"Package A" is quietly becoming popular in some cities, and the secret code is reported, and people with difficulties can get a free meal. In the difficult times, a group of small street shops reached out to help, weaved a net, and pocketed those shaky lives.
His fragility
At 6 o'clock in the morning, Zhengzhou Dongming Road was still quiet, except for an anti-cancer shared kitchen next to the Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital. White porridge, steamed buns, and small pickles were placed on the stove, and people came to line up to receive breakfast one after another. Someone in the kitchen began to cook noodles, and the pot next to it was scrambling eggs, and after the green onions and eggs were fried, the aroma came out with a "Zi La" sound.
"This big lady, why haven't you come today?" Zhang Guangbing was serving porridge to people while muttering in his heart. The eldest bride he remembered was from the countryside of Henan, sixty or seventy years old, and his son had leukemia and went to Zhang Guangbing to cook every day.
It was near noon that day, and the eldest lady appeared, her face haggard and her back hunched over. She carefully avoided the others, moved to Zhang Guangbing's side, wanted to say something again, and finally said a word, "Boss, can you let you cook a meal for free today, I really don't have any money." ”
After running an anti-cancer kitchen for many years, Zhang Guangbing knew all too well what "no money" meant to a family of cancer patients. He reached out and picked up the two steamed buns, and then took a bowl of white porridge and stuffed it into the hands of the eldest lady, "Auntie, when you come later, you don't need money every time you cook." ”
Pictured| Zhang Guangbing (left) chatting with the family members of patients who came to cook
The eldest lady thanked her and left. Zhang Guangbing wiped a poster on the wall again, and he wanted to make the words on it more eye-catching: enter the store to report the secret code "A package", you can get free rice noodles, no need to be polite. In May 2021, the media and online business banks of 11 provinces initiated the establishment of the "Public Welfare Small Shop Alliance", and Zhang Guangbing became one of the first batch of shopkeepers to join, and the alliance looked for small shops like Zhang Guangbing across the country and sent funds and equipment.
By the end of 2021, more than 300 small public welfare stores will join the alliance to help people in need in their own ways, the most common of which is "A package". Anyone who has difficulties, enter the store and report the secret number "A package", can get public welfare help, the cost is shared by the online business bank.
The eldest lady cooked in the kitchen for a month and a half, and then she was no longer seen. Whenever I think about it, all kinds of tastes rush into Zhang Guangbing's heart.
It is difficult for the families of cancer patients to survive, in fact, Zhang Guangbing has not had a good time in these years. 6 years ago, Zhang Guangbing's father was treated at the Provincial Chest Hospital, and not long after the operation, he clamored to drink the noodle soup at home, and the food in the restaurant outside was so heavy that he could not eat it. Zhang Guangbing realized how important it is for patients to be able to eat a bite of family meals for the recovery of the body.
He didn't think much about it, so he and a few friends opened this anti-cancer shared kitchen, which provided a cooking place for patients and their families, 5 yuan to make a meal, 10 yuan to stew a soup, and the stew soup was recently 2 yuan cheaper and became 8 yuan. Since 2015, Zhang Guangbing has been receiving nearly 200 patients and family members every day, and has never increased prices in the past 6 years, and the onions, ginger, garlic and oil, salt and vinegar in the store are free to use.
At the end of June 2020, the old site of the kitchen was demolished, and Zhang Guangbing changed to the current new storefront, which is in a good location, close to the Provincial People's Hospital, the Provincial Chest Hospital and the Provincial Cancer Hospital, and also faces the street. Such stores are very scarce, with a rent of 150,000 yuan a year, electricity costs 1.5 yuan per kWh, water costs 8 yuan and 1 ton, Zhang Guangbing gritted his teeth and rented it.
During the days of heavy rain in Zhengzhou, the water leaked in the store seriously, and all the induction cookers were already aging, and they burned out when they were immersed in water. It was difficult to change a batch of new equipment, the epidemic recurred, and all the small shops around the hospital were forced to suspend business. Zhang Guangbing couldn't help but shake his head and sighed and said, "The leak in the house is partial to the overnight rain."
In order to save money, Zhang Guangbing did not party, did not travel, did not buy a new dress for several years, and had almost no social interaction, and ate in the kitchen with the patient's family. Married this year, or rented a house, and now the child is about to be born, he calculated an account, every year to remove 150,000 rent and 130,000 yuan of water and electricity bills, a year only the balance of more than 1,000 yuan. Every time the capital turnover is not available, either find relatives, friends and classmates to borrow a little, or go to open a credit card and reverse it.
