"My mom has undergone huge hardships to bring me up. When I was young, once we encountered heavy snow when she carried me by bike to the hospital for massage treatment. Suddenly, the bike fell over into the mud. When my mom helped me up, the bike fell down; when she lifted the bike, I fell down. The moment we reached the hospital, both of us were covered with mud," said Ding, adding that even the doctor was moved by Zou's persistence.
"If I took a day off in bad weather, what would happen if Ding Zheng or I got sick? Since I chose to rescue him 29 years ago, I tried my best to cure him of the illness," Zou said.
"The moments when my child stood up, walked and called me 'mommy' for the first time are the happiest in my life; it's like receiving a gift from heaven. I feel I'm a lucky mom," Zou said.
STRICT WITH HER SON
Some may say Zou shows her son a lot of "tough love."
Using chopsticks, a skill that comes naturally to most Chinese children, is a tremendously difficult task for Ding because of his illness. Many friends and neighbors persuaded Zou to allow Ding to quit.
"Using chopsticks is a must-do for Chinese people. If he is the only one who does not use chopsticks at the table, people will get curious. And then he has to explain to everybody that he has cerebral palsy, which will surely hurt his self-esteem," said Zou, under whose strict guidance for over a year, Ding finally learnt how to use chopsticks.
Zou tried everything she could to help Ding to overcome any obstacles his handicap had created.
"I don't want him to feel ashamed about his illness......I ask him to work harder than others and have higher requirements of him," said Zou.
Ding had difficulty holding a pen. So, Zou taught him to draw some shapes with thick-bodied pens by holding his hand, and then gradually changing to thin pens. Even though Ding was weak in his physical movements, he started learning how to read from his mother at the tender age of one, and he knew more than 100 Chinese characters before he was two years old.
But Zou neither helped Ding with his homework nor forced him to participate in training courses.
"My mom's catch-phrase is 'Don't ask me questions about your homework, I'm illiterate,' which I think is also a kind of educational concept," said Ding, adding that his mother was focusing on instilling good habits into him instead of helping him solve concrete difficulties.
MOM AS A MENTOR
Thanks to his mother's intense nurturing, Ding graduated from the College of Environmental Science and Engineering of Peking University, and then enrolled in the Law School of Peking University in the same year.
In March 2016, Ding was admitted by the Law School of Harvard University after working as a lawyer for a year.
"I've never dared to apply for Harvard University, but my mom always encouraged me to give it a try. Whenever I hesitate, she is always there guiding me," said Ding.
In terms of educating children, Zou thinks parents should respect their children while at the same time being prepared to learn new things themselves.
Zou has always treated Ding as an equal and likes to discuss important decisions with him. Ding acknowledges that their treating each other as equals is the foundation of their healthy relationship.
"A lot of parents show strong ability and eloquence at work, while they turn bewildered when it comes to educating children, either spoiling the kids or lacking patience, failing to discuss with their kids in an equal and earnest way. My mom convinces me with arguments and stories when we have different opinions," said Ding.
"Ding Zheng's mother is one of the most patient parents I've ever seen, with so many methods to communicate with and enlighten her son. The boy showed a little bit of a strong personality and tended to stick to his own ideas. There were several small disagreements between us, and Zou would always help her son open up to me," Xie Yingshui, Ding's head teacher at Hubei Wuchang Experimental High School, told Xinhua.
In Ding's opinion, Zou is his mentor, while Zou regards herself as her son's sincere friend.
"I've never thought of myself as a great mother. I'm just a mother who would like to achieve continuous progress for her son," said Zou, adding that she would read books and prepare for any difficulties Ding might encounter whenever he entered a new school.
Even though Harvard University has provided financial aid accounting for three quarters of Ding's tuition fee, the remaining quarter poses a huge burden for this single-parent family.
"When I was a kid, I had been expecting to achieve some success when turning 30. Now, I'm 29, still financially relying on my mom. I want to work harder and make enough money to guarantee my mother a better life," Ding told Xinhua.
