As soon as the initiative was released, it quickly went viral among hospital staff and on WeChat Moments. A heartwarming relay of kindness soon spread across the entire city of Xianfeng.

Hospital logistics staff took the initiative to drive the apple-laden truck to the hospital gate and set up a temporary charity sales booth. Hospital employees responded enthusiastically, coming to the booth one after another — some buying a whole box, others a bag each. They weighed the apples themselves at the set price of 10 yuan ($1.47) per kg and paid voluntarily.

As the news spread, charitable groups in Xianfeng, including volunteer associations and food delivery rider teams, also joined the buying effort. They not only purchased apples themselves but also shared the news on their social media feeds. Local citizens flocked to the scene; some bought in bulk, while others volunteered to carry goods and help promote the sale.

Many reserved apples in advance after seeing the news, and some kind-hearted residents came to buy them in the early hours of the following morning. Even apples of slightly lower quality were sold out in no time. By around 9 am on May 5, all of the apples had been sold, generating over 34,000 yuan in revenue.

"I would have lost at least tens of thousands of yuan without the help of the hospital and so many warm-hearted local residents," said Ji.

His wife Liang said, "The people of Xianfeng are incredibly kind-hearted, and so many came to give us a hand." She added that many people helped carry goods and set up the sales stall, some food delivery riders delivered purchased apples to customers free of charge, and hospital staff kept encouraging more people to buy. "I am deeply grateful to everyone in Xianfeng for their help and support when we were at our most difficult moment."

On May 6, Yangxian county released an open letter to Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, which administers Xianfeng. To repay the friendship of the people of Xianfeng and deepen the relationship between the two places, the letter announced that all scenic spots in Yangxian would offer one-year free entry to residents of Enshi, starting from May 7.

Responding to this gesture, Xianfeng made a reciprocal announcement early on May 7, matching the free scenic spot admission gift.

The warmth grew even stronger on the evening of May 7. The official WeChat account of Enshi Culture and Tourism released a notice that Enshi prefecture would launch a cultural and tourism preferential policy covering the entire city of Hanzhong, which administers Yangxian county.

On the morning of May 8, Hanzhong Culture and Tourism authorities rolled out preferential policies for Enshi prefecture.