One side in trouble, the whole world gives a hand, which is a common saying ingrained in Chinese people.
On the third day after the flood in Henan occurred, I came across two photos posted by a friend on my WeChat Moments that caught my attention. The first one was a certificate issued by the Cishan General Association in Hedong District, Linyi City, Shandong Province, which stated that “This vehicle is a relief vehicle that our Association will send to Henan disaster area to transport relief supplies”, and the second one was an Ideal ONE car with a sign posted on it saying “Linyi Ideal Car Club is here to help Henan”.
Racing to Henan for aid
The owner of the car is Xiaoyong Lei, a strapping Shandong man and car enthusiast from Linyi. At noon on July 22nd, the group owner of Linyi car enthusiasts posted a message in the group, hoping that Linyi car enthusiasts could help the disaster-stricken people in Henan province.
With the group owner’s call, the car enthusiasts in the group spontaneously offered their love and support. In the shortest time, more than 60 car enthusiasts raised over 30,000 yuan worth of supplies and were ready to send representatives to Henan.
At this time, the current round of heavy rain in Henan had already affected over 3 million people in the province, and the center of the flood had gradually shifted from Zhengzhou to Xinxiang. On July 21st, the Mulino Station in the Xinxiang city area saw 267.4 millimeters of rainfall in two hours, exceeding the previous maximum of 262.5 millimeters in Zhengzhou. In this situation, the car enthusiasts who had originally planned to go to Zhengzhou decided to change course and head for the thousands of miles away Xinxiang.
Xiaoyong Lei is the president of the Linyi Car Enthusiast Club and rightfully took on the responsibility of transporting supplies. After the call was made, he and five other car enthusiasts headed to the disaster relief zone. As the local area lacked much-needed supplies like bread, instant noodles, and drinking water, everyone used the donations to buy supplies and formed a relief team with the Linyi Hedong District Learn-from-Lei Feng Volunteers Association. They loaded the trucks overnight and set off from Linyi at 5:00 a.m. on July 23rd.
Seven trucks filled with supplies and six Ideal ONE cars carrying more than 20 local volunteers arrived in Xinxiang at 2:00 p.m. that day. By this time, Xinxiang had become a flooded area, and some areas were impassable and could only be reached by inflatable boats. Along the way, they also met with rescue teams from other places such as Panjin, Liaoning and Zoucheng, Shandong. Everyone had one goal in mind: to help the people of Xinxiang get through this difficult time.The materials sent by the Linyi rescue team are planned to be delivered to four locations according to the arrangements of the local government, including two district government headquarters and two temporary shelter sites built by schools. While passing through the Xinxing city area, due to the high water level, Xiao Yonglei and his friends could only sit in the cargo compartment of the material truck and arrived at the designated location.
“We are a team that can win the battle,” said the car friends.
The local mission of the car friends is mainly material distribution. Thousands of boxes of water and instant noodles need to be transported relay-style by people due to the large amount of water. Some places had to stand in the water with bare feet to complete the work. “We unloaded the goods until after 8 pm. We basically didn’t eat or drink all day. Seeing the situation of the local people, we didn’t even want to drink water, hoping to leave it for them.”
When Xiao Yonglei had his first conversation, he had just finished unloading the last box of goods and sounded a bit exhausted. He only slept for three or four hours the night before, drove all the way, and then moved so much goods at the location. Even tough people could not bear it. “After unloading, everyone sat in the empty cargo compartment and barefoot wanted to sleep here.”
However, there was no time for them to rest during this support. Because they had to drive back to Linyi to prepare for the second batch of materials. “The rescue personnel who can stay on-site are qualified, and we, as volunteers, are mainly responsible for the transportation and distribution of materials.” After a simple break for an hour, on the evening of July 23rd at 10 pm, Xiao Yonglei and his friends drove 6 Ideal ONE overnight back to Linyi. “When we left, the people we met on the road in Xinxing applauded and gave us a thumbs up. Everyone felt that the day’s hardship was not in vain, and this feeling was really good.”
This thousand-kilometer cross-province support took less than 24 hours. After this memorable support operation, Xiao Yonglei had a deeper understanding of his car friends. “In the eyes of others, car friends may just be people who play together, but after experiencing this, we are a team that can win the battle, like comrades-in-arms.” In this team, there is Guo Hongshan who makes medical equipment, Ma Zhaocheng who works in government positions, Song Shiqi who engages in charity, and Wang Mingxing, who is both a car owner and an Ideal product expert.
“People who buy this Ideal car have an inexplicable affinity when they see each other, just like choosing a like-minded person from the crowd.” This is Xiao Yonglei’s biggest feeling about his car friends. He summarized that car friends have three common points: patriotism, sincerity, and a sense of responsibility. It is also because of this foundation that this support can be successfully completed. Currently, Xinxiang has started post-disaster reconstruction work.
“I hope Ideal is good, it’s that simple.”
Xiao Yonglei, born in 1989, looks quite mature due to his early experience in the society. He started as an apprentice in an auto repair shop, and after more than a decade of hard work, he is now the owner of three auto beauty shops. “People who don’t know me think I became the president of this car enthusiasts club to do business. When I hear such comments, I can only smile and say I have put in more than I have gained in terms of money.”
At first, Xiao Yonglei didn’t know anything about the new Ideal brand. But after several consecutive ideal customers came to his shop for car films, he became curious about the brand. After buying an Ideal ONE, he joined a local car enthusiasts group. As he had his own shop, he often invited car enthusiasts to hang out there. Eventually, he rented a second floor and hung up the words “Linyi Ideal Home” on the wall. During peak times, he even parked his Ideal ONE there and set up a makeshift showroom with some promotional materials from the retail center.
Xiao Yonglei’s methods attracted many other brand car owners to come to his shop, and he sold many Ideal ONES in this way. However, what he got in return was only 5000 points from referrals by old car owners. “After a Linyi car owner buys a new car, I will give them a set of interior protection film and install it for them. And as long as it’s an Ideal ONE, the owner can come to my shop for free car washes.”
In this way, Xiao Yonglei gave away more than 200 sets of protection film, and car enthusiasts who came to his shop for car washes were constantly coming. Initially, everyone was too shy to come empty-handed, so they brought fruit or small gifts as a trade. But later, they got used to it, as Xiao Yonglei never accepted any gifts. “I want to tell everyone that any car enthusiast passing through Linyi can come to my shop for a free car wash.”
As a professional in the automobile industry, Xiao Yonglei deeply felt the changes in consumer habits, from pursuing imported cars to recognizing joint ventures, and then witnessing the rise of domestic brands. It is rare to have a luxury brand like Ideal in domestic cars. Therefore, Xiao Yonglei is willing to support the brand in his own way. In his heart, this is a sacrifice in business and a spiritual gain. “People often ask me what I’m trying to accomplish. I just want Ideal to be good, it’s that simple. And my income has exceeded the survival stage, allowing me to play around.” He has a group of like-minded friends in the local car enthusiasts circle, which is his spiritual gain.From Xinxiang back, Xiaoyonglei rested for a few days and started preparing for the next car enthusiasts event. In addition to organizing car enthusiasts self-driving tours and parent-child entertainment activities, Xiaoyonglei has new ideas after experiencing this Xinxiang support action. “Next, let’s talk to the local charity federation and try to organize car enthusiasts to do public welfare together every two or three months. I hope this car enthusiasts club can have more soul.”
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.