"Later, when we had children, it was impossible to live without electricity. Our whole family squeezed into a porter's lodge, which was really uncomfortable. Later, after negotiating with others, we managed to pull in an electric wire and connected a light bulb." Ms. Xu Jiahui said that since then she has harbored a dream: if only she could own a house of her own in Nanjing, how wonderful that would be. But it seemed that relying on cleaning jobs and odd jobs, this goal was still very far away.
【They Put Down Roots in Nanjing】
The New Year's Eve dinner in the first year of buying a house didn't even have a bit of meat.
They are planning to buy a third house in Nanjing for their youngest son.
【They Live in Poverty】
Once carried a paralyzed elderly woman.
20 years ago, transitioned from being a carpenter to doing odd jobs and cleaning work in the community.
Yesterday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I saw at the roadside of Charity Society Alley that Mr. Xu's family was just busy having lunch. The two sons, daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren who haven't started school yet were all there. The whole family gathered together for a reunion meal. This reunion meal also had special significance as it marked 20 years of marriage for Mr. and Mrs. Xu, which is considered a pearl wedding anniversary. It also commemorated 30 years of entrepreneurship in Nanjing, and Mr. Xu's birthday was around this time too. The couple celebrated their 50th birthdays together, adding up to celebrating a "hundred-year" birthday, symbolizing love lasting until they reach a hundred. The reunion dinner was very simple. The dining table was made of cardboard boxes. Ms. Liu Cuizhen cooked a pot of fish and stir-fried two dishes at home. The Yanghe Puqu liquor from their hometown served as the "family banquet" white wine. "Frugality and diligence" is their philosophy of getting rich.
Ms. Xu Jiahui, 50 years old, is from Suqian, and so is her same-aged wife, Ms. Liu Cuizhen. Now both of them rely on cleaning and collecting scrap materials to establish themselves in Nanjing. Not only that, but their three sons have also settled down in Nanjing. The eldest son and second son have already started families in Nanjing. Now, the old couple has become the grandparents of two little granddaughters. Before coming to Nanjing, Mr. Xu Jiahui was once a carpenter and worked for private bosses in Harbin. Mr. Xu told the reporter that during the National Day holiday in 1990, one of his relatives introduced the couple to do odd jobs in the Charity Society Community in Nanjing. His wife, Ms. Liu Cuizhen, worked as a cleaner in the community. At that time, the community provided them with a porter's lodge to live in. Although there was no electricity in the porter's lodge at that time, it was good to have a place to eat and sleep.
Mr. and Mrs. Xu have three sons. The eldest son, after serving in the army and retiring, found a job as a driver in Nanjing and has now started a family and had children. The second son, although unemployed, has also started a family and had children. He usually helps his parents collect scrap materials. The youngest son is still attending technical school. "In 2004, we bought a second-hand apartment with two bedrooms and one living room in Minghua Xincun near Xinjiekou. The total price was 380,000 yuan. We borrowed 100,000 yuan from the bank and several ten thousand yuan from relatives. The rest was saved through our cleaning jobs and odd jobs. After buying this house, we lived more frugally. I still remember that year's New Year's Eve dinner; there wasn't a single dish with meat on our table, it was all vegetarian," Ms. Liu Cuizhen said. Thinking about the pressure of the loan, the couple not only saved more but also worked harder. Later, they discovered that if they could enter nearby office buildings to collect scrap materials, they would surely "get rich." Ms. Liu Cuizhen said that they bought an electric garbage truck and helped a nearby hotel transport garbage. They also helped transport garbage from nearby commercial buildings like Jinlun Building, Jinlun New World, and Huachen Building. "I usually get up at 4 o'clock in the morning to help several buildings transport garbage to the Doucai Bridge garbage transfer station. I make at least six trips every day, eating breakfast at 8 o'clock, and then continue collecting scrap materials," Mr. Xu Jiahui said.
Ms. Liu Cuizhen said that before buying a house, the whole family squeezed into a bungalow, and the surrounding residents were also hostile, feeling that they were dirty. "To take root here, we not only have to endure hardships but also be willing to help others," Mr. Xu Jiahui said. During the period when she worked as a cleaner, there was an 80-year-old woman living on the fifth floor in the neighborhood who later became paralyzed. The woman's children went to work during the day, leaving no one to take care of her. It was he who carried the elderly woman up and down the stairs, and over those years, he carried her up and down the stairs more than 500 times. A security guard from a nearby insurance company said that the Xu family was hardworking and needed them for garbage transportation and recycling of old items in the building.
Years of going up and down the stairs
Fan Xiaolin Ren Guoxiong / Text and Photography
They also enjoy helping others
Yesterday afternoon, while passing by the Charity Society in Xinjiekou, Nanjing, I saw a couple in their fifties setting up a "home banquet" at their scrap collection stall by the roadside to celebrate their combined "hundred-year" birthday and 20 years of entrepreneurship in Nanjing. Speaking of this couple, the surrounding residents often see them. They start early in the morning, busy transporting garbage for several nearby skyscrapers. During the day, they set up stalls by the roadside to collect old cardboard and other scrap materials. In ordinary people's eyes, working as cleaners and collecting scrap materials is associated with dirt, fatigue, and poverty. However, the reporter learned that this couple from Suqian, relying on cleaning and collecting scrap materials in Nanjing, not only raised three children but also bought two houses and one car in the bustling area of Xinjiekou. They have now become grandparents.
They also have goals
A fifty-year-old couple who rely on cleaning and scavenging for a living in Xinjiekou Charity Society celebrated their combined "hundred-year" birthday.
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