After three hours' preparation, Goran Marinovic brought his home-made cevapi, Serbian-style meat and onion sausage and chicken soup to the community entrance, where six guards were checking residents' body temperatures before their entry.

"I enjoy cooking. When I have time to cook for myself, I also like to cook some food for the guards outside my community who are very friendly and helpful people," said Marinovic, a 46-year-old Serbian who teaches English in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.

Goran Marinovic brings his home-made food to community workers in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, March 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Qu Yan)

To express his gratitude, one of the guards greeted Marinovic with an elbow touch like what Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did when he welcomed members of the Chinese medical team at the airport in Belgrade.

"I was kind of looking forward to his food today because I already smelled it from his kitchen when he was cooking," said Liu Yezhu, a community worker at Heqing Community in Hefei.

Marinovic's apartment is right next to the community entrance.

"Whenever his kitchen is lighted, we feel a sense of reassurance and expectation. We know he is cooking and probably making some food for us," Liu said.

"I still remember the first time he made us food. It was a cold night. He brought us some hot soup and left it on the table. He made a gesture of eating. I don't speak English, so I responded by giving him a thumbs-up gesture," Liu recalled.

Over the past two months, Marinovic has cooked more than 20 meals for the community workers who have been working to protect the residents from the coronavirus. From breakfast to dinner, from pancakes to cevapi and sarma, Serbian-style stuffed cabbage rolls, he tried to be "a productive member of the community" by serving original Serbian food.

"They are hard-working people. I don't speak Chinese. They helped me to order gas and pay the electricity bill. Maybe they don't need the food, but I just want to express my thanks," he said.

Goran Marinovic greeted one of the community workers with an elbow bump to express his gratitude for their hard work in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, March 30, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Fangqiang)

"The quarantine gives me a chance to spend more time at home and do some things that I don't usually do. It takes a long time to cook, from two to three hours, depending on what food I make. But I like cooking," he said.

Apart from food, Marinovic also brings spoons and forks, which he usually comes back to collect on the second day.

"He is now popular in the community. Many people have tried his food, including my mom," said Li Jianghao, a 20-year-old college student, also Marinovic's neighbor and part-time translator.

"Serbian people and Chinese people have been friends for many years. And recently, the Chinese government sent doctors and tonnes of medical equipment to help Serbian doctors fight the coronavirus. Our government and doctors listen to their Chinese friends, and they start to build a makeshift hospital like what China did so that patients with minor symptoms can be treated there," Marinovic said.