Like vegetable growers in Central Luzon, apple farmers in Kashmir, India face the challenge of bringing their produce to distant markets amid rising fuel costs. Their difficulties are compounded by reliance on a single route — the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway linking the Himalayan region to the rest of India. When storms triggered landslides that blocked parts of the highway in August, apple trucks were stranded and tons of fruit spoiled, causing heavy losses for farmers.

An apple grower in China recently faced a similar predicament.

Ji Yaozhong, of Yangxian County in northwestern Shaanxi province, was transporting 4,000 kilos of apples to Xianfeng County in Hubei province on 2 May when he suffered a mild stroke while driving, according to the Hubei Daily, as cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

As his right arm went numb and his speech became slurred, Ji managed to drive his truck to the Xianfeng County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, where doctors saved his life.

Doctors later told Ji’s wife, Liang Lili, that he would require long-term rehabilitation. Returning home meant abandoning both the truck and its cargo of apples.

Concerned that the family would lose both the fruit and a vital source of income needed to support Ji’s elderly parents and two children, hospital officials stepped in to help.

On 4 May, the hospital appealed to employees and local residents to buy the apples.

The response was overwhelming.

Within 19 hours, all 4,000 kilos of apples worth 20,000 yuan were sold at the hospital gate, generating 34,000 yuan (about $5,000) for Ji’s family, according to SCMP, citing Hubei Daily.

Ji and his wife expressed their gratitude to the hospital staff and the residents of Xianfeng for their generosity.