SG man steps in to help after cook in China was suddenly called away when her son got sick

SINGAPORE: A content creator from Singapore happened to be eating at an eatery in China recently when a situation that’s a nightmare for every parent occurred for the restaurant staff. Her son had suddenly taken ill while he was at school, and she needed to go and pick him up.

She was the only one manning the eatery at the time.

Muhd Rifqi Solihin, who goes by @reefkey on social media, said that the woman, who was the cook at Xinjiang Cuisine Halal Restaurant near Miao Jia Xiang, Jinan, told him to eat slowly and that she would be back.

He reassured her that he would watch over the eatery while she was gone, and shared the incident in a video on TikTok, which has since gotten over 500,000 views.

@reefkey__

May she be blessed with many customers after this 🥺 📍: Near Miao Jia Xiang, Jinan (opposite Daming Lake) it’s Xinjiang Cuisine Halal Restaurant! #tiktoksg #china #solotravel #jinan #xinjiang

♬ original sound – reefkey__ – reefkey__

However, as it turns out, Mr Muhd was not the only kindhearted person to visit the restaurant that day. Shortly after the woman had to suddenly leave, a delivery rider came in.

Mr Muhd then explained the situation to him, and although he had a customer waiting for an order, the rider not only chose to wait but also helped explain what was going on when other customers came into the eatery. They, too, chose to patiently wait for the woman.

Fortunately, the woman returned in “20+ minutes” with her son. In Mr Muhd’s video, she can be seen checking the boy’s forehead to see if he has a temperature.

As he got ready to leave after his meal, the woman also asked Mr Muhd to talk to her son in English, which the boy, TianYi, shyly did.

“I was really moved because even with customers waiting, she still put her son first,” he wrote in the text overlay. “It was also nice to see her customers being understanding despite being in a rush.”

“May she be blessed with many customers after this,” he added in the caption.

Commenters on the video agreed with Mr Muhd, expressing appreciation for the woman’s patient and understanding customers.

Some were pleased to see such a video, especially at a time when complaints and bad behaviour have become very common.

“After seeing so many videos of people arguing about every single thing, it’s really nice to see your heartwarming video pop up. Now I feel a tad better. Seriously, people need to be kinder and respectful to each other,” a user on the platform wrote.

“See. Not that hard to be a good person, right?” chimed in another.

“Faith in humanity restored. Well done, bro!” a commenter added.

Another observed: “The fact that she would leave her restaurant and everything to a customer that she just met is insane. Tells you the difference in culture, norms, or just the whole society compared to where I live.” /TISG

Read also: ‘This restored my faith in people’: Singaporeans share the most wholesome acts of kindness they’ve witnessed