A total of 45 tons of broccoli donated by Chen Zhaojin and Zhang Caihong, a couple from Xiaotian village, Duqiao town, Linhai, arrived in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus pneumonia was first reported, on Feb 5, according to local media reports. 

Chen, who runs an agricultural cooperative in Linhai, decided to put aside business considerations on Jan 28 and do his part for the national anti-virus battle. 

Xiaotian village is renowned for its broccoli, so Chen and his wife decided to donate 45 tons of broccoli worth 50 million yuan ($7.46 million) that was originally destined for Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province. 

On Feb 1, with the help of reporters from Beijing Daily, Chen finally got in touch with someone from the emergency and epidemic prevention headquarters in Caidian district, Wuhan, where the Huoshenshan Hospital is located. 

However, given that Linhai and Wuhan are thousands of miles apart, no shipping companies or drivers at the time were willing to take on the risk of transporting the donation. 

Beijing Daily decided to contact Reignwood Group, a beverage producer based in Beiiing that had made donations to Wuhan in the past.  

The company immediately agreed to arrange drivers and vehicles from its Wenzhou branch to ship the broccoli and said it would cover all transportation costs. 

At 5 pm on Feb 4, a truck loaded with 20 tons of fresh broccoli arrived at the emergency epidemic prevention headquarters in Caidian district. 

On the morning of Feb 5, another truck loaded with broccoli arrived at the emergency epidemic prevention headquarters in Xiaochang county, Hubei province. 

Chen said he burst into tears answering a call from Wuhan from somebody thanking him for his donations. 

This is not the first time Chen has displayed philanthropic tendencies. 

In 2008, Chen, then Party chief of Xiaotian village, mobilized villagers to donate money to Wuchuan country, Sichuan province when it was hit by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. He managed to raise 60-70,000 yuan in a single day. 

Last August, when Typhoon Lekima struck Taizhou, Chen, as a member of the Guizhou Chamber of Commerce in Duqiao, took the lead in arranging donations, and eventually the chamber of commerce managed to raise more than 160,000 yuan.