Refer China: Boy Saves $28 in 6 Months to Buy Mom Shoes, Moves Shop Owner

Summary: An 11-year-old Chinese boy saved pocket money for half a year to buy his mother shoes for her birthday. The shop owner, touched by his filial piety, gave a discount and shared the video, which went viral online.

A Chinese primary school boy saved his pocket money for half a year, accumulating one yuan at a time (14 US cents), to buy his mother a pair of shoes as a birthday gift, touching both the shop owner and millions of netizens.

An 11-year-old boy saved for six months and took a stack of one-yuan banknotes, totalling around 200 yuan, to a shoe shop to buy a birthday gift for his mother. Photo: Douyin

The 11-year-old boy from Hebei province in northern China entered a shoe shop with a stack of one-yuan notes in his hands, asking to purchase a pair of shoes for his mother.

He indicated that it was a birthday gift for her to use during her daily commute, as he had noticed her reliance on a pair of shoes that were already worn out.

The stack of banknotes totalled about 200 yuan (US$28), which represented his pocket money saved since May last year.

The shop owner sold him a pair of white trainers, offering him special discounts. Ultimately, he paid a little over 100 yuan.

The boy explained that the shoes were a birthday gift to aid her mother's daily commute, having noticed her old pair was worn out. Photo: Douyin

She assured him that his mother could return or exchange the shoes if they were not to her liking and suggested he save the rest of his money.

Moved by his sense of filial piety, the shop owner filmed his purchase, expressing her intention to show the video to her daughter, who is one year older than him.

She remarked that the boy was "born to repay his parents' favour" – a folk saying that describes considerate children.

She shared the video online, where it quickly went viral, amassing millions of views, 428,000 likes, and 27,000 comments.

"This is truly heartwarming. If I were his mother, I would cherish these shoes," one online observer commented.

Some urged the shop owner to gift him a pair of shoes for free, but many disagreed.

"It is important for the boy to pay for his gift. He has been saving for half a year and deserves a sense of accomplishment, rather than the notion that he can receive without giving," one commenter noted.