After the report of two Hebei farmers by Xinhua News Agency, foreign media also liked it.

Jia Wenqi carried Jia Haixia to the tree planting site as he waded through the cold river on March 13, 2014.

On March 13, 2014, Jia Wenqi held Jia Haixia up with her shoulder, and Jia Haixia cut off the extra branches of the tree with a sickle as saplings for cuttings.

On March 13, 2014, Jia Wenqi inserted the branch into the hole with her foot, and Jia Haixia thrust it into the earth with both hands. Photo taken by Zhang Zhen

"you are my eye and I am your hand." two disabled farmers have planted tens of thousands of trees in 14 years, turning more than 50 mu of barren beach into an oasis.

After the two Hebei farmers were reported by Xinhua News Agency, foreign media also liked them.

In Yeli Village, Jingxing County, Hebei Province, two villagers with disabilities-one blind and the other without arms-have looked at each other and planted tens of thousands of trees for more than a decade, turning a barren beach of more than 50 mu into an oasis.

There is a lush forest on the beach on the edge of Yeli village. Fourteen years ago, it was a barren beach without weeds. Jia Haixia, a 55-year-old villager, and Jia Wenqi, 54, have been tied together ever since because of this barren beach.

"it can also be said that we are disabled to help each other, often together he helps me, I help him, he encourages me, I encourage him." Jia Haixia said.

For income, but also for the courage to find life.

Jia Haixia's left eye was blind from childhood due to congenital cataract, and her right eye was disabled while working in 2000. Since then, Jia Wenqi lost her arms due to electric shock at the age of 3. The same misfortune makes two people depend on each other for their lives. In 2002, in order to increase their income and regain the courage to live, the two men planned to plant trees on the deserted and weed-free beach on the east side of the village. But at that time, they didn't even have the money to buy saplings, so they had to cut branches everywhere to raise seedlings.

"the great flood a few years ago washed away all the trees nearby. Jia Wenqi and I could only go to other villages two or three miles away to cut willow branches and use a phrase from the countryside to make our faces thicker. When people saw us and scolded us, they cut them away without seeing them. That's what happened." Jia Haixia said sheepishly.

Cutting branches is a "technical skill" for Jia Haixia, who is blind, and Jia Wenqi, who has lost her arms. "it's not just one or two branches to cut down branches. We need tens of thousands of saplings." Jia Wenqi told the reporter, "at the beginning, I couldn't cut down a few trees. Brother Haixia is a 40-year-old man, and he can't see. It's not easy to climb a tree. I was worried about dropping him." After a period of practice, the cooperation between the two became more and more tacit. Jia Haixia, who is able-bodied, is responsible for climbing trees, cutting branches and bundling them, while Jia Wenqi "picks up" branches with her feet.

After cutting down the branches, we should go to the opposite beach to plant trees. Jia Wenqi first had to cross the river to transport the tools and bound branches to the other bank, and then came back to carry Jia Haixia across the river. He walked the river many times every year from the second month of the lunar calendar to the Beginning of Winter. For Jia Wenqi, who has no arms, it is not easy to master balance. "especially for people with more than a hundred jin on their back, when they cross the river, they have to step on the stone to the end so that they don't slip, and if they miss a little bit, they will slip. In early spring and winter, it is common for us to get wet through cotton clothes when we cross the river, but now we all feel the experience, and there are fewer things that fall into the water in recent years. "

"Oh, brother, look at this tree."

After some twists and turns to the other side of the river, the tree planting work has only just begun. The natural conditions of the beach are bad, and there are stones and sand everywhere. When they heard that they were going to plant trees on this barren beach, the villagers found it hard to believe. "at that time, there were a lot of people in the village who laughed at us, and trees could be planted there. The grass is not growing and it is fooling around. " Jia Haixia said.

Stubborn Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi ignored the ridicule of others. In the spring of 2002, they planted 800 branches on the beach in the hope that they would take root, sprout and grow into towering trees.

"We went out every day to show off that we had planted 800 trees, and we were very proud at that time. At that time, we were just to support the family, but it was not as great as we say now. Afforestation and purifying the air were in exchange for some money at that time. "

Two people who encounter misfortune have the same simple wish. But with the passage of time, almost all the branches planted in spring died in the summer, and only two trees survived, and the old brothers doubted themselves. "so we are very distressed. Are we pessimistic? To tell you the truth, it's really pessimistic. Is it all right? " Jia Haixia said.