Vietnamese Graduate Invites Restaurant Owners Who Fed Him for Seven Years to Graduation

A Vietnamese PhD graduate has invited the owners of a local restaurant, who had been feeding him for seven years, to his graduation. The heartwarming episode, initiated through a delivery order note, has gone viral on social media, touching many. The story began on the morning of June 23, with a delivery order placed at a small Hakka restaurant near a university in Hanoi. Instead of the usual requests for "less chili" or "no cilantro," the student, identified as Xiong, wrote a special message in the notes field: "From undergraduate to my doctorate, I've eaten at your place for seven years, and I really can't bear to leave. Can I invite you both to come to my graduation photo shoot?" Luo, the restaurant owner, recognized the customer before she finished reading the note. The delivery address was the university, and she immediately identified the regular. Initially, she thought he might be asking for help with photography. However, through further messages, she understood that he wanted her and her family to be in the pictures. She expressed her astonishment, having left school in her early teens and never imagining being invited to a graduation. Xiong has spent over a decade at the university studying integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. He and his classmates began frequenting the restaurant during his fifth undergraduate year, often stopping by late after finishing in the lab, he told local media. The delivery note was a collective idea among his friends, a way to commemorate seven years before they would scatter after graduation. Luo's family has run the restaurant for more than 20 years. After two decades in the trade, she shared that the happiest part is not the money, but being remembered. The photograph of the delivery order note, posted on her social media, garnered over 250,000 likes and a flood of comments from strangers urging her to attend. She promised to go, bringing her husband, their two children, a bouquet, and red envelopes for the graduates. The photo shoot, initially scheduled for June 25, was postponed due to Xiong's lab schedule and finally took place at the end of the month. The finished photos, posted by Luo, show her family lined up beside the graduates in their gowns, everyone grinning. She wrote that she kept her promise. This incident highlights the importance of intergenerational bonds and the warmth of human relationships within local communities in Vietnam. A single student's gratitude has resonated with many, spreading warmth and inspiration.