Jobless man asks for extra rice from restaurant; owner makes him surprise offer, ‘I was deeply moved…’
A simple request for more food has turned into a life-changing opportunity for a young man in China. Wan, a jobless man, ordered fried rice
A simple request for more food has turned into a life-changing opportunity for a young man in China. Wan, a jobless man, ordered fried rice from a delivery platform in mid-June. The meal cost just 12.8 yuan, equivalent to around ₹178. What he got in return surprised him. Alongside his order, Wan left a note explaining his desperate circumstances. He had recently lost his job and had not yet received his final salary, according to the South China Morning Post. He told the restaurant he could only afford one meal per day and pleaded for a larger portion. “Please give me more rice. I was recently fired and haven’t received my salary yet. I can only eat one meal per day.
Please!” SCMP quoted Wan as writing in his note. What arrived exceeded anything he had anticipated. The lunchbox contained considerably more rice than a standard serving. The lid had a handwritten message from the restaurant owner inviting Wan to join as an apprentice. The gesture left him overwhelmed. “Come and be an apprentice in my restaurant,” the restaurant owner wrote. Wan shared the experience on social media shortly afterwards. The video accumulated around 40 million views and nearly four million likes. Audiences across China celebrated the restaurant owner's compassion and generosity towards a complete stranger. The owner, surnamed Tan, explained his reasoning simply and without fanfare. According to him, life presents difficulties for everyone. He also recalled receiving kindness from others during his own younger, more difficult years.
He described his gesture as a small favour rather than anything remarkable. Tan subsequently requested that members of the public avoid sending messages to his food delivery account. He noted he lacked the time to respond to the volume of incoming contact. “What I did was just a small favour. I hope the public will refrain from messaging me on the food delivery platform, as I don’t have time to respond,” the owner said. Wan has since spoken directly with Tan and confirmed plans to start his apprenticeship. He intends to document the experience through videos shared on social media. “I only intended to ask for more rice; I just wanted to feel full. But look at the lid… the restaurant owner wants me to thrive,” Wan told his story on social media.
“I was deeply moved by the restaurant owner’s response. I never expected such warmth from a stranger,” he told the media. Social Media Reaction Public reaction across Chinese social media platforms was overwhelmingly warm. Many commenters described being moved to tears. One observer drew on a well-known proverb: “As the saying goes, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime’.” One user commented, “When I saw this kind of video, it reminded me that love still exists in the world. Thank you, restaurant boss, for your selflessness.”
The BriefWire