Man offers free meals to 81 tenants during Xi'an COVID-19 lockdown

XI'AN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ming Tinggui, 41, a landlord in a community in Yanta District of Xi'an, never expected that he would become famous online because of his beneficence during the COVID-19 lockdown of the city.

Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, imposed a citywide lockdown on Dec. 23, 2021, in an effort to curb the resurgence of COVID-19.

Ming had 81 tenants at that time, about 80 percent of whom were students. They came to Xi'an to attend training classes, begin internships or take China's postgraduate entrance exam, scheduled from Dec. 25 to 27 last year.

Most of them only had simple belongings with them that they could fit inside a suitcase, with no room for pots or pans to cook with. Under lockdown, they were not allowed to go out, making mealtime a major headache.

Having seen his young tenants living on instant noodles and snacks, Ming decided to cook meals for them.

He bought as many vegetables as possible in the community and told his tenants via WeChat that he could provide dinner for them each day.

His idea was warmly welcomed. The tenants made their orders in the WeChat group every day, then Ming would prepare their meals accordingly.

His wife and 65-year-old mother also joined him to wash vegetables and dishes. Although the food supply was lacking at the beginning of the lockdown, Ming still managed to buy some meat for his hungry young tenants.

Ming received as many as 45 orders a day. Some of the tenants wanted to pay him for the dinner but were refused.

Ming said he cooked the meals not for money but to help those in need.

With the tenants' safety in mind, Ming divided the orders into small groups so that they could fetch their dinner one by one while keeping a distance of two meters from each other.

Greatly moved, the tenants reported his good deeds to the local media, shooting him to stardom overnight.

Hearing of his generosity, many people offered to give Ming money to help feed his young tenants, though Ming politely refused.

Ming has decided to continue to prepare meals for his tenants until the lockdown is over, or at least until takeout food is available.