Working hard for a better future

Fu Meihua (R) eats with her employers in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province on Feb 28, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

Fu Meihua, 38, originally from a village in Jiangxi province, came to Shenzhen in 2002 with her husband to work as a Zhongdiangong (hourly paid worker).

She worked from morning to night in order to make enough money to send back home every month to her mother-in-law, who was taking care of Fu's two sons.

She never had weekends off, even when she was pregnant with her second son. Hard work has helped Fu earn the trust and respect of her employers, and "all the employers have given Fu the keys to their houses," she proudly said.

Now Fu is working for four employers a day, and her job includes washing clothes, cooking and cleaning houses. Paid 20 yuan ($3.20) to 30 yuan ($4.80) an hour, Fu is able to earn about 5,000 yuan ($802) a month. Her husband is working as a decorator, and the couple makes more than 10,000 yuan ($1,604) a month.

But Fu has been too frugal to even buy clothes for herself. All her clothes were handed down from her employers, along with some daily necessities.

Trying their best to save money, Fu and her husband rent a 6-square-meter room in Shenzhen, the only electrical appliance a TV.

Last year, the couple purchased a 100-square-meter apartment back home for 570,000 yuan ($91,428). The mortgage is 300,000 yuan ($48,120), which will take them 20 years to pay off.

Talking about the future, Fu said she hasn't given it too much thought. But she said she would prefer to stay in Shenzhen when she gets older, as she has gotten used to life in the metropolitan city. "Maybe we will sell the apartment back home, and we will see whether we can afford another one in Shenzhen," Fu said.

Fu cooks at her employer's house in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province on Feb 28, 2012. [Photo/CFP]

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