To say that I didn't think about giving up at all is false. At that time when the kitchen site was demolished, Zhang Guangbing thought, if not, go find a class, "Isn't it fragrant to be a small white-collar worker?" I also want to sleep late, I want to play ball, I want to have an entertainment life. As a result, the patient's family kept calling him and asking where he had gone. An old grandmother said that her wife couldn't eat anything anymore and wanted to drink some of your porridge. Zhang Guangbing softened his heart again.
The reality he faces remains harsh. The sudden arrival of the epidemic has disrupted the rhythm of everyone, and many small street shops are in the midst of the storm. According to survey data, from January to November 2020, the number of small shops closed was in the millions.
Small shops all over the country are the nerve endings of a city that support the daily lives of ordinary people. How to help small shops and support the livelihood of more people is a common issue facing the whole society. At this moment, both the shopkeeper and the customer seem to be trapped on a taut string. Zhang Guangbing, who was smiling, was sometimes very fragile inside, and he didn't know when this string would break. Business is not good, the price can not rise, several times he almost can not hold on, once wanted to open a small restaurant or to do a maintenance, to subsidize the anti-cancer shared kitchen.
Survive the darkest hours
The epidemic has no business, the mother has a brain infarction twice, and this year's theme is "carry it, survive". This is a circle of friends sent by Li Kaifa.
In Li Kai's eyes, the past two years can be described as thrilling. His dumpling restaurant opened in the Oak Tree Block of Xi'an High-tech Zone, with more than 400 square meters, during the epidemic, the source of customers plummeted, including rent, water and electricity and employee wages, he had to lose 60,000 or 70,000 yuan every month.
In order to hold the small shop, Li Kai once took the initiative to accept quarantine on the second floor of the dumpling restaurant, hoping to open normally after the isolation was over. However, the policy stipulates that dine-in is not allowed, and he can only try to make box lunches for takeaway, but a large number of office buildings are empty, and the takeaway orders are pitifully small.
Captain Guo, the property manager of Oak Block, usually likes to come to the door of Li Kai's dumpling restaurant to bask in the sun and chat, come and go, and the two have become good friends. Seeing that Li Kai was in trouble, Captain Guo took the initiative to lend a helping hand, "Old Li, I will give you 20,000 yuan first, you open the door first, the store cannot be closed." ”
When the epidemic was most serious in 2020, most people still couldn't go out behind closed doors, or worked from home, and the turnover of dumpling restaurants was 300 yuan a day, and the electricity bill was not enough. In less than half a month, the twenty thousand yuan supported by Captain Guo was gone, and when the salary was opened, Li Kai was so worried that he could not eat, "Do not open zhang and die, open Zhang loss death." Captain Guo saw it, turned his head and took another twenty thousand, and instructed Li Kai: "First pay the salaries to the employees, and then we will slowly think of a way." ”
This dumpling restaurant was opened by Li Kai in 2016, the transfer fee was 700,000 yuan, and the decoration was thrown into 300,000 yuan, when he was 45 years old, and he pressed all his hard work and family foundation. Thinking that the livelihood of the second half of his life may be in vain, Li Kai suffered from neurasthenia and could not sleep. In those days, he put a bottle of high liquor at the head of the bed, took a few sips before going to bed, and tossed and turned in anxiety and melancholy.
One day, Li Kai saw that only the express delivery on the street did not stop, but he could not enter the community, and they were scattered on the ground like stalls. At that time, it was still cold, the courier was very guilty of guarding on the side of the road, and it was not convenient for the residents of the community to come out to pick up the courier. On the one hand, the hotel can't hold it, and on the other hand, the courier can't stay idle. Thinking about it, Li Kai separated part of the dumpling restaurant and renovated it, and opened a rookie station to facilitate everyone to send couriers.
Slowly, more people came, and the business of the dumpling restaurant picked up. The old customers came back one after another, and learned in the chat that these people had not worked for a long time, and their hands were relatively tight, and the number of times they went out to the hotel was naturally less.
"Who hasn't had a hard time?" Li Kai told the kitchen that regardless of the cost, a two-meat and two-vegetarian fast food is priced at 13 yuan, and there is no money for packaging.
In the area of the high-tech zone, neighbors and merchants know that Li Kai is a well-known warm-hearted person: daily help for others is not to say, dumpling restaurants prepare hot boiling water for sanitation workers all year round. Migrant workers who come to the construction site can help heat up the shop if they bring their own meals. Every year on the winter solstice, he will prepare hot dumplings for everyone to eat for free.
