Current location:politics >>
Fish Sellers Run Business with Honesty, Bring Warmth to Others
politics49People have gathered around
IntroductionContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom ...
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
Fish Sellers Run Business with Honesty, Bring Warmth to Others
June 16, 2023
More than three decades ago, Yang Xiaoyue left his hometown, in East China's Anhui Province, to settle down in Shanghai. There, he got married and started a family. Shanghai has become a home away from home for Yang. He and his wife, Yuan Chenghong, have two children, a son and daughter, and they sell river fish in a market in Xuhui District. The couple has provided fish, for free, to elderly people and families coping with difficulties. Throughout the years, Yang and his family have adhered to the principle of "walking on a right path, and being good people."
His Hometown
Yang's father died when Yang was 2 years old. Yang and his siblings were raised mainly by their mother. When Yang was living in Anhui, during his childhood, he said people in his hometown could easily catch fish when farmland flooded during rainy season. Most of the children in the area learned to swim when they were 4 or 5.
Yang once caught a bighead fish, which weighed almost 4 kilograms. Unfortunately, the fish's gallbladder ruptured when the fish was being cooked. Yang says that was the most bitter fish he has ever eaten. In another experience, Yang and his brother added sugar, which they had mistaken for salt, when they were cooking a rice-field eel they had caught. Yang says that was the sweetest fish he has ever tasted.
Yang says, even though the family was poor, his mother always reminded him to do good things, and to help people in need. "When I was relocating from Anhui to Shanghai, Mom told me to do my best, walk on a right path, and be a good person," Yang recalls.
In Shanghai
In 1992, two years after Yang relocated to Shanghai, he opened a fish stall in Yishan food market, in Xuhui District. He married Yuan in 2001. The couple are honest businesspeople.
Once, a customer told them the fish he had purchased from their stall had not tasted right. Since receiving that feedback, the couple steams a fish to ensure it tastes right every time before they sell fish to the public. In Yang's opinion, customers come to his stall because they believe he will sell good-quality fish. Yang's goal is to ensure his customers have good fish.
Yang is busy working in the market every day. He enjoys his job. "I actually do a favor for others, if I run my business well," he says. Yang's fish stall is popular. Some customers continue buying his fish even after they move from the neighborhood.
'Nameless Grass'
By the end of their first year of operating the stall, Yang and Yuan had saved about 10,000 yuan (US $1,429). One day, in 2002, Yang saw a notice, which called for donations to help impoverished households, as he passed by the village committee office of Tianlin, near their market. He donated 50 yuan (US $7.14), and then asked himself: "What else can I do for residents in my community?"
Yang and Yuan discussed the matter. Eventually, they wrote a letter to Tianlin's village committee, indicating they wanted to provide fish, for free, to families living with special difficulties. "We hope to do our part to help people in difficulty. We used to live a poor life as well. The fish we offer are not expensive, of course, but those who receive it will probably feel the warmth from our community," Yang explains.
Since 2002, Yang and Yuan have provided fish to the disabled, the elderly living alone, and patients suffering from serious diseases in Tianlin. In addition to providing fresh, good-quality fish, they have also taken agricultural products from Yang's hometown, and have provided those products to people in difficulty.
"As long as one is warmhearted, he/she can bring warmth to others, wherever he/she is," Yang says. He and his wife have joined a team of volunteers in Tianlin. They sometimes visit the community's nursing home. Yang shares tips on how to select good-quality fish.
Yuan is an executive committee member of a grass-roots women's federation, in Xuhui District. She is an understanding sister, who does her best to help women who have relocated from their hometowns to Shanghai. She often takes part in charitable activities. For example, she once donated 1,500 yuan (US $214) to children in Yuanyang, a county in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Yuan has been named a March 8th Red-Banner Holder in Shanghai. Last year, her family was selected a National Most Beautiful Family.
Yang also writes poetry. In one poem, he wrote: "At 28, I decided to leave my town, to be a warmhearted person who sells his fish. So far, I have walked to see this world, like a nameless grass, bringing vigor to wherever I take my root." Yang says the most important virtue he learned from his mother is "being kind and honest." He is determined to pass that virtue to his offspring.
(Source: The Department of Family and Children's Affairs of the All-China Women's Federation/Women of China English Monthly May 2023 issue)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- People Enjoy Blooming Tulips in Jinan, East...
- Flowers Bloom Across China in Spring
Special Coverage
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Culture Craft news portal”。http://bermuda.downmusic.org/content-66d399877.html
Related articles
Brazil replaces injured goalkeeper Ederson in Copa America squad
politicsRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil coach Dorival Júnior has replaced injured goalkeeper Ederson with Sao P ...
【politics】
Read moreCher, Ozzy Osbourne among 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees
politicsNEW YORK (AP) — Mary J. Blige,Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Os ...
【politics】
Read moreChina's central bank adds liquidity via reverse repos
politicsBEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank conducted 2 billion yuan (about 281.5 million U.S ...
【politics】
Read more
Popular articles
- The government wants to buy their flood
- Red Stars win at Reign. Angel City tops Courage for its first home win of the year
- ANDREW PIERCE: Will Keir criticism see Mandy back in the wilderness?
- A dazzling legacy
- Dame Judi Dench's tears as she receives Sycamore Gap tree seedling at Chelsea Flower Show
- China's interbank treasury bond index opens higher Friday
Latest articles
Online reading or offline clubs? Young Chinese embrace both in digital era
UK sanctions Iran's leading military figures, entities
China's top political advisory body starts annual session
Vietnam police arrest assistant to National Assembly chairman — Radio Free Asia
Young Boys seals 6th Swiss soccer league title in 7 years after rallying from firing coach Wicky
WADA stands by decision to clear Chinese swimmers for Tokyo Olympics citing contaminated samples
LINKS
- Washington draws flak for sending wrong signal
- China, France pledge closer ties
- KMT's Ma visiting mainland
- Nations to enhance BRI ties
- Official urges more efforts to boost cross
- Insights丨German expert: Chancellor Scholz’s second visit to China signals the importance of Germany
- Foreign experts hail China's democracy path
- Ambassador encourages education exchanges between China and UK
- Xi meets Dutch PM
- France raises terror level after Moscow shooting