Chinese tourists bought 200,000 chicken eggs and gave them to a Buddhist temple to help 'holy spirits' fight the deadly coronavirus.
The holidaymakers ordered the items from shopkeeper Jitsinee Panthong, 44, for 415,000 THB (10,255 GBP) in Chachoengsao, eastern Thailand last Sunday (February 15) morning.
She said the group made the bulk order to donate them to spirits at the local shrine and ask them to find a cure for the COVID-19 outbreak, which has killed 2,118 people as of today (February 20).
Jitsinee said: ''I thought it was a joke when they called so I asked for a deposit.'' The shopkeeper was concerned the bulk order was a fraud so she asked the Chinese group to pay 15,000 THB (370 GBP) as a down payment before she spent three days gathering eggs from two different farms. She called the Chinese tourists on Monday (February 17) to tell them that the eggs were ready.
They came on Tuesday (February 18) morning to collect the eggs and pay her another 400,000 THB (9867 GBP).
The eggs were brought to a temple, home to the Buddhist 'Holy Spirit' Father Sothorn, who is known among locals to help their wishes come true.
The staff had to spend almost half a day before they finished loading the eggs in front of the stature.
One of the Chinese well-wishers, Zhao Hongchang, 44, said he and his friend had offered the eggs to ask the holy spirits to help stop the spread of the coronavirus after a friend recommended appealing to higher spiritual powers.
He said: "My Thai friend's niece used to have a hard time conceiving a baby but her problem was solved after she made offerings to this holy spirit.
"We believed in his holy power so we pooled our money together and bought the substantial amount of eggs as an offering on behalf of the Chinese people fighting the contagious virus.'' The delighted shopkeeper said this was the biggest order she ever received since she started selling eggs.
She said: "This is the most profit I've ever made in a single order.
Even at our local festival there are never this many orders.'' After the religious rites involving a selection of the eggs were finished, they were handed out to poor and elderly people living nearby.