Pictured | the winter solstice, Li Kai cooked dumplings for sanitation workers for free
In June 2021, Li Kai also joined the MYbank Public Welfare Small Shop Alliance. Like Zhang Guangbing of the anti-cancer shared kitchen, he posted a notice on the wall of his dumpling restaurant: People always encounter difficulties, they know that it is not a big deal, and they enter the store to report the secret number "A package" to eat dumplings for free, and leave after eating, no need to be polite.
Dumplings in China represent reunion and love. A small shop is a livelihood and a firework in the world. Li Kai's dumpling restaurant, in those difficult days, conveyed a simple and sincere emotional connection to people. He wants to do "A package" to give back to everyone and let more people feel a kind of support.
Pictured| Li Kai's "A set meal" notice posted at his dumpling restaurant
Tian Ye, a 34-year-old boy who is also in Xi'an, was unfortunately hit by a car accident a few years ago and caused high paraplegia. To make a living and to emerge from a self-enclosed world, in 2014 he opened a skewer shop. Similarly, he also experienced a darkest moment similar to Li Kai's.
In the past, when the business was good, the passenger flow of thirty or forty tables a day was very impressive, supporting the daily expenses of the family of seven in the field. "At the beginning, it was all friends who came to the scene, they knew about my situation, and to put it bluntly, they deliberately came to send me money. Later, because the taste was really good, after it spread, the business got better and better. ”
The skewer shop in the field is a food stall layout, which is cold in winter and closes in December every year, and reopens in March of the following year. Who would have thought that when the epidemic black swan hit, all the restaurants in his community would be suspended. At that time, it coincided with the fact that Tianye had just bought a new induction cooker and a large shed, and the shop was completely renovated. He could only shake his head helplessly, teasing that he was so poor that he couldn't even afford to buy the wheels of a wheelchair, "Smashing into 130,000, there is no return." ”
For zhang guangbing, Li Kai, tian ye, these small shopkeepers, these two years of life, just one word - difficult. It was only a matter of livelihood, and no matter how difficult it was, they did not dare to collapse, looking for a faint light in the shaking.
Hold on to the struggling
Deshun Zhai Meat cake shop near Beijing's Sanyuan Bridge may be the first small shop to launch "A package". As long as customers quote the A set, they can eat a braised beef noodle that was originally priced at 22 yuan for free, with meat and vegetables and staple foods, which is enough to fill their stomachs.
After this costless public welfare shop was reported by the media, it attracted the attention of Wang Ye. She is the head of the MYbank Public Welfare Small Shop Alliance. However, when she tried to contact the owner to ask if she would like to join the alliance, she learned that the small shop had closed.
The crisis of the small shop was so really spread in front of Wang Ye. The main group of daily services of online business banks is small and micro groups such as small shops and farmers, and in the daily return visits, a group of shopkeepers who are in difficulty and still insist on public welfare have deeply touched her. Wang Ye secretly wondered to himself, in addition to the financial support of his job, can he help them do something?
The public welfare shops that | do good deeds are frequently on the hot search
MYbank wants to help these small shops, but also to protect their dignity, can not be a simple gift, it is best to help the shopkeepers who have always insisted on public welfare, and together with them to stick to the public welfare, such as upgrading the equipment in the store, sharing a part of the funds for public welfare, so that they can help more people.
Small shops are spread over all kinds of streets and alleys across the country, with a total of more than 100 million. Wang Ye and his colleagues began to look for small shops one by one, until the alliance was formed, and more reports and clues poured in from all over the world, and the matter gradually got on the right track. Discover a family, help a family.
Then the story of "Package A" spread quickly.
One day, a strange guest came to Li Kai's dumpling restaurant.
A very picky young man, holding the menu and looking over and over again, from time to time asked Li Kai what kind of stuffing and how many pieces of dumplings. Ten minutes passed, and the young man ordered a small portion of leek egg stuffed dumplings. "Looking at it is also in his early 20s, why is it so inked..." Li Kai muttered in his heart. He has been doing catering for nearly 30 years, and he has been opening a dumpling restaurant in Xi'an for five or six years, and he thinks that he has a very good set of observers, and young people are so picky and cautious, too few.
Checked out, 21 blocks. When giving the money, the young man took out a 10 yuan from his pocket, a 1 yuan, and two rolled up 5 cents, and he continued to pay. This small detail, like the oil star that splashed during cooking, suddenly collapsed on the skin, and Li Kai instantly understood something. He pushed the money back into the young man's hand and pointed to the A package notice posted on the wall. The young man looked at it, his expression complicated, and quietly left.
