Li Lin's videos often begin with the statement, "It's too easy to 'trick' rural folks, earning 40 yuan in seconds." Viewers, intrigued, watch on, only to end with a knowing smile.

Born after 1985, Li Lin hails from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. He initially worked as a computer technician in the city, but in 2009, he returned to his hometown, Wushao Village in Zhangji Town. With over 10,000 yuan, he took over a phone shop, which he has run for 15 years.

Word spread among elderly residents from nearby villages about Li Lin's ability to fix phones. Groups of elderly started flocking to him. Working 12 hours daily, he often acted as a "phone doctor" free of charge. Last year, on a whim, Li Lin started recording his interactions while repairing phones for the elderly and uploaded them to short-video platforms. The videos quickly gained popularity beyond his local community.

Thanks to his newfound online fame, Li Lin's shop saw a surge in attention. Some of his videos garnered millions of views, boosting his sales by nearly 40%. Inspired by his success, more phone shops in Xuzhou began offering free repair services to the elderly.

Before the summer vacation, Li Lin received an invitation from students at Peking University to participate in a summer camp focused on the aging population. In July, he delivered a talk to a full house of students at the university. Drawing from his personal experiences, Li Lin shared many concrete insights. While unfamiliar with the academic definition of the term "digital divide" he vividly illustrated the challenges theelderly face in the digital era. "Some only know how to pay with cash but can't manage online payments. Others can operate older TVs but are baffled by modern smart TVs-this is the digital divide," he reflected. This experience prompted Li Lin to recognize a deeper purpose behind his work.

Over time, elderly local residents came to trust him completely, relying on him for almost every challenge. Li Lin's services expanded beyond phone repairs, including buying train tickets, checking medical reports, linking WeChat accounts to bank cards, obtaining certificates of no criminal record, and paying electricity bills-whatever he could manage, he helped with it all. One view jokingly referred to his phone shop as a "private public service center". Li Lin even purchased a blood pressure monitor to offer free check-ups for the elderly.

Looking ahead, Li Lin shared with the reporter that he plans to open a branch in the city, but he won't be closing his shop in the village. "Whether it's profitable or not, I'll keep it running to help as many elderly people as possible," he said.

人物丨他在农村帮老人跨越“数字鸿沟”

“农村大姐太好‘骗’，秒赚40元。”李琳的视频总是以这样一句话开场。观众们带着疑惑看下去，到最后却会心一笑。

85后的李琳是江苏徐州人，早先在市里修电脑，2009年回到老家张集镇吴邵村，花了一万多元接手了一家手机店，一开就是15年。

周边几个村子的老人互相打听，都说李琳这能修手机，成群结伴地就来了。李琳一天工作12个小时，不知道义务当了多少回“手机医生”。去年李琳突发奇想，把给老人修手机的日常拍下来，上传到短视频平台，没多久就火出了圈。

自从拍短视频后，李琳手机店火出了圈，不少视频冲到了千万播放量，小店在当地有了名气，销量提升了近40%。在李琳的带动下，徐州当地无偿为老人服务的手机店渐渐多了起来。

今年暑假前，李琳收到北京大学学生的邀请，请他去参加人口老龄化专题夏令营。7月份，李琳去了北大，面对满座学生作了报告。他依据自己的工作和生活，讲了很多具体、细微的东西。李琳不知道数字鸿沟这个词的学术定义，但他直观地感受到老年人在数字时代的困境，“有的老人只会付现金，线上付款不会；有的老人只会用老电视，新的网络电视看不明白——这都是数字鸿沟。”经过一番思索，李琳意识到了自己日常工作的另一重意义。

当地的农村老人和李琳建立了信任，事事来找他。李琳的业务扩展到了各个领域：买火车票、查体检报告、微信绑定银行卡、开无犯罪证明、交电费……能解决的都帮忙解决。对此，有网友戏称，手机店成了“民办政务服务中心”，李琳甚至还买来血压计免费为老人量血压。

李琳告诉记者，他未来有在市区开分店的打算，但老家的店是不会关的，“无论挣钱亏钱，都会努力经营下去，尽可能为老人们服务。”

文丨记者 王隽杰
翻译丨邹晓华
英文审校丨林佳岱