Elderly mourner of CoCo Lee touches many online

A tearful 83-year-old man from Hunan province mourning to the death of CoCo Lee touched the hearts of millions on Thursday.

The Hong Kong-based pop diva died by suicide at her home and passed away on Wednesday after remaining comatose for three days.

The old man said in the viral video Lee helped him sell many oranges in Changsha in 2016, which solved a big problem. She also bought four boxes of tonic and two cotton coats for him, and also gave him several thousand yuan. He said he has always remembered Lee's kindness.

A volunteer in Changsha named Li Xiaoyang on Thursday corroborated what the man said.

The late pop star helped villagers sell over 20 metric tons of oranges in Changsha that year, Li Xiaoyang told Jiupai News, a news portal based in Hubei province.

Li Xiaoyang's team was responsible for delivering blankets to homeless people in underground tunnels or on the streets that year.

On Jan 31, they saw an elderly man sleeping on the street and assumed he was homeless, so they approached him to inquire about his situation.

The old man, surnamed Zhang aged 76, told them he was from Mayang Miao autonomous county and had come to Changsha to sell oranges half a month ago, but couldn't return home because he didn't sell the oranges. He had to sleep on the street to guard his crops.

Hearing this, Li and his team bought all the remaining oranges from the old man. They then found a hotel for the old man to stay in and bought him new clothes.

After purchasing the old man's oranges that night, Li Xiaoyang's team tried to sell them by spreading the news online.

The next day, CoCo Lee learned about the situation while scheduled to be on a show in Changsha.

Even though she couldn't personally come to purchase the oranges herself due to a delayed flight, she entrusted her mother and sister to buy all the remaining oranges from the old man and gave him an additional 2,000 yuan ($276), hoping he could have a happy Chinese New Year.

After the Lunar New Year, CoCo Lee and Li Xiaoyang's team continued to help other villagers sell oranges.

Li Xiaoyang said Lee's kindness had inspired many people and mobilized them to participate in charity.

"We miss her a lot, and at the same time we are very grateful to her," Li said.