This is Li Kai's goodwill. He recalled that when he was 19 years old, he was wandering around, a crumpled 5 cents as a reserve fund, and he was stunned to carry it in his pocket for a week, thinking that no matter how bad it was, he could use the 5 cents to call home. Now, he has opened a shop, become the boss, and meet the guests who need a package A, Li Kai told the employees not to make noise, silently place an order, "This meal money is not important, human dignity is important." ”
Later, the young man often came over to eat dumplings and chatted with Li Kai about the past. He is 21 years old, a junior high school extracurricular tutor, when the epidemic came, he lost his job, he did not go home during the Spring Festival, the house was about to expire in half a month, but he only had 100 yuan left. Li Kai was a righteous man, and he said to the young man, if you have no object, you will live in my staff dormitory, eat here, and leave after eating.
Li Kai's generous help is far more than just the young man. There is a middle-aged man who comes at night, he said that the construction site did not start, there is no money to take back, the wife and son naturally do not have a good face for him, he does not want to go home; a young man worked in a Sichuan restaurant before, when the epidemic came, the Sichuan restaurant could not hold on and closed the door, and he had no job. Li Kai took them in to eat one by one and let them live in the staff dormitory first.
After experiencing the ups and downs of life and the twists and turns of opening a store, Li Kai, who is close to the age of "knowing the destiny of heaven", is more aware of the difficulty of people in desperate situations, "Compared with those who have lost their jobs, lost their incomes, or suffered family changes in the past two years, I am still lucky." ”
Zhang Guangbing, who shares the kitchen against cancer, has also seen the difficulties of more people on the undulating road of life. After the launch of the "A package", more and more people came to him, and they were no longer a single patient's family. But they share the same characteristics, most of them are taciturn, even if they speak very quietly, cramped and uneasy expressions, no eye contact.
He once met a middle-aged elder sister who, after asking for free steamed buns and porridge, squatted at the door and took a big bite to eat. "There's no dish here, so why can I eat it?" Zhang Guangbing couldn't look at it, stuffed a few packs of squeezed vegetables for the eldest sister, and also told him that if he couldn't finish eating, he would take it away without thanking him.
Since opening a skewer shop, Tian Ye insisted on giving 2.2% discount to people with disabilities. Nowadays, small shops also launch A packages, and people with disabilities can enter the store with a license to eat directly at half price. In August 2021, there were four or five deaf and mute people in the store, and the waiter could not understand sign language, so they pointed to the A package notice posted in the store, and the waiter immediately understood. Before leaving, these deaf and mute people enthusiastically pulled the field for a group photo.
The toughness of the | field has infected many people, and customers have come to visit
For the field, whether it is a discount or a package A, he wants to encourage people with disabilities to go out more, "It is very important to go out of the house, I hope the society can know, we want to come out very much, we also need to go out, we are not just suitable to stay at home." 」 ”
The families of patients, people who are not working well, people who are confused about life... These ordinary little shopkeepers stretched out a strong and warm hand, woven into a net, and wrapped one person after another struggling in difficulties. "Even if it's a full meal, it may bring courage to others." Li Kai sighed.
Tenacity of goodness
In Wang Ye's eyes, these simple and unpretentious shopkeepers are the kindest and toughest group of people. Their small shop is not large, and the public welfare they do is not earth-shattering. They are all running for their livelihoods, and they are also running for themselves and others.
Once, she invited the owner of a beef noodle restaurant in Guangdong to join the MYbank Public Welfare Small Shop Alliance. Unexpectedly, the other party suspected that he had encountered a scammer, asked for the ID card number and asked the work permit number, and finally made a video call to confirm that he was relieved. "They think it's incredible that someone would be willing to support them in doing public welfare."
After all, who cares how many people they helped, and who cares if they can't hold on to themselves?
To do good deeds, someone must care.
It was almost the New Year, and Wang Ye and his colleagues thought of giving these small shops an award. They found a caravan, converted into an award stage, carried the trophy of "2021 Top Ten Public Welfare Small Shops", and a large truck of New Year goods, and spent 1 month, crossing 5 provinces and running more than 8,000 kilometers. At the door of the small shop, in the presence of relatives and friends, complete a small award ceremony for each small shop owner.
In an award of less than 20 minutes, the team prepared practical New Year goods together, ordered beautiful trophies, filmed VCRs for the small shopkeepers who won the awards, and collected messages from netizens to read to them.
