Local baozi shop the setting for multiple acts of kindness

Successive acts of kindness happened at a breakfast shop serving the local community, bringing much-needed warmth to its neighbors.

Staying awake and preparing morning food during the wee hours has been a perfectly normal routine for a couple who has operated a small baozi shop for over two years in Haiyan county, Jiaxing city of East China's Zhejiang province. However, due to their early schedule, a crying toddler who appeared on street alone late at night was returned to her parents safe and sound.

At around 3 am on Oct 29, Yang Xiaojuan and her husband Guo Qingshun, the shop owners who were busy making baozi, were disturbed by loud cry nearby their shop. Then Yang spotted a little girl who was running barefoot on the street, with only a baby diaper on her body, when she rushed to check out the situation.

Seeing her without any accompanying parents or adults, Yang immediately carried the girl into the shop and wrapped her in thick coat to comfort her. Guo reported the incident to the police right away.

"Are you looking for your mom?" Yang asked the girl. Much frightened and with her teeth shaking from the cold, the girl nodded.

"Her face looks kind of familiar. She must have run out from a nearby neighborhood, but I couldn't figure out who her parents are," said Yang. After the police officers came, the girl was brought to the police station and the task of looking for her parents was taken over by the police.

Very soon, the parents picked up their daughter at the police station after the police contacted them. On their way back home, the parents came to the baozi shop and expressed their thanks to Yang and Guo in person.

"Where the family lives is very close to our shop. My first thought was that a child alone outside is definitely not safe, so we brought her inside," said Yang.

The spillover of the young couple's good deed has benefited more people after they were awarded 5,000 yuan ($686) for helping the lost girl. With the prize money, they decided to offer 2,500 hot and free baozi to the sanitation workers who have to work in early hours in winter.

Over 40 free baozi have been handed out to the sanitation workers in the first day of the activity on Nov 13. Having run the breakfast shop for years, Yang understands the hardships of sanitation workers. "A warm breakfast helps to fend off the cold and comfort their stomach for the entire day," she said.

After being reported on by the local media, the couple and their baozi shop have became a sensation, drawing countless compliments both from the netizens online and the local communities.

"Our daily life remains the same. We still make baozi everyday," she added. What has changed, however, is the warmth ignited by their kindness, a flame that will continue to spread throughout this winter.