Timely reward

A trash collector in Dandong, Liaoning Province, was recently rewarded by the local government with an apartment after he returned 200,000 yuan ($29,260) he found in a garbage can.

Zheng Rendong found the fortune when he was emptying the trash near Dandong No 13 Middle School as usual one morning and saw a paper bag containing four bundles of brand new cash worth 200,000 yuan. He said he thought at first they were counterfeit, but the stash was later confirmed to be the real deal.

Zheng dialed 110 to report his find to the police who found the owner a day later in the same neighborhood.

It turned out the driver of the money’s owner had accidentally thrown out the cash after he mistook the bag for garbage. When he and his boss realized the mistake, they’d gone to the trash can but found nothing but garbage and reported the loss to the police.

After learning Zheng’s laudable deed, the government granted him a 55.45-square-meter apartment and the cash owner gave him 2,000 yuan, which Zheng donated to the Project Hope education charity.

Zheng who earns 600 yuan a month, was crowded with his wife and son in a 30-square-meter apartment and has been saving every penny to buy a flat for his son who wanted one in order to get married.

“Although I could’ve bought an apartment for my son with 200,000 yuan I would’ve felt uneasy if I kept the money to myself. Now with the new apartment, my son can get married,” Zheng said.

Chinese Business Morning News