Aiyouxi began in 2009 as a public-welfare theatre troupe — over 300 volunteers writing, directing, and filming short films on causes like blood donation. Along the way the team realized that "what happens outside the camera matters more than what's in the frame," and in 2011 it formally became a community social-work organization, putting down roots in the old courtyards of Chengdu's Shuijingfang area.

Its approach, "developmental social work," replaces one-way charity with a single network of mutual aid: the person who donates rice today may be the one receiving help tomorrow. The flagship "modern Righteous Granary" starts with "One Spoonful of Rice" — child volunteers knock on neighbors' doors to collect a spoonful of rice, cooked into "hundred-family porridge" for families in need — and grows into a chain of programs: the Righteous Market, the Righteous Workshop, and the "Theater of One Audience."

By 2023, the Righteous Granary had reached 107 cities and over 2,800 communities, linked 231 partner organizations, engaged more than 5 million participants, and was featured in UN-Habitat's *Shanghai Manual (2022)*.