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Shanghai Defenders: Political advisor delivers medicine for neighbors
Wang Mengjie
02:54

As Shanghai is still battling its worst outbreak of COVID-19, a group of unsung heroes have emerged to contribute towards the battle against COVID-19. Shao Nan is one of them.

Volunteered to be a delivery person since the latest outbreak of COVID-19 occured in Shanghai, Shao is in the middle of delivering medicine to those in need each day. But the road to reach each destination is not an easy one.

"My biggest problem is to find a way to these communities," Shao told CGTN.

Due to COVID-19, some of the community gates have been temporarily shut down, which doesn't show up on the map on phones, so Shao has to find another one, "which can take a lot of time."

As a newcomer to the logistics industry, Shao only takes orders to deliver medicine.

"Medicine is the most important," said Shao, adding that people can eat less, but they can't afford to take less medicine, especially for those who have underlying diseases.

For Shao, he makes only around 10 yuan ($1.5) for each medicine that he delivers.

Shao Nan checks his phone on his way to deliver medicines in east China's Shanghai. /CGTN

Shao Nan checks his phone on his way to deliver medicines in east China's Shanghai. /CGTN

Shao has quickly found out that in this job, you have to expect the unexpected things, such as deleted orders, missed roads or wrong gates that no one answers.

Little money and a lot of trouble, you may ask, why is Shao still choosing to continue on?

"I'm a little bit different from other delivery people. I'm not a professional; I'm a member of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and used to offer proposals on improving people's daily lives," Shao explained, noting that it's a way for him to see Shanghai from a different perspective.

Shao said he would talk with his delivery colleagues when waiting to pick up his orders. That way he can hear about issues that he'd never get any insight on if he were staying at home.

"The difficulty in delivering medicine is not about the number of orders, but the lack of manpower," Shao continued. "Delivering medicine is unprofitable, so very few people take those orders."

Shao said he appreciated this grass-roots experience which will help him raise proposals in the future. However it seems Shao has earned more than just experience.

"Customers always appreciate what I've done, as one of them said 'thanks' six times, and 'good job' twice to me," recalled Shao.

Shao usually takes 10 orders a day, until he has to recharge the battery on his e-bike, mainly delivering around the area he lives in.

Every time when he finishes delivering for the day, Shao needs to take an antigen test at the gate of his community. He believes doing so is the responsible thing for both him and others to do.

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