Written by Frank M. Lin 12/07/2022 3:54 AM @ Shilin home, Taipei, Taiwan – I haven’t done a bi-lingual blog post in a long time. I just read this story and was touched by it. So here we go. Chinese source shown first, my translation it.
Source: https://www.ctwant.com/article/224620
80歲負債1億 浙江「誠信奶奶」賣衣還債12年…驚喜預告：要退休了
中國大陸浙江一名賣羽絨衣維生的92歲老奶奶，決定在賣完今年最後一件庫存羽絨衣後退休。消息一出，無不讓當地人又驚又喜，因為這代表被譽為「誠信奶奶」的她，已經還完積欠數十年的債務，也令她不畏創業失敗、從哪裡跌倒從哪裡爬起來的故事，再次浮上檯面。
據《極目新聞》報導，「誠信奶奶」陳金英52歲時以人民幣3000元（約新台幣1萬3）的資本創建「興華羽絨」製衣廠，並曾創下年營收破千萬人民幣的成績。公司在2008年金融風暴積欠2077萬（約新台幣9千1百萬）鉅款時，當時已經80歲的陳金英選擇自己承擔負債，寧可賣掉名下2棟房子、低價轉手廠房，也不願進行破產清算。
陳金英為了償還剩下的277萬（約新台幣1千2百萬）債務，選擇在麗水的一座大廈旁開起羽絨服小店，每天早上5點起床去開店，做到深夜才熄燈，有時還兼任裁縫工修補衣服，身為一個本應安享晚年的80歲老人，卻過得跟剛創業的年輕人一樣辛苦。但對陳金英來說，欠債還錢比安享晚年，更加要重與天經地義。
或許是出自於責任心，陳金英雖然在90歲時就已還完所有欠款，但她依然賣著羽絨服，直到最近才做了賣完最後一件衣服就退休的決定。而她數十年如一日的還債決心，也讓她在2022年1月獲得2021年「浙江驕傲人物」的殊榮。
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English translation by Google Translate, adjusted slightly by Frank M. Lin
Zhejiang’s “Integrity Grandma” has sold clothes to pay off her debts for 12 years… She used to have a thriving business but the financial crash of 2008 caused her to have a 100 million RMB in debt at the age of 80. Surprise notice: she is finally about to retire at the age of 92!!
A 92-year-old grandmother in Zhejiang, mainland China, who sells down jackets for a living, decided to retire after selling out the last down jacket in stock this year. As soon as the news came out, the locals were both surprised and delighted, because it means that she, who is known as the “honest grandma”, has paid off the debt she owed for more than a decade. She is not afraid of failure and likes to get up from the place where she fell.
According to “Jimu News” report, at the age of 52, “Integrity Grandma” Chen Jinying established the “Xinghua Down” garment factory with a capital of RMB 3,000 (approximately NT$13,000), and once achieved an annual revenue of over 10 million RMB. . When the company owed a huge sum of 20.77 million (approximately NT$91 million) during the financial turmoil in 2008, Chen Jinying, who was 80 years old at the time, chose to bear the debt by herself. She liquidated all her assets to pay off the debt as much as possible. (Frank’s comment: I think it must have been a limited liability company or something similar, whereas she didn’t have to personally pay the debt. But she chose to anyway because of her super high moral characters, what a lady!!)
In order to repay the remaining 2.77 million (about NT$12 million) debt, Chen Jinying chose to open a small down jacket store next to a building in Lishui. He also works as a seamstress to repair clothes. As an 80-year-old man who should have enjoyed his old age in peace, his life is as hard as a young man who just started his own business. But for Chen Jinying, repaying debts is more important than enjoying his old age comfortably.
Perhaps out of a sense of responsibility, although Chen Jinying has paid off all the debts at the age of 90, she still sells down jackets. It was not until recently that she made the decision to retire after selling the last piece of clothing. And her decades-long determination to repay debts also won her the honor of “Zhejiang Proud Person” in January 2021 in 2021.
(Frank’s comment: This is truly an inspirational story. How many people work to the age of 80? How many can do what she did?! Very rare indeed.)
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