Police officer buys birthday cakes for visiting anti-pandemic hero
Police officer Hu Qiuchun in Pudong
Wu Xiaojing thought he was going to celebrate his 23rd birthday last Sunday in Shanghai by sticking a toothpick in a cooked corn cob, but he was pleasantly surprised by the gesture of a police officer in Pudong.
Wu, who works in Anhui Province, arrived in Shanghai on March 29 with his colleagues to support the city in its battle against the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wu is in charge of the liaison work with local authorities.
Wu's team brought with them a mobile PCR lab and parked it at a parking lot in Pudong, but on their arrival, they found a problem.
"There were some other vehicles in the parking lot, and we thought that posed security problem to our lab," Wu said.
He got into contact with Hu Qiuchun, a traffic police officer who is in charge of the area where the parking lot is located.
The problem was immediately solved, and Wu and Hu stayed in touch afterward on WeChat.
"Mr Wu thanked me for the service, but I said he and his colleagues are the ones who truly deserve thanks because they came to help us when we're in difficulty," Hu said.
Hu (right) addresses the needs of Wu and his colleagues with their mobile PCR lab.
Wu, who had his birthday on April 3, posted on WeChat the picture of his improvised birthday cake with a corn cob, and Hu saw it.
"That was not how a birthday is celebrated," Hu said. "I said to myself that I had to get a true cake for him."
Wu's improvised "cake," a corn cob
As the whole Pudong New Area was still largely under lockdown, it was hard to buy a cake.
Hu said he made several calls before he found what he wanted, but not exactly.
"Staff of the supermarket said they had only a tiramisu and a durian cake, dessert that goes with afternoon tea parties rather than a birthday celebration, but they were the only cakes I could get," he said.
Hu also asked for some plates and candles.
He left the cakes for Wu at the hotel where Wu stays and left a message to him on WeChat wishing him happy birthday.
Wu said he was very much thankful for Hu's gesture.
"Shanghai is such a heart-warming city with heart-warming people," he said.
With the unexpected cakes, Wu's colleagues threw him a birthday party later on Sunday.
The cakes Hu bought for Wu.
Wu's colleagues throw him a birthday party.
