An elderly woman smiles after receiving free steamed buns from a staffer in a steamed bun shop in Nangong, Hebei province. [Photo from the web]

Unlike normal stores, the goods at a steamed bun shop in Hebei province are not for sale. Instead, they are given away for free to people in need, reported chinanews.com.

Jia Xiuying opened her steamed bun shop in Nangong, Hebei province, in 2012. A former employee at the local bureau of civil affairs, Jia often dealt with people in vulnerable groups during her work.

"I know they lead hard lives. So, I and several other people chipped in to open this steamed bun shop to help them," Jia said.

The shop gives free steamed buns to people in need, including the poor, the elderly who have no family, the disabled, as well as patients, the homeless and scavengers. Each person is allowed to take four steamed buns a day with a special-made card. Sometimes, more than 1,000 steamed buns are given out in a single day.

"We are only ordinary people and can do no big things. The steamed bun is small, but it conveys our kindness to others," Jia said.

Jia disclosed that her charity initiative did not start smoothly. In the first day of business, only a dozen steamed buns were sent out because many questioned her motives.

But as time went by, doubts faded and an increasing number of people went to fetch steamed buns at her store and some people volunteered to work for the shop.

It is largely thanks to donations, large and small, from well-wishers that the steamed bun shop is still running, Jia said.

Workers make steamed buns in the shop. [Photo from the web]