Bank workers have painstakingly pieced together hundreds of notes after a woman cut up her savings in anger.
The money had been hacked into over 100,000 pieces, some as small as a thumbnail.
A woman, surnamed Zhang, took the damaged banknotes to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
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It took four employees 22 days to repair the bills, amounting to £3,450 (CNY 32,000).
She explained that her sister-in-law and had recently passed away, had cut up the money five years ago.
Her brother lives in a mountainous village in Sichuan Province with his four children, barely able to survive due to financial issues.
Zhang offered to help him as he was in desperate need of the money.
Chinese banks should change damaged notes for free, but Zhang’s brother had been turned down by several branches in his area due to the time needed to piece the cash together.
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While visiting her family, Zhang suggested she take the money back to Kunming to try to exchange it there.
She said: “My brother’s life is not easy and the money would be a big help. So I decided to try my luck.”
In her home city, an ICBC branch agreed to repair the cash and assigned four employees to stick the notes back together.
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One bank worker said: “It is the first time we have seen so many fragmented notes.
“There are over 100,000 pieces with some smaller than a fingernail.
“There were three types of currency with different patterns, we were quite confused at first.”
The worker said they used magnifying glasses to identify the pieces.
After 22 days, the four employees had pieced the notes back together.
As a sign of gratitude, Zhang sent them a tailor-made silk banner with the inscription: “Take people’s difficulties into consideration, solve problems and warm hearts.”
The bank was widely praised on Chinese social media for helping the widowed father and his four young children, as reported on What’s the Jam.
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