Workers outline the rewarding experience of helping others

HELPFUL NEIGHBOR

As the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai began to wane, Zheng Peipei returned to her hometown in Anhui province on May 23, when the lease for her apartment in the city expired.

The 33-year-old is still extremely concerned about her former neighbors in Shanghai, and continues to help them obtain groceries from online apps.

As the lockdown had a severe impact on logistics services, many platforms limited orders to specific hours of the day. For example, the Miss Fresh platform only allowed customers to place orders from 11:30 pm onward.

Working remotely for an online platform based in the United States that sells sneakers, Zheng is not worried about staying up until midnight and waking up early to help others obtain daily essentials.

"To be honest, I kind of enjoy it. Being able to help others makes life under quarantine much more bearable. It makes life meaningful," she said.

"In addition, I can place orders no matter where I am. So why not do it to help?"

Zhou Wenting and Lin Shujuan in Shanghai contributed to this story.