Brother Shorts (Photo : Weibo)
The photo of Jiangxi resident Zhang Geli in shorts has gone viral in Sina Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter in China. Zhang is not a male underwear model but an electrician from the province’s Yichun City.
His photo is viral for two reasons. He was wearing the shorts during an extremely cold winter because he was on his way to a mountain village to fix a broken circuit damaged by heavy snow. To reach the place where the damaged circuit was located, Zhang, an electrician, and his two companions had to wade through rivers where the icy water reached up to their thighs, which explains why shorts was the better attire to wear than long pants.
For his dedication to his work, which meant walking for miles in wintry weather to bring power back to 20,000 households, Zhang earned the title "Shorts Brother" from Chinese netizens who appreciate his efforts.
Zhang explained to gbtimes why he insisted on doing the task despite the difficult conditions. He said, “The water is chilly, but it doesn’t matter. We just want to be there and fix the electricity as soon as possible. It’s freezing cold for the people who live in the mountain, plus electricity is out. Life is hard for them.”
The electrician was hailed as a local hero. HAO-OHA commended Zhang for his dedication to his tiring, but lowly paid job. He noted that China has few electricians like Zhang who can take the responsibility and be available for the public.
Hudiefengle88 recalled arriving home to find power gone which meant no hot water and heating for his family. The Weibo user admitted literally crying at his situation but thanked Zhang for his hard work in bringing back electricity to their area.
Zhang’s heroism could be better appreciated knowing that the incident happened when an unusual cold weather swept eastern Asia, killing more than 65 people, reported Weather.com. Many parts of China experienced their coldest weather in 10 years, while the cold snap killed 85 people in Taiwan.
