中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

January 22 marks Xiaonian in northern China (a traditional Chinese festival, falling on the 23rd of the 12th month in Chinese lunar month). On this day at noon, over 50 Ele.me delivery riders enjoyed a festive “New Year’s Eve dinner” delivered to them by the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions at the Ele.me Trade Union Station. The meal was more than they expected, featuring not just fish balls and pork wontons, but a full table with 10 different dishes! It was prepared by three chefs, including 68-year-old veteran Party member and first-class chef Jiang Dezhong, who volunteered their time for the event. This volunteer cooking effort has been ongoing for three days, providing hearty meals to over 150 delivery couriers, ride-hailing drivers, and food delivery personnel.

Chef Jiang Dezhong was preparing ingredients at the SF Express Trade Union Station. (Photo courtesy of the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions)

Since the early hours of January 20, Jiang Dezhong had been hard at work - personally preparing the fillings and wrapping Fuzhou’s signature Rouyan (pork wontons) and Bianshi (something between wontons and dumplings, with meat or vegetable fillings), carefully selecting five ingredients to make a flavorful Five Blessings Platter, and slow-simmering peanuts before peeling and boiling them into soup… all to make sure the “New Year’s Eve dinner” at the SF Express Trade Union Station would bring warmth and comfort to the hardworking couriers. “Although it’s called a New Year’s Eve dinner, we serve it at noon so it better fits everyone’s schedule and doesn’t disrupt their work,” said Chef Jiang. Before retiring, he served as the head chef at the Fujian Normal University canteen’s logistics service center. This was his first time volunteering to cook for workers in new forms of employment.

Half a month ago, the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions issued an open invitation through the Fuzhou Catering and Cooking Industry Association, calling on passionate chefs to take part in a public welfare initiative - preparing a festive New Year’s Eve meal for workers in new forms of employment spending the holiday in Fuzhou. Chef Jiang, together with his longtime colleagues Tang Binghe and Ye Jinshen, volunteered to serve as head chefs for three New Year’s Eve meals held at the trade union stations of SF Express, DiDi, and Ele.me. “It’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to cook a meal for these young workers spending the New Year in Fuzhou,” said Chef Jiang.

“Why do you get up at 2 a.m. to prepare? Isn’t that too exhausting?” When asked by the reporter, Chef Jiang said that it’s about responsibility and professional habits. To ensure everything is fresh, the ingredients must be purchased a day in advance. “Our fridge at home is pretty small, so we had to store some of the ingredients at the other two chefs’ places. They brought them over early the next morning. We had to clean and braise the ingredients, and also make the pork wontons. All of these tasks are very time-consuming. To make sure the delivery workers wouldn’t be held up and could eat early, we had to get everything ready ahead of time.”

By late morning on January 20, the first “New Year’s Eve Dinner” was ready in the makeshift kitchen at the SF Express Trade Union Station. Delivery workers returned one after another, taking a break and sitting down to enjoy the meal. As one dish after another was served, the room filled with laughter and cheerful chatter. Chef Jiang bustled between tables, his gentle gaze resting on the delivery workers. With a warm and caring smile, he asked, “How’s the food? Is it to your taste? Are you full?” The delivery workers grinned, their mouths full, and eagerly responded, “It’s delicious! Really delicious!” As he watched the young men enjoying their meal, Chef Jiang felt deeply satisfied.

“At the end of every year, the peak of New Year’s goods deliveries makes it nearly impossible to have a proper New Year’s Eve dinner. But this time, the union brought in professional chefs to serve us freshly made, steaming hot meals. This kind of thoughtful care is something only family would think of,” said Ms. Zhong, head of the SF Express Trade Union Station, with heartfelt gratitude.

When the reporter asked Chef Jiang how this volunteer cooking experience differed from his usual role as a banquet chef, he replied, “It’s completely different!” Chef Jiang explained that in the past, when they were hired for banquets, the dishes were already prepared, and their job was just to cook. But this time, they were in charge of everything, from shopping for ingredients and handling deliveries to washing vegetables and even doing the dishes. “To make sure the young people would be happy with the food, we covered the cost of the ingredients ourselves and tried out the dishes ahead of time,” he added. The reporter also found out that Chef Ye had injured his back and was still wearing a medicated patch, but he insisted on coming in every day. Although his family was worried, seeing how dedicated and responsible he was, they could only support him.

According to reports, as of now, the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions has worked with social organizations to hold 80 events as part of the 2025 Public Welfare Campaign to support workers. They have distributed 5,000 free love breakfasts and 1,000 free car wash monthly passes. Previously, the Fuzhou Federation of Trade Unions also organized nearly 300 workers in new forms of employment to attend the Spring Festival Garden Party, where they were given gifts such as calendars for the Year of the Snake, cute dolls, traditional lacquer fans, and exquisite tea sets. (Fuzhou Daily Reporter: Li Bailei; Correspondents: Wang Xiaojuan and Lin Ying)