Yu Youzhen: Chinese Millionaire Sweeps Streets To Teach Children Value Of Hard Work

A Chinese millionaire has worked as a street sweeper for the past 15 years in order to set a good example for her two children.

According to the South China Morning Post, 53-year-old Yu Youzhen and her husband reportedly toiled from dawn until dusk as vegetable farmers in the ’80s in Donghu Village Huojiawan.

They saved every dime they made and soon had enough money to construct three five-story village houses, which they leased out for rent.

Fast forward today and Yu owns 17 apartments and has become wealthy on the back of the Chinese property boom.

Despite have a net worth of over $1.5 million, Yu does something most rich people do not.

Six days a week she wakes up at 3am and goes to work as a sanitation worker for the city, earning a monthly salary of just 1,420 yuan ($227).

Yu, who has become a symbol of hard work and determination in her country, told local reporters that she was motivated after seeing many of her fellow former landowners waste away their earnings on gambling and drugs.

“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,” Yu told local newspaper Wuhan Evening News, according to the SCMP.

“That lifestyle would only harm them in the long run,” Yu added. “Laziness gives rise to all sorts of bad habits.”

So far, Yu’s method of teaching by example is working with her kids.

The International Business Times reports that Yu’s son is currently employed as a driver and earning just over 2,000 yuan (~$320) a month, while her daughter is an office worker with a 3,000 yuan-a-month (~$480) salary.

Readers: Do you which more parents would take note of Yu Youzhen’s example instill the values of hard work in their own children?