Netizens in Zhengzhou, Henan province, offered a helping hand to the owner of a noodle restaurant who could not afford to treat cancer, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

Restaurant owner Li Gang, 42, said in an online post he had been diagnosed with bone cancer and needed money for medical care.

He asked netizens to eat at his restaurant when they dine out, so that his wife could earn a little more money.

Although simply worded, the post soon spread widely online.

Netizens who responded to his plea, said it was the plain language that won the hearts and support of many netizens.

"Such sincerity and candor is hard to reject," one netizen wrote.

The Xinhua report said netizens in Zhengzhou started to ask friends to eat noodles at the restaurant.

The restaurant, located in a lane in the western rural area of Zhengzhou, has eight tables each seating four people.

On a visit to the restaurant on Friday, the reporter from the news agency found it full with customers by 11:30 am. All customers said they came because of the online post.

Some have donated money to Jing Xiaomin, the wife of the noodle restaurant's owner.

Jing said a middle-aged man even gave her 100 yuan ($16) after eating noodles at the shop.

Jing asked the man for his telephone number, so that she could return the money when her husband recovers from the cancer.

"We don't want donations, we just want people to come and eat our noodles," the report quoted Jing as saying.