Under Liu Xinying's active preparation, the work related to the "Undying Veterans" project was soon on track. Li Mu also began to coordinate various resources, preparing to officially push this charity project to the people of the country.
Liu Xinying used her influence in the upper class of Yan Jing to not only recruit many backbone employees who were quite capable in marketing, but also used her previous relationship with major charities and private foundations to promote the search and confirmation of veterans across the country.
All the actions related to the "Undying Veterans" project were still in the confidential stage. Li Mu and Liu Xinying had the same idea. They should also take advantage of the situation to do charity. The attention of the "Flying Tigers" in China was a general trend. Now the whole country was looking forward to the announcement of Hua Xia's actor, which became the best opportunity in the eyes of the two.
Liu Xinying divided the "Undying Veterans" charity project into several stages. At present, the first stage was to prepare for the branch project of "Searching for the Surviving Flying Tigers". After a few days of hard work, she had found 11 surviving Flying Tigers in the mainland. According to the information Liu Xinying gave back, these 11 surviving Flying Tigers were not living very well.
The youngest member of the Flying Tigers was already 80 years old. Because they were part of the national army when they were in the Flying Tigers, almost all of them were criticized, reformed, and even labeled as spies after liberation. From their middle ages to their later years, they lived a relatively poor life. The poorest member of the Flying Tigers was now living in seclusion in a mountain village on the southwest border. This old man married a wife and had a son after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. But in the 1950s, the old man was criticized and reformed because of his composition. His wife and children were also ostracized by the villagers in the village, so when he was reformed, he left with his children. At the end of the 1950s, when the old man returned to the village, there was no news of his wife and children. Later, the old man spent ten years looking for his wife and children throughout the country, but he never found any clues. Later, he lived in seclusion in the mountain village and lived alone until now.
From the photos sent by the staff in front, it could be seen that half of the old man's thatched hut had collapsed. Because he was too old to repair the house, he moved his bedding to the corner. The house was leaky, and the living conditions were extremely poor. Food and daily necessities were even more scarce. However, the old man still kept his military officer's certificate from the Flying Tigers period, a medal, and a black-and-white photo of him wearing a pilot's military uniform and standing in the direction of the plane.
The old man had been down and out all his life, but these few things from the Flying Tigers period were still well preserved by him. He wrapped these things in a plastic film, stacked many layers, and then placed them in the only iron box in the thatched hut that contained biscuits in the 1980s. The old man said that he would definitely die in this dilapidated thatched hut in this lifetime. He hoped that after he died, the people in the village who would collect his body would bury these things with him. He was already unable to buy a coffin, and being able to be buried in the earth after a hundred years was his greatest wish now.
In this extremely dilapidated mountain village, there were almost no young and strong laborers left. There were only a few middle-aged men who had worked outside and suffered from silicosis. The old man said that every few days, he would go to these families and deliver some of the onions, garlic, and wild vegetables that he had grown. He did this so that these people would not go back on their words after he passed away and leave his remains in that thatched hut without a care.
The staff at the front drove to the town and then walked into the mountain. They only brought some pastries as gifts. After seeing that the old man was living such a difficult life, they immediately wanted to leave the old man 2,000 yuan, but the old man was unwilling to accept it. He said that from the time he joined the army to becoming a pilot to fight the Japanese, until now, his back had never been bent, and he had never taken anything from others for free. Living until now, he only had a total of two wishes. One was to be able to find his wife and children who had been separated from him for 40 to 50 years, and the other was to hope that his identity as an anti-Japanese soldier could be recognized by the country so that his ashes could be buried in the cemetery of martyrs after he died.
The volunteers hoped to take the old man down the mountain and to the city hospital for a good checkup, but the old man was unwilling. He just wanted to quietly stay in the thatched hut where he had lived for half his life. He said that he wanted to take his last breath here.
After seeing the materials, Liu Xinying cried in the office. She immediately arranged for someone to buy the earliest plane tickets and prepared to leave for the southwest with two staff members. She hoped to see the old man in person and find a way to bring him out of the mountains. Before she left, she gave Li Mu a call.
Li Mu happened to be on his way to Taobao Technology. He had arranged to meet up with Liu Shixiong and Lei Jianguo. When he went to the United States, several suppliers, including 3M, had already started to ship supplies to deal with SARS to the country. Li Mu needed Taobao to make arrangements in advance. At the same time, he also needed to understand the overall progress of Taobao Logistics. Once the SARS period entered, the whole society would be in a state of panic. The staff of Taobao Logistics would definitely be fighting on the frontlines. Therefore, he needed to communicate with Liu Shixiong in advance and come up with a contingency plan.
After receiving Liu Xinying's call, Liu Xinying said to Li Mu, "Li Zong, I'm going to Spring City in the afternoon. I might only be back in a few days. I'll arrange for a lady from our foundation to take care of things here. I'll get her to contact you later. If you have any instructions, you can look for her directly."
Li Mu asked curiously, "Why are you going to Spring City all of a sudden?"
"To visit a surviving Flying Tigers," Liu Xinying said. "This old man's situation is a little special. I want to make a trip there personally."
Li Mu asked her, "Special in what way?"
Liu Xinying briefly explained the situation to Li Mu, then said, "I have two objectives for going to Spring City. One is to find a way to bring the old man out of the mountains. It would be best if I could bring him to the hospital in Kunming, the provincial capital, for a good checkup. Then, I'll arrange a good military sanatorium for him to recuperate for a period of time. The other is to record the old man's situation. This will be very good material for us to promote 'Veterans Don't Die.' I feel that this old man's situation will definitely make people pay attention to the living conditions of veterans."
Li Mu was silent for about half a minute after hearing that, then said, "I'll go with you."
Liu Xinying was stunned and quickly said, "Li Zong, that place is too far away. You're so busy, and you're a public figure, so you shouldn't go with me."
Li Mu said, "It's fine. I just have some miscellaneous things on hand, and my subordinates can handle it. As for whether I'm a public figure or not, you don't have to worry. After hearing what you said, I feel that no one will recognize me in the place where the old man lives."
"But …"
Liu Xinying still wanted to persuade Li Mu, but Li Mu said without hesitation, "Alright, no more buts. What time did you book your flight?"
"Six-thirty." Liu Xinying said, "It'll be after ten o 'clock at night when we get to Spring City. We're planning to stay in Spring City for the night, and tomorrow, the Spring City military will send us there. I heard that the road there isn't easy to travel on, and it only leads to a town below. There's still more than ten kilometers of mountain roads to walk, and I heard that there's a river that doesn't have a bridge, so we'll have to slide across it. It's too dangerous, so you better …"
Li Mu didn't give her a chance to continue persuading him. He said, "How about this? Get someone to refund the ticket first, and I'll arrange for my assistant to contact the charter company. We'll try to fly tonight. You guys come with me."
Liu Xinying saw that Li Mu was insistent, so she could only say helplessly, "Alright, I'll arrange it. Li Zong, when you're done, let me know."
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