One afternoon in March 2021, food delivery rider Che Zhenyu was rushing through a residential compound in Shanghai's Putuo district when he noticed thick black smoke rising from a nearby building.

During a joint Party-building activity, Che Zhenyu delivers a brief Party lesson to participating Party members. (Photo provided by the Publicity Department of the Putuo District Committee)

He still had two orders waiting on his phone. If he was late, he could face customer complaints and the accompanying financial penalties.

For a brief moment, he hesitated. Then the smoke thickened. Looking away from his phone, he grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and ran inside.

The words he never forgot

Che grew up in Lüliang, a former revolutionary base in North China's Shanxi Province. As a boy, he listened to his grandfather tell stories about the Eighth Route Army, a Communist-led force that fought Japanese invaders during World War II.

"A Communist Party member," his grandfather would tell him, "is someone who steps forward whenever the country or the people are in need." The words stayed with him, and a quiet wish took root: one day, he wanted to become just like them.

At the age of 16, Che left his home to make a living. He took on a string of jobs—from factory work to running a small business—before moving to Shanghai in 2018 to become a food delivery rider, joining millions of others powering China's booming on-demand economy. The hours were long and the work demanding, but he maintained what he called a "warm heart," always ready to lend a hand.

Into the smoke

Inside the building, the stairwell was already choked with smoke. It was early afternoon, and many residents—especially elderly people—were resting at home. Che began pounding on door after door, shouting, “Fire! Get out now!"

At first, few doors opened. Some residents had not realized what was happening. Che and community workers kept shouting until people began to evacuate.

Then word came that an elderly woman upstairs could not get down on her own.

Che and a security guard rushed into her apartment, where smoke was already seeping in, and helped the woman, who was in her 70s, down the stairs to safety.

By the time he made it back outside, the heavy smoke he had inhaled began to catch up with him. Dizzy, he leaned against a wall to steady himself.

When firefighters arrived and took over, he climbed back on his scooter and left.

Can a delivery rider join the Party?

Che assumed it was just another day on the job. But soon after, community officials sought him out. On behalf of residents, they thanked him for stepping forward at a critical moment and presented him with a certificate of recognition, calling him an "everyday hero."

When they asked whether he needed any help in his work or life, Che surprised them. His first thought was not money or housing, but the wish he had carried since boyhood—to become one of the people his grandfather had described. "Could a delivery rider like me join the Communist Party of China?" he asked.

"Of course," an official told him. "Party service centers are increasingly open to workers in new forms of employment, including couriers, gig workers and freelancers." A Party service center, the official added, stood just a few blocks from Che's usual delivery route.

Still delivering

In July 2021, after watching the live broadcast of the ceremony marking the Party's centenary, Che sat down and, in his words, "picked up a pen I hadn't used in a long time" to write his application. In 2024, after years of study and community service, he was formally admitted as a member.

Becoming a Party member did not change his routine so much as give it a purpose.

Today, he still delivers meals across Shanghai. Every month, he volunteers in his community, helping bring meals to elderly residents who live alone.

For Che, the words his grandfather once told him are no longer just a childhood memory.

"What should a Party member be like?" Che said. "A Party member should set an example and be the first to step forward in difficult moments."

(Translated by Fu Xuan, Zhao Yangyang and Ye Chenyang, edited by Zhao Zhengting and Fu Junjie)