A Henan Province woman who for years felt remorse for stealing a bar of soap when she was 12 tried to make up for the crime 100-fold.
The woman surnamed Qu, now 30, arrived at the Zhoutian department store in Yichuan on Friday with 100 bars of perfume soap - the same kind she had shoplifted 18 years ago.
Qu explained that at the time, her mother had really wanted the papaya-scented soap but couldn't afford it.
"This has been a weight on my heart all these years," Qu told a store employee, video shows, "…because it's the worst thing I've done in my life."
The store's owner was deeply moved by the gesture and paid the soap forward to sanitation workers free of charge.
Qu said the whole experience has been very therapeutic.
"Last year I was suffering from depression but now I'm better," said Qu, "Now I treat every day as if it was my last."
