A special steamed bun store reopened on Saturday in Shishi, Southeast China's Fujian Province, arousing heated discussions locally. What makes this store special is that it never sold steamed buns during the past 10 years, and only gave them for free to poor and vulnerable groups, including street cleaners and migrant workers.

The boss, nicknamed A Feng, comes from Shantou, Southern China's Guangdong Province and works in the wholesale frozen meat business. Over the past 10 years, more than three million steamed buns have been donated to millions of people in the store.

"I've struggled in life before. Now my life has become much better and I want to help others as much as I can," A Feng said. Though it's hard to run the free store with an annual cost of up to 400,000 yuan, he believes the store’s worth it.

The store's boss A. Feng (right) makes steamed buns with colleagues on March 4, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

In November 2021, A Feng temporarily closed the store due to various reasons. The local government took the initiative to give a favor after learning about the situation. They coordinated the location of the store, exempted the store from rent and utilities, and called on local companies to donate start-up funds.

The store reopened at a new site with brand-new decorations. "This steamed bun store is great and convenient for us," street cleaner Wang Meiying said. "I feel very comfortable and happy to be able to eat steamed buns here."

The reopened store offers steamed buns for street cleaners in the early morning on March 5, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua)

In order to achieve long-term operations, the store also changed its business model: Except offering free steamed buns to people in need, it sells to the public at a price of one yuan per bun. All the income and donations will go directly to the bank account of Shishi Charity Federation.

"It's the most exciting thing for me that the store can reopen," A Feng said with a big smile and tears in his eyes. "We just want to pass on our love, and it’s worth it even if we only help one more person.”