8 | Tuesday, June 8, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PATH TO GLORY From porridge stall to dining chain, restaurateur thanks Mao for success By ZOU SHUO middle of her restaurant, as well as and FENG ZHIWEI portraits and bronze statues of in Shaoshan, Hunan Mao, and until today, the top prior- ity at all her restaurants is to Painting, calligraphy, singing and always treat Mao’s customers well. posting videos to short-video shar- “I was an uneducated farmer. ing platform Douyin, Tang Ruiren is I’m grateful to Chairman Mao for not your typical 91-year-old. my comfortable life,” she said. But then the former farmer from Hunan province has led an atypical Giving back life, leaving the fields to become a Tang always tries to find ways to self-made entrepreneur with more give back and has donated millions than 300 restaurants, famous for of yuan to different charitable causes. signature dishes like braised pork She set up an education founda- with soy sauce, and pepper with fer- tion, which so far has helped more mented soybean — both favorites of than 1,000 children finish their late Chinese leader, Mao Zedong. studies. She has also adopted over Her Maojia (Mao’s House) Res- 100 orphans and employs handi- taurants employ more than capped people and laid-off work- 30,000 people and pay more than ers at her restaurants. 200 million yuan ($31.3 million) in With the rapid development of taxes annually. her restaurant chain, she intro- Tang calls herself Mao’s “neigh- duced a rule where laid-off work- bor” because her home was oppo- ers, veterans and children from site the residence of the late leader poor families should account for at in his hometown of Shaoshan. least 70 percent of employees. Born in 1930 into a poor family, she was forced to beg for a living until she married at 14 and became a farmer. Zhu Zaibao plants trees with middle school students in Yueyang, Hunan province, in 2018. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Her husband, Mao Kaiqing, joined the army in 1947, three years after marriage, and fought during the Chinese People’s War of Liberation in the late 1940s. With her husband away, Tang learned to Veteran, 93, vows to work support the family on her own. She started her first business in 1984 with only 1.7 yuan, opening a small porridge stall for tourists visiting Mao’s home in the village. until last breath for nature She earned more than 3 yuan Tang Ruiren displays an old the first day, four times what an photo of Mao Zedong visiting War hero dedicates life in peacetime bravery in the battle and became a selling or eating wild species. ordinary farmer earned in a day. her home in 1959. probationary Party member. In addition to a passion for envi- At first, neither her husband nor MO ZHENGDE / FOR CHINA DAILY to environment, educating youths “I swore that I would not waste ronmental protection, Zhu is also the villagers approved of her ven- a single day of my life and would devoted to other public welfare ture because they considered it “We have money now and can By ZOU SHUO change, because even in their ear- honor the sacrifice made by my activities. capitalism. live a much better life than before, and FENG ZHIWEI ly years, children can develop comrades,” he said. He has raised more than 20 mil- “I regained my confidence but we must never forget the hard- in Yueyang, Hunan beliefs and habits that last forev- In 1966, when he was 38, Zhu lion yuan to help 30,000 students through the encouragement of my ships we endured, so we should er,” he said. “Their attitudes will had an operation for gastric can- with financial difficulties and built customers, who told me there was help others in need,” she said. Decorated for bravery in the determine the future of our world. cer. He was told by doctors that he a primary school in Yueyang’s nothing shameful in earning mon- “My mother requires us all to War to Resist US Aggression and Every one of us has an obligation had no more than five years to live. Pingjiang county. During the 2008 ey with one’s own hands,” she said. work honestly, and she sees our res- Aid Korea (1950-53), 93-year-old to prevent pollution and conserve The illness forced him to retire Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Tang made more than 10,000 taurants as windows to Shaoshan,” veteran Zhu Zaibao now fights for resources. Environmental protec- early from the military, but he did province, he raised 1.38 million yuan in the three years after she says Tang’s daughter, Mao Taozhi. another cause — environmental tion is long-term work and is ben- not want to waste his life by doing yuan for people affected by the started her business, a considerable “She rarely complains, and is protection. eficial to both current and future nothing. quake. Over the years, he has amount at the time. In 1987, she always strong and optimistic, even Chairman of the Yueyang Envi- generations.” “Although the doctor declared donated 520,000 yuan — money expanded the porridge stall into a though she endured a lot of hard- ronment Conservation Volunteers Born in 1928, Zhu said that he that I would not live long, I was saved from his army pension — to restaurant, taking advantage of the ship,” she continues. One of Tang’s Association in Hunan province, saw firsthand the miserable life determined not to fail my mission different projects. location of her home to feature the sons died in a car accident in the Zhu has been volunteering in the Chinese people led before the and original inspiration as a Party Zhu is as hard on himself as he late Chinese leader’s favorite dishes. 1990s, and the other died from cause for many years now. founding of the People’s Republic. member, nor would I fail the com- is generous with others. He lives a Although it served simple, daily lung cancer in 2012. In addition, Most of his environmental He began herding cattle at the mitment I made to my comrades,” frugal life in a 40-square-meter fare, the restaurant attracted tour- Tang has suffered from fractures at activities are targeted at children. age of 6, and started work when he he said. apartment without a bathroom or ists visiting Mao’s former residence. least 10 times, and at the age of 75, As a part-time student counselor, turned 12. Four of his seven sib- Fifty-five years later, Zhu is not a kitchen, and his children have to The first Maojia branch in Beijing she was told by her doctor that she he has worked at some 4,400 pri- lings starved to death, and some- only still alive, he’s as active as stay in a hotel whenever they visit. was set up in 1993, and Tang’s busi- was dying from cancer. mary and secondary schools in times his family had to eat weeds ever. He works without pay for 12 He still cycles for kilometers ness quickly expanded to other Chi- None of this ever stopped her Yueyang and given lectures to over and tree bark to survive. hours a day, over 300 days a year between places to promote envi- nese cities. from working. Dressed in high a million students and their par- “When New China was founded on issues of public welfare and ronment protection awareness Tang ties her success to the heels and a qipao, the traditional ents on important environmental in 1949, the people were finally environmental protection. and has said that he is willing to founder of New China and often one-piece, body-hugging Chinese issues, including wetland protec- free from oppression and began to In response to the government’s fight for his cause until the last day recalls the day Chairman Mao paid dress, and carrying a walking tion, fresh water conservation, live new lives, so I am forever call to protect the Yangtze River of his life. a visit to her home on June 25, 1959. stick, she still attends to customers biodiversity and the eco-friendly grateful to the Communist Party ecology, Zhu and his volunteer “As a Party member, I am willing During their short conversation, at her restaurant in Shaoshan. lifestyle. of China.” association raised 2 million yuan to spend all my life serving the the late leader asked about her Many tourists come to the res- Zhu is particularly focused on In 1951, Zhu joined the Chinese ($313,650) to plant over a million people,” he said. “People only live hometown and the name of the taurants just to visit her, and Tang water conservation and reuse. He People’s Volunteers army as a scout. trees along the river between 1999 once, and I choose to make my life baby in her arms, her firstborn son. sometimes sings songs and takes encourages each student to save at During a battle in 1953, only 30 of and 2020. as fulfilling as possible.” A picture depicting a grinning pictures with them. She may be least 10 metric tons of fresh water his 1,800 comrades, who were They also frequently visit differ- Mao sitting with villagers in elderly, but this restaurateur is every year by getting their families responsible for clearing minefields ent locations around Yueyang to Xu Xiaowen contributed to this Shaoshan, alongside Tang and her determined to give the best to reuse wastewater.