Frugal elderly couple in China save by wearing old clothes and US$2 shoes, move hearts online with US$1.4 million donation to hometown
- Inventive couple who spent years in the military saved their wealth in order to give bulk back to hometown
- Donation will help pay for education of local children in couple’s former home county
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A frugal couple in China who have not bought new clothes for decades and wear shoes worth 15 yuan (US$2) have donated 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to public education in their hometown and touched mainland social media.
Ma Xu, 90, and her husband, Yan Xueyong, live in Hubei province in central China but are originally from Mulan county in Heilongjiang province in the northeast of the country.
Ma was one of the first female paratroopers in China and met her husband, also a former paratrooper, during her service.
In 2018, they decided to give back to their hometown by donating their life savings to Mulan county to sponsor the education of local children, Xinhua News reported.
In a video report, the couple are seen sitting at a counter in a bank branch in their old military uniforms with a small folder containing their financial records as they discuss making the donation.
Due to the size of the initial donation, three million yuan, bank staff became concerned and called the police to stop the couple from falling victim to a suspected scam.
When the officers arrived, they soon verified that the couple genuinely desired to donate their savings.
Ma was born into a poor family, and before achieving her dream of becoming a paratrooper in 1962, she was a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army, local outlet Guangming News reported.
After they married, the couple devoted themselves to scientific research for the military and invented a protective ankle cover for troops as well as an oxygen supply vest.
They saved much of the money earned during their military careers and the income from their inventions by spending frugally. They live in a shabby bungalow, wear shoes worth just 15 yuan and use old flip phones bought more than a decade ago.
“Only when children receive a good education will our hometown develop,” Ma told Guangming News.
The couple has won widespread respect and admiration on mainland social media.
“Hats off to them! They are ordinary heroes,” said one person.
Another person said: “It’s so touching. They show the beauty of selflessness in the world.”
Stories about philanthropy often make the news in China.
In July, a 32-year-old mother from northeastern China donated bone marrow to save the life of a five-year-old boy despite the risk it posed because of her severe anaemia, inspiring many online.
