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August 10, 2020

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Repairer on a mission to help old localities

By Xiao Yang | 00:00 UTC+8 August 10, 2020 | Print Edition

Yang Huafeng, a senior repairer for old residential communities in west Shanghai, has been practising the traditional proverb “one may distinguish himself in any trade.”

The 38-year-old head of repairers with the Putuo Housing Repairing Center has been fixing toilets, air conditioners, water taps as well as dredging pipes for more than 6,000 households living around Zhongshan Road N. for 19 years.

He was granted the honorary titles “outstanding youth,” “model volunteer,” as well as becoming a legislator with the Shanghai People’s Congress.

Whatever needs to be done, Yang thinks up a solution, collects his tools and materials and goes to the site within 30 minutes. His efficient and warm-hearted manner has won him the affectionate title of “Master Xiao Yang.”

“I’ve been dealing with toilets, taps, wrenches, wires, and screws since I graduated from school in 2001,” Yang said. “The job is dirty and with a small salary, but every compliment from a resident makes me fulfilled.”

Xu’s motto

The center Yang works for is famous for Xu Hu, a famous national model worker, who repaired toilets for residents round the clock for decades.

Xu’s motto “my hardwork can bring convenience to thousands” has become the principle of the center as well as for Yang.

Yang’s master, Huang Weiguo, a city-level model worker is an apprentice of Xu.

“I’d like to take over the spirit of the predecessors and teach my apprentices,” Yang said.

Wu Zixing, general manger with the housing repair company of the state-owned Xibu Group, said she finds the same spirit of Xu in Yang. “They both wear a pair of glasses and always pick up the most challenging tasks,” Wu said. “They also receive the same high praises from residents.”

In 2019, Yang and his team members finished 6,579 repairs. Both the on-time and satisfactory rates were 100 percent, according to the company.

During the Spring Festival this year amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, Yang worked continuously for six days, since many tradesmen remained out of the city.

His wife, with a community health center in Jiading District, also had to work overtime to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They had to send their 5-year-old daughter to their parents.

“The residents’ summons is always the priority,” Yang said.

Metro


 

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