"There really is such a group of 'fools' in this world, guarding the few warmths."
"Only after experiencing it can we deeply understand what it means to send charcoal in the snow."
"An act of kindness that warms others for a lifetime."
"Such a boss deserves her business to flourish."
For Wang Ye, who has held countless large and small activities, this may be the smallest award ceremony she has ever held - the smallest stage and no award guests, but she spends the most time, a bit like a marriage proposal for the lover who cares the most.
She hopes that they can also be warmed to others, so that their long-term silent persistence can also have a moment full of ritual.
Picture | Li Kai couldn't help but cry at the award ceremony
These small shops are all over the country, and the seemingly insignificant "A package" has witnessed the warmth that happens in the streets and alleys.
Zhang Guangbing has been facing cancer patients and their families for many years, and in the huge impact of the fragility and impermanence of life, he has felt a sense of responsibility and mission. There was a middle-aged elder sister who had cervical cancer, her temper became strange, and when she was hospitalized, she quarreled with her husband, and the man threw up his hands and left in a huff. The eldest sister had no food to eat, so she could only call Zhang Guangbing. Zhang Guangbing didn't say a word, every day he made a meal to send to the eldest sister, took care of her for more than a month, "Once we don't do it, where will these people eat?" ”
After the anti-cancer shared kitchen was changed to the new store site, a middle-aged woman came here to cook a meal for half a year, and later said that her husband who suffered from esophageal cancer was well. But not long after, the woman reappeared in the kitchen, busy, but more silent. When I inquired, I learned that she had brought her son, who had just been admitted to college, to see leukemia. Successive patients are going to consume the family, usually she is not even willing to drink a bowl of porridge, after learning about the A set, she cried on the spot for a long time.
Li Kai's dumpling restaurant, many people come to visit. A fifty- or sixty-year-old uncle saw the news of the public welfare deeds of the dumpling restaurant, came to li kai on purpose, confided in Li Kai that it was not easy, and also pulled out a body donation agreement, hoping that Li Kai would sign for himself. Li Kai patiently persuaded and chatted all afternoon, and Uncle Da's mood improved significantly. Before leaving, Li Kai quietly told him that if he encountered difficulties one day, he would come again at any time.
On the one hand, he deeply felt that his personal strength was small in the face of difficulties, and on the other hand, he firmly believed that kindness was a choice. Seeing that the elderly living alone in the community had a hard time and could not eat a hot meal all year round, he went to the door to make them a good dish; knowing that the security guards in the community had to be on duty for the New Year and could not be reunited with their families, he deliberately opened the store to the Chinese New Year's Eve, and packed the brine, cooked food, etc. in the store early in the morning and gave them to the security guards one by one.
These people who have been helped are also feeding the small shop with kindness. The dumpling restaurant is busy, Li Kai and the staff have difficult time to drink saliva, the community security guards see the situation, after work, they run to the back kitchen to help choose dishes, and the old people nearby often come to help make dumplings. Everyone is together, lively, talking about the present, and planning for the future.
Tianye's skewer shop is usually run by his younger brother, and the three waiters are responsible for checking the hygiene, ingredients, recipes, etc. "The body can be disabled, but the heart cannot be mutilated." He said that he began to prepare at noon, closed in the early morning, and was there every day except when he was sick and hospitalized. In addition to the disabled, many able-bodied people have also become regular customers in the store, shaking hands with the field, taking pictures, chatting, and talking, and some frustrated people regain their confidence in life.
Not only did he open a small shop full of kindness, But Tian Ye and three other volunteers with disabilities also did an amazing thing. Since May 2019, they have spent more than 3 months running around the scorching sun for more than 10 hours a day to conduct field visits and surveys on the barrier-free facilities of the main and secondary roads of the city within the third ring road of Xi'an City, and finally drew a comprehensive and accurate barrier-free travel map.
The English poet Pope has a saying: "Man is like a vine, his survival depends on something else, and he embraces others and gets strength from hugging." ”
Figure | there are difficulties, report the secret code "A package", do not be polite
A secret code of "A package" has made these public welfare shops ignite a spark of stars across the country. The shopkeeper brings warmth and a glimmer of hope to some people who are in deep trouble, and also re-polishes the little fire in their hearts. Perhaps, the beauty and emotion in life are the sharp knives that break down unsatisfactory. The people who are helped and helped are ordinary people, they cheer each other up, and the goodwill is passed on layer by layer, forming a powerful joint force, so that the life of the shengdou people is vigorous and resilient.
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Written by | Zheng Ting
Edit | Zhang Xinming