Chinese pay it forward with free meals to ease hardship, inspire hope in tough job market
Even restaurateurs and other vendors hit by economic pressures are promoting free meals and other charitable offers to help others
Worried her customers might feel bothered, Wang offered them money, but they said they did not want money, they wanted food.
Among them, one young man stood out to Wang. He looked about 20, dressed in an ordinary T-shirt and trousers and held a bucket in his hands. The bucket contained a pair of shoes, shower gel, clothes hangers and a blanket.
“I felt instantly shocked, because I looked exactly like that when I first started working years ago,” Wang said. The young man told her he had fallen into difficulty and had no job. He wondered whether Wang could give him something to eat.
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Wang decided to start offering free meals. She had her staff put out a sign out the front that read: “If you are in Shenzhen and have no job, you can tell restaurant staff you want a ‘single’s meal’. You can eat and leave without paying. But I hope in future you may also be able to help others and spread the love”.