PENG YONG, father of Peking University freshman Peng Xiangyu, shot to fame in August for a banner he put out on his pancake stall in Luoshan, Henan Province.

His son enrolled in the university’s College of Engineering with a score of 683 in the national college entrance exam out of a possible to 750 points. In the banner, Peng Yong wrote: “The stall is closed momentarily as I have to accompany my son to Peking University. Help yourself to some candies here.”

Photos of the banner have gone viral on social media with well-wishers sharing Peng Yong’s sense of pride for his son. “Both the parents and the son must have worked so hard. This is a well-deserved break for them,” said one netizen.

After Peng Yong returned home in Henan, Peking University invited him to the university’s National Day Campus Food Culture Festival on Oct. 1-4 to make his signature pancakes with egg fillings.

During the festival, Peng Yong’s pancakes were very popular at the university canteen and students lined up to get a bite. He had to make around 1,000 pancakes every day and still could not keep up with the demand. He also taught canteen chefs how to make the pancakes and shared his cooking experience. “Walking inside the campus and seeing so many students my son’s age, I cannot help but feel a sense of pride,” Peng Yong said.

Peng Yong has run the stall in his hometown for more than 20 years. Apart from pancakes, it sells grilled barbecue noodles, porridge and soy milk.

Peng Yong said he and his wife do not put pressure on Peng Xiangyu, and they believe being a kind and upright person is more important than achieving high scores in exams. He and his wife cannot help Peng Xiangyu much academically but they try their best to make a decent living so the son can focus all his attention on studying, he said.

“Parents impact children one way or another. We need to be more optimistic so our children will live a positive life,” he said.

Peng Yong went back home Oct. 4. His wife Zhao Junxiao said he might feel he is something of an internet celebrity with his recent fame, but he is still down-to-earth. (China Daily)