Anne Zhang

    zhangy49@gmail.com

    YANG YARONG from Anhui Province does not live like a normal 21-year-old.

    Instead of attending college, making the most of her beauty or experiencing her first love, Yang has to deal with somewhat more adult concerns. She has the responsibility of supporting her family after four of her closest kin caught serious illnesses in quick succession.

    Early misfortune

    Yang is well-known for being graceful, but few people are aware of the tough experience that lies behind her sweet smile.

    Yang encountered her first major hardship at age 10 when her divorced aunt became paralyzed as a result of a serious illness. Her family spent its entire savings on treatment for the aunt.

    To ease the family’s financial burden, the teenage Yang worked as a delivery person at a local bakery. She got up at 5 a.m. every morning to work before school started. She loaded bread onto a handcart and delivered it to customers all by herself.

    She once was delivering a cart of 10 boxes of bread, Yang recalled, when the boxes dropped off. It took her a long time to reload them onto the cart. When she finally delivered the bread, the customer didn’t pay her because she arrived after their breakfast time, Yang said.

    After several months of hard work, Yang earned enough money to pay her tuition for one year and to buy some medicine for her aunt.

    “That was during the winter. I remember the severe cold turning my hands pink,” she said. “It’s tough, but I was happy from the inside of my heart because I earned enough to pay my own tuition.”

    Dreams quashed

    In 2009, Yang’s grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, which was another heavy blow to the family. Due to the family’s debt of 130,000 yuan (US$21,000), Yang had to give up her college dream and chose to attend a polytechnic school that required less money and time to get a degree.

    She enrolled in the aviation service course at a polytechnic school in Wuhan, Hubei Province. It meant she was very likely to become an air hostess after graduation, because Yang, being five feet and five inches (165-cm) tall, and blessed with good looks and a nice demeanor, was a strong candidate for such a career.

    But misfortune befell her once again.

    A week before representatives of airlines were due to appear at the only job fair in her school in June 2010, her grandfather’s health descended into a critical condition. Being the family’s oldest child, Yang gave up her dream career and returned home to take care of her dying grandfather. He passed away shortly before the Chinese New Year in 2011.

    Although Yang couldn’t get her dream career, she said she had no regrets because she was with her grandfather until the end.

    Making a living

    in Shenzhen

    After Yang’s grandfather died, her grandmother was overcome with grief and suffered hemiplegic paralysis. A series of misfortunes then struck Yang’s father, the family’s key breadwinner. His hair turned white overnight and he would regularly lock himself in his room, crying loudly.

    But Yang wasn’t defeated. In the summer of 2011, she took a shabby suitcase and came to Shenzhen to make money for the family. She is now a receptionist at the Investment Building Hotel in Futian District.

    Yang has been living a frugal life in Shenzhen. She sends most of her salary to her family and keeps enough to cover her own living costs.

    “I want my younger brother to have enough money to buy school books and want my parents to live an easier life,” Yang said. “I am happy and proud to be able to support them.”

    In the eyes of her workmates, Yang is a dedicated, ambitious and versatile person. Yuan Wei, the manager of the hotel, said Yang has always been praised by customers for her sweet smile and excellent service.

    She is also a person who loves to learn, Yuan said, adding that Yang spends all her spare time reading and learning. For this reason, she hasn’t visited any tourist spots in Shenzhen in the past two years.

    “It’s really hard to imagine that such an optimistic and dedicated girl has born such burdens,” Yuan said after learning of Yang’s experience.

    Receiving outside support

    The final straw fell on Yang’s family last August, when her mother was diagnosed with malignant breast cancer. But Yang again faced the calamity with perseverance and tried her best to support the family.

    Since her story was reported by local Chinese-language media this year, many people and organizations have reached out to help.

    The hotel that Yang works at has raised money for her. Shenzhen Project Care Foundation designated an account in February to collect donations for Yang’s family. The donations amounted to about 4,000 yuan in the first week.

    Many people have sent her money without identifying themselves, including a 6-year-old girl who asked her mother to give Yang 200 yuan of her lucky money, or gift cash, for the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, Yang said.

    A group of people from Shentou Properties and Resources Development Co. visited Yang’s family in Anhui last month and brought the family a bunch of daily necessities.

    During the visit, Yang’s mother said Yang has sacrificed too much for the family.

    “We are sorry for making our daughter go through all the hardships she shouldn’t have had to face at her age,” the mother said tearfully.

    I want my younger brother to have enough money to buy school books and want my parents to live an easier life. I am happy and proud to be able to support them.”