A cup that cheers: community spirit in testing times
Property management staff of a suburban residential community in Shanghai provide hot tea to neighbors on Sunday night.
A cup of hot tea may not cost much, but it becomes food of love when it's made with a spirit of caring for others.
"What's in this cup of tea?" a neighbor of mine asked a young lady on Sunday night at our residential quarters in suburban Shanghai.
"It is made of dates, wolfberries and ginger slices," the young lady replied, handing a cup of the freshly made brew to my neighbor. According to traditional Chinese medicine, a combination of dates, wolfberries and ginger helps restore people's energy, especially in winter.
As they chatted, more and more neighbors came to take a cup of hot tea from the young lady named Long Zhu, a staffer with the property management office of our residential community in Qingpu District on the western outskirts. The neighbors had been queuing up in an orderly manner for nucleic acid testing. I was also in the line.
After finishing the test, I also went for a cup of tea, and asked Li Shulei, our property manager, "How did you come up with this idea of serving tea to neighbors?"
With a shy smile, Li replied, "We began planning it in the morning, because we knew there would be many people queuing up tonight, and the weather might be a little bit brisk."
Shot by Wang Yong.
A cup of hot tea for everyone: Neighbors at a suburban residential quarters in west Shanghai receive a surprise gift from the property management staff. Such a warm gift goes a long way toward cultivating a spirit of brotherhood in our common effort to tide over the COVID-19 pandemic.
A prudent policy
Shanghai has been pursuing a prudent policy in preventing the spread of COVID-19 variants. The city announced on Sunday that from Monday citizens would no longer need to show a negative polymerase chain reaction test report when it comes to taking Metro, buses, ferries and other means of in-city public transportation. But, a negative PCR test report is still required for access to such public spaces as restaurants and shopping centers.
Such a staggered policy serves to safeguard people's life and work as best as possible.
The pandemic will eventually leave us. A spirit of mutual understanding and help, as shown in the offering of a cup of tea on a frigid winter night, is what moves us forward in our determined and well-measured fight against the virus.
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