Young woman turns her trash-collecting life into treasure

Li Siying, a 28-year-old woman from Changchun, Northeast China’s Jilin province, has completed both a TV and a film script based on her tough life experiences, where she struggled to chase her dreams and support a family by collecting and selling garbage.

"We used to be a well-off family, but when I was 15 years old, misfortune fell upon us and changed everything. My father experienced a business failure. Our house, car and savings were all gone. My family went broke," Li recalled.

“It was a huge blow to my father and made him ill and leave us forever. My mother's condition had not been well before and it worsened at that time," Li added.

Since then, Li and her family went into poverty. Her mother could not work given her poor health. High rent in the town forced them to move to the suburbs. Li and her brother had to drop out of school and become the breadwinners.

Li once came to a restaurant and begged the owner to give her a job. "Please let me work here. I can wash the dishes and help in the kitchen. You can offer me lower wages as long as you allow me to work here," she said.

But the owner refused and told her that it was illegal to hire her, a 15-year-old minor.

As she walked the street one day, upset and with a heart full of worry, Li kicked a beverage bottle. Looking at the bottle, the idea came to her that she could collect and sell garbage to earn money for her family.

In summer, the garbage bins stank to high heaven and flies and bugs swarmed around. In winter, cold weather froze Li's hands. Besides, she was often cast strange and loathing looks from others.

In the face of all these difficulties, Li has shown extraordinary determination and an upbeat spirit.

"Life is hard for me but tears cannot help either. A day will pass no matter how you feel about it so why not live with smiles," she said.