Amazing reason why a man traveled between two provinces to give a policeman $28

True integrity is often a choice between what is convenient and what is right. One man in China demonstrated this virtue when he went on a long journey to repay a loan of just 200 yuan ($28) he borrowed from a police officer several months ago. In the fall of 2023, the anonymous man was seen entering the police station with a bag full of oranges and 200 yuan in his pocket. He traveled across two provinces to return that money and express his gratitude to the police officer who had helped him when he needed it most, the South China Morning Post reported.

During this time, this man was working in Hubei, a landlocked province of China and part of the Central China region. All of a sudden, he lost his job. He had to immediately return home to Henan, a province in the North Central China region.

The distance between Hubei and Henan is about 516 kilometers, or about five and a half hours’ drive. But the man did not have enough money to afford the trip. He had spent all his money and was now completely broke. To raise money for the trip, he even sold his phone. But he still did not have enough money to cover the necessary expenses. After selling his phone, he could not contact his friends or family. Then he did something unusual. Instead of borrowing cash from his acquaintances nearby, he marched straight to a police station and asked for help. A generous policeman named Luo lent him an amount of 200 yuan.

The man was touched by this generous gesture and wrote an I Owe You (IOU) note acknowledging his debt and gave it to Officer Luo. The note read: “Today I borrow 200 yuan from a policeman at the Yinji Police Station. When I return home, I will ask my parents for money to repay the money I borrowed from the police.” And he did as he promised.

A few months later, he returned to the police station full of gratitude. He arrived there and spoke to the officer at the reception. “I’m here to return the money,” he told him. The officer, probably confused, replied, “Return what money?” The man nodded and told the officer the whole story. Officer Luo was called to meet the man.

“Why are you here?” Luo asked him. He replied, “I’m here to return the money to you.” The man took the money out of his pocket and held it out to officer Luo, who initially refused it. “Helping others makes us happy,” Luo said. When Luo continued to refuse the money, the man handed him a bag of oranges. However, just before leaving the station, he quietly slipped the money to Luo and rushed out of the police station.

This beautiful example reminds us of the story of another man who embodied integrity by traveling more than 180 kilometers at the age of 99 to return a towel to the hotel that he had accidentally taken several years ago. The hotel staff must have forgotten the towel, and in the case of the Chinese man, Officer Luo must have forgotten the 200 yuan, but both men did the right thing and set great examples of integrity.