A woman in China who helped her disabled father by making deliveries for his home appliance store, often climbing stairs with white goods like refrigerators on her back, has won praise from mainland internet users.
The 20-year-old student Cao Youyuan lives in central China’s Hubei province, where her parents own a small home appliance store.
Her father, Cao Xiangjun, was diagnosed with polio as a child and, after breaking both his legs at age 14, was left with further difficulty walking due to improper treatment, The Paper reported.
“Many customers require the product delivery service. But my parents’ store makes little profit. We cannot afford to hire a delivery worker,” Cao, a student at the Hubei Polytechnic Institute, said.
She said the first time she helped her father deliver a fridge to a customer was six years ago when she was a secondary school student.
The father and daughter talking in the shop. Her parents have worked long hours since she was a small child, so Cao says she enjoys helping them now she is older.
So far, Cao said she had delivered more than 1,000 fridges and other heavy home appliances to customers. During every delivery her father would walk behind her.
“The heaviest fridge I can carry on my back is 70kg, but I can only take it to the first floor and cannot climb to higher floors after that,” said Cao. “Doing this work also requires skills. I think I have grasped them after doing it so many times. Usually, I deliver one or two fridges a day and don’t feel very tired.”
A video of Cao carrying a fridge on her back to a customer’s flat has gone viral on mainland social media, with many people saying they felt sorry for her.
“Those internet users’ comments moved me, but I don’t feel particularly proud of myself because it’s normal and natural for me to do this,” Cao said.
“I’ve grown up in this environment. I saw my parents work so hard every day. Sometimes they were so busy they didn’t have time to eat the whole day. So helping my parents is quite normal for me,” she added.
Her father, concerned by the amount of manual labour she was doing, took Cao for a physical check-up a few years ago.
After doctors gave his daughter a clean bill of health, Cao senior agreed to let her continue.
“I feel relieved that I have such a sensible and obedient daughter,” he said. “I also want to tell my daughter to stay healthy and study hard at school.”
The story has received a positive reception among mainland social media users.
“She is the greatest daughter! She is beautiful and has a beautiful heart!” one person said.
One person expressed concern: “Kid, doing too much heavy lifting will hurt your waist. Take care!”
