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Office worker who quit to become a cleaner buys houses, cars

This article is more than 12 months old

It’s a chore to most of us, something we’ll gladly pay someone else to do.

Cleaning is not exactly a preferred career choice.

But this young woman in China has given up an office job to become a cleaner.

And it appears she is doing pretty well, thank you very much.

The woman, surnamed Liu, shared her story in a video on Weibo.

She had started working in an office after completing her tertiary education.

But when her mother fell ill and her son started school, she decided the family needed more money.

So she quit, and started cleaning houses.

Initially, she didn’t tell anyone about her switch to blue-collar work - not even her family.

She was afraid they would be ashamed.

It seems she was working in the city of Zhengzhou and her folks were elsewhere.

She 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 of it.”

Eventually she told her father, and it turned out that he was supportive.

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

She claims that in the last two years, she has bought two houses and two cars, modest ones admittedly, and partly funded by earlier savings and loans.

But the money she makes is good enough to keep her in her new job.

She said there was great demand for cleaners in the city and she works very hard, often up to 17 hours a day.

When she is too busy to sit down for a meal, she just eats a bun, washed down with water.

She is happy that her clients have been appreciative of her efforts.

And she would like to tell others that there is good money to be made in this line of work. So if you don’t mind getting tired, jump in and reap the rewards.

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