Premier Li Keqiang prepared instant noodles for migrant workers who were heading home for the Spring Festival at a highway rest stop on Feb 14, the second day of his Chinese New Year tour to southwest China’s Guizhou province.

The Premier poured hot water from a thermos flask into a bowl of instant noodles, handed the food to Wu Zhiyong, one of the thousands of local migrant workers returning to Liping county to spend the Chinese New Year with their families.

The noodle, which was cooked in pickled Chinese cabbage flavor, is a local delicacy with distinctive Guizhou characters, said Li. “Local flavor is calling you back,” he said as he handed the bowl to Wu.

Wu, in his early 50s, said he has been working in Guangdong province for 27 years. “I started working in Guangdong shortly after my son was born. I have been away from home for so long that now my son is all grown up and is getting married this year,” Wu said with tears.

Wu said he hopes to come back and find a job in the hometown, a wish that was echoed by many migrants who said they wanted to return “even if the average income in Guizhou is lower than in the coastal provinces,” they said.

Li said the government will work out policies to offer financial and technical support to migrant workers who are willing to move back and start their life in their hometown.

“You have contributed so much to the country. You are our heroes,” Li said.