Yu Youzhen is one of many Chinese millionaires who value hard work as a street cleaner. (Photo : Facebook)
Chinese well-off millionaires mostly got their wealth from compensation from the government, as part of a demolition program. Others earned it from the country's property boom in the eighties. They are now happier as street sweepers.
However, these well to do individuals, who do not need to work for the rest of their lives, find it hard living without engaging in hard labor.
Qin Jiashun, a millionaire street sweeper, said simply that "money and work are different things".
Another street cleaner, 33-year-old Jia Zhijie, said that working as a sanitation worker helps him fight boredom. Street sweeping gives him a sense of purpose, he said.
Yu Youzhen made a major profit during the property boom and currently owns 17 apartments. She now works for the Wuchang District Urban Management Bureau as a street sweeper.
She reports for work every morning, six days a week. Along the streets of Wuhan, she sweeps and empties garbage bins.
She earns roughly $160 a month. Her children are also wage-earners with earnings of $248 monthly.
When asked why she opted to work as a street sweeper, she said, 'I want to be a role model for my son and daughter. I don't want to sit around idly and eat away my fortune."
"That lifestyle would only harm them in the long run," she added.
Yu believes that hard and decent work is necessary for a person to have personal fulfillment. She was also unamused with her wealthy lifestyle.
"I am not a cultured person but I always feel I need to be doing something," Yu said.
The millionaire noted, "Work is not just about the salary, it makes one focused. Laziness gives rise to all sorts of bad habits."
