Woman in China quits office job to clean houses up to 17 hours a day, buys 2 houses & 2 cars

beijingwalker · Nov 18, 2022

Woman in China quits office job to clean houses up to 17 hours a day, buys 2 houses & 2 cars

She decided to follow her heart.

Belmont Lay |

November 18, 2022, 05:48 PM

A woman in China has won praise for picking what works for her instead of conforming to society's expectations -- and she ended up being able to afford two houses and two cars as a result of following her heart and doing what she enjoys.

The peculiar feel-good story was shared by the woman in a video published on Weibo on Nov. 16.

Identified as Liu, the woman shared her success working as a cleaner after quitting her office job, which she got upon completing her tertiary education.

Family needed the money

Liu said she realised her family needed the money after her mother started falling ill and her son had started schooling, which caused expenditures to go up.

At that point, she was holding down an office job, implying she was receiving a salaried compensation.

She said: “I decided to quit and work as a cleaner as I knew we needed money for different expenses.”

Didn't dare to tell her parents

But going from a cushy office job to doing blue-collar work cleaning houses for a living was not something she was keen to inform anybody about.

Liu said she did not dare to tell her parents or her friends that she was working as a cleaner.

“I didn’t dare to post online anything about my job. I didn’t even tell my parents," Liu said.

"I remember when I went back for Chinese New Year, I was already working as a cleaner for half a year but my parents were not aware.”

She let on that she felt it might be shameful to let others know she is a cleaner.

But she finally told her father about what she was doing, and instead of being disagreeable, he turned out to be supportive.

She said she told him: "It doesn't mean that if you went to university, you are required to work in a certain job."

"I said, 'Every job has its perks.'"

Managed to afford houses and cars

The payoff of working as a cleaner saw Liu being able to afford to buy two houses and two cars.

She let on in the video that the houses were of modest sizes, but she was happy about her ownership of them.

She also said she has no plans to stop what she is doing.

She said: “I truly believe that this industry is where I want to remain in the future. I think it has many possibilities and the opportunities are endless.”

The number of hours she clocks on the job is testament to the endless opportunities available.

According to her, she can work 17 hours a day cleaning during peak season, from 7am to 2am.

She would even have to consume her meals while on the go as a result, as she does not have time to sit down and have a proper meal.

She would settle for a bun and water if she is very busy.

But what keeps her going is the client feedback.

Liu said she finds encouragement and motivation from her customers' approval of her work.

She also said the service sector is always short on manpower, which is why those who join it and persevere with little qualms about working hard, can do well.