Wisdom of the aged

YANG CAIHUA, 106, & LIN YUQIONG, 105

According to a proverb, a good wife and health are a man's best wealth. Yang Caihua has both. He and his wife, Lin Yuqiong, have been married 86 years and have a family of 88 members spread over five generations.

Inside the three-story mountain home their son built for them, the couple look out for each other.

"We can care for ourselves, so there's no need to disturb our children's lives," Lin said cheerfully, even though she has difficulty walking.

Yang, who cannot hear well, mostly sits quietly and smiles at his wife. He doesn't smoke or drink.

In the old days, marriages in China were usually arranged by parents. "We didn't meet until the wedding day," Lin recalled. "I still remember the day I was carried home in a sedan chair."

They've been happy, they said, because they seldom exchanged angry words. Lin put it this way: "Harmony keeps a family prosperous. The secret to avoiding quarrels is that one must learn to listen while the other is complaining."

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