Watermelon farmer sleeping in rain pulls at China’s heartstrings

World Today

A picture of a farmer napping in the rain next to his watermelon stand has struck a chord with Chinese netizens.

The image was captured by restaurant owner Xu Zhanyuan in central China’s Henan province on his way home at around 1 a.m., before he went to fetch the farmer a blanket.

The farmer had been planning to sell the melons at the morning market, but Xu, moved by the man’s plight, decided to purchase all 1,000 kg (2,204 pounds) of his fruit on the spot.

After local media reported the story, others came forward to help the farmer, many purchasing more of his melons.

On Chinese social networking sites, many netizens lauded Xi.

“Thumbs up first. But how will the young man deal with all the watermelons? 1,000 kg is not a small number. Sending to friends or donating them to the charity?” said a user named changfandiaodexiaoming.

“It’s really moving. Farmers are so hard done by. People can refuse to be moved but need to learn to respect,” said another user named aiwozhengen.