A quiet, middle-aged homeless man appeared one day in Baishishui Town. He was around 40, rarely spoke, and seemed mentally sound, but he never shared his name or where he came from. His short-sleeved shirt was worn, yet relatively clean — he said locals had given him clothes. Compared with many in his situation, he looked surprisingly neat.
A stranger in Baishishui
The first person to really notice him was Li Daqing, a sanitation worker with the Baishishui Street Sanitation Office. In January 2000, when the man first arrived, his clothes were in tatters and he smelled strongly. By day, he scavenged for food in trash piles; at night, he slept under the eaves along the street.
Sweeping daily, Li often crossed paths with him and felt sympathy for him. Before each shift, Li began bringing an extra steamed bun or two to press into the man’s hands. At first, the guarded, tight-lipped stranger refused, choosing instead to eat whatever he found in the garbage. One morning, unable to watch any longer, Li scolded him gently and pushed two buns into his hands. Realizing Li meant well, the man ate ravenously. From then on, the two exchanged a few quiet words when they met.
Eight years of quiet service
What began as a small kindness stayed with the man. He saw that Baishishui had only two sanitation workers and that Li often worked from dawn to dusk, sweeping the town’s streets. One morning, just as the sky began to lighten, the man appeared behind Li, silently picking up a broom to help.
In August 2003, Li had an errand and couldn’t start cleaning until noon. Despite the searing heat, the man worked alongside him until the last of the trash was cleared, his shirt soaked through with sweat.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve in 2006, Li started early so he could finish sooner. At 3 p.m., broom in hand, he began sweeping the streets. The homeless man noticed and joined him without a word. When they finished, Li invited him home for the holiday meal. The man shook his head. “I can’t trouble your family,” he said.
In early 2008, before the Spring Festival, Li again planned to finish his route early — but when he pedaled his tricycle into town, he found the streets already swept and the trash neatly piled. The man was waiting quietly for him to haul it away. Seeing Li’s surprise, he offered only a faint smile: “It’s almost the New Year.”
When asked later why he worked so hard, he simply replied: “I’ve got nothing else to do anyway.”
His actions moved the community
Though he spoke little, the man’s steady service touched many residents. Zheng Daqing, then head of the Baishishui Street Committee, first assumed the newcomer was mentally unstable. Watching him quietly sweep day after day changed his mind. Each winter, the committee sent warm clothing and supplies to help him endure the cold.
Neighbors began to look out for him. Some brought food so he wouldn’t go hungry. Mr. Dai, who ran a small fast-food shop, often handed him a hot meal when he saw him sweeping outside the door.
A few years ago, someone even found him a temporary job watching a fish pond. It came with a place to sleep and a modest stipend — a few hundred yuan per month. When ownership changed and the job ended, he returned to the street, took up a broom again, and kept sweeping.
Gratitude without a name
He never asked for thanks and never offered his name. Instead, he repaid a simple kindness — a steamed bun pressed into his hands — through years of quiet, consistent work for the town that had shown him care.
Translated by Elaine
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