Amputee courier delivers on promise

"I have now been in this job for five years. Getting to do deliveries makes me happy, and I've even set a goal of delivering 500,000 orders in five years."

Shen appears to be nearing his goal, having already delivered more than 400,000 orders.

But amassing such an impressive volume of deliveries has come with its pitfalls. Shen acknowledged that his eagerness to excel in his job eventually led to a severe medical condition.

A few years ago, while braving the stifling summer weather to make deliveries, Shen realized that a sore had developed in his left armpit due to the constant use of his crutches.

Thinking that it was just a minor problem, he left the wound unattended. It was only when the wound started to fester and bleed that he made his way to the hospital. By then, medication was not enough to fix the problem－Shen had to undergo surgery and was forced to rest for half a month.

When asked about what keeps him going in this grueling line of work, Shen said that it is the warmth shown by his customers, many of whom offer him a drink when seeing him at their doorsteps.

Once, while making deliveries in the aftermath of the Double 11 shopping carnival, Shen sat on the floor in front of the delivery cabinets to take a breather.

Upon seeing this, a customer brought a chair from his home and presented it to the exhausted courier.

"He didn't just offer me a chair to sit on. He actually gave it to me. I still have this chair in my home today," Shen said.

Shen's boss, too, has always been on the lookout for him. Shen said that he is usually assigned the smaller items and never has to be involved in the sorting of packages as that is difficult for him to perform.

Because of Shen's relentless efforts, ZTO Express has, with the support of the local government and Cainiao, a company that operates parcel depots, embarked on a project to set up a special station located near colleges in Fengxian.

Following the establishment of this station, Shen will exclusively deliver parcels to the station. He will also divide his time between making deliveries and helping manage the operations of the facility.

While grateful for the company's good intentions, Shen said that he is still looking forward to racing around in his tricycle to achieve his goal of completing 500,000 deliveries.

"I'm really moved by the concern that people have shown for me. But I sincerely hope they don't give me special treatment because of my condition. I still hope to be the same as everyone else," he said.