According to reports (by reporter Yukuang Zhang, correspondent Yuanshuan Tan), Chen Yuanfu, who only entered school at the age of 9 and then dropped out for a year and a half due to family economic difficulties, realized "the only way out is through education" while working. Finally, at the age of 25, he entered university this year. During the National Day holiday, Chen Yuanfu, a freshman at South-Central Minzu University, took up part-time work to earn living expenses.
Chen Yuanfu was born in La'ei Village, Guozhu Township, Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province. There are five children in his family, and they only have 1.5 mu of land. Due to poverty, Chen Yuanfu, who started school at the age of 9, has always studied hard.
After two months of high school, Chen Yuanfu could no longer bear the burden on his family, so he secretly left school and went to Jinhua, Zhejiang to work. It took a long time for his family to find out.
With no skills, Chen Yuanfu followed his relatives to do odd jobs, carrying bricks and mixing concrete. Because of his young age and small size, he didn't earn much money, and after more than a year, he hadn't saved much either. "There's no future like this; I should change my fate through education." Chen Yuanfu decided to return to school.
Chen Yuanfu returned to the classroom he had been away from for a year and a half and began studying as a second-year high school student. This year, he was admitted to the Chem-Bio Department of the School of Pharmacy at South-Central Minzu University. His younger brother was also accepted by the Zhaotong Normal College.
Because both he and his brother were admitted to university, the family couldn't afford their tuition and living expenses. Fortunately, the school helped them arrange student loans and provided work-study positions.
During the 8-day holiday, Chen Yuanfu didn't want to waste time. With the help of kind-hearted people, he found a part-time job at a food company, earning 45 yuan per day. "In 8 days, I'll earn 360 yuan, enough for me to live on for a month!"
The company manager thought he was willing to endure hardship and worked solidly, so he specially gave him a box of mooncakes worth 150 yuan. He was reluctant to eat them and sent them back to his parents before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chen Yuanfu said, "I thank those who helped me, I will strive to study well and win the national inspiration scholarship."