan Longping's experimental fields downstairs, once said in an interview that if Yuan Longping is satisfied after inspecting the rice fields, he will not "make trouble", but if he is not satisfied, "the phone call will reach me on time at 9:30-40 in the morning."

No matter when, Yuan Longping's eyes when looking at the rice fields are always "vicious".

One meat and one vegetable, one hundred thousand or one million

If we were to find the biggest common point between Yuan Longping and Wu Mengchao, it would probably be that they are both very "stingy".

After Yuan Longping passed away, among his belongings, a pair of black cloth shoes with holes and a cotton coat and trousers with many patches were particularly eye-catching.

The picture shows the worn cloth shoes that Yuan Longping wore during his lifetime. Photo by Yang Huafeng

The heels of the black cloth shoes seemed to have been stepped on and collapsed, and they were padded with Double Happiness cross-stitch insoles, and there were even holes in the soles; the cotton trousers had too many patches on them and could not be worn, but people were reluctant to throw them away, so they were made into a fire quilt.

These things are all old items that once "accompanied" Yuan Longping when he went to the fields or took walks.

Yuan Longping, who has the desire to "feed people all over the world", actually eats very simply in his daily life: he is satisfied with one meat dish and one vegetable, and sometimes he also goes to the kitchen to cook and make noodles himself.

Wu Mengchao is not only "stingy" to himself, but also to others.

According to media reports, Zhang Peng, who has worked with Wu Mengchao for many years, once mentioned some details: Wu Mengchao would turn off the faucet as tight as possible after washing his hands; he would turn off the lights when leaving the office even for a few minutes; he would eat all the food on his plate when eating; and the "standard" action when leaving get off work was to lock the door and turn off the lights.

Even when "teaching" his students, Wu Mengchao was very strict: "Why do you have to use that instrument? It only costs tens of dollars for one click. How much will it burden the patient? You don't know how to use surgical thread? How much does that one thread cost?"

Data map: Wu Mengchao and his students carefully diagnose the patient's condition and determine the surgical plan. Image source: Xinhua News Agency, photo by Wang Jianmin

But even these two "stingy" people can be "generous" sometimes.

Yuan Long usually pays "bonuses" to researchers at the base out of his own pocket, ranging from several hundred to tens of thousands. He always says, "What do I need so much money for?"

In February 2020, Yuan Longping donated 100,000 yuan to help the people of Hubei fight the epidemic. In addition to money, he also donated 200 tons of rice to help Wuhan.

Wu Mengchao seems to be even more "generous": in 1996, he used his own bonus and social donations of 5 million yuan to establish the "Wu Mengchao Hepatobiliary Surgery Fund", focusing on supporting medical and scientific research personnel who have made outstanding achievements in the hepatobiliary field; in 2006, he used the total bonus of 6 million yuan from the National Highest Science and Technology Award and other awards to go all the way to the hospital's basic research and talent training; in 2008, he donated emergency medicines worth 5 million yuan to the disaster area as soon as the Wenchuan earthquake occurred...

On May 26, 2021, the farewell ceremony for Academician Wu Mengchao was held at the Shanghai Longhua Funeral Home. Photo by Yin Liqin

People are always used to looking up to their achievements, but what is touching and lasting is the kindness and tenacity they always maintain. In addition to those notable achievements, this is also the real strength they left to the world.

Not everyone can be as great as they are, but I hope that everyone can have their spirit.

Source: China News Network