There probably aren't many millionaires willingly volunteering to work in sanitation for about $228 a month. But 53-year-old Chinese real estate mogul Yu Youzhen gladly wakes up at 3 a.m. six days a week to sweep almost two miles of roadway for one major reason: to set a good example for her children.
Yu, who amassed her fortune as the result of hard work and real-estate, has been cleaning streets since 1998, the South China Morning Post reports.
"I want to be a role model for my son and daughter. I don’t want to sit around idly and eat away my fortune," Yu told local newspaper Wuhan Evening News, according to the SCMP.
Although she owns 17 properties valued at roughly $1.5 million, according to China Daily, Yu refuses to give up the contract job with the Wuchang District Chengguan Bureau Cleaning Team she acquired 15 years ago.
"Work is not just about the salary, it makes one focused," Yu told the Wuhan Evening News, according to the Telegraph. "Laziness gives rise to all sorts of bad habits."
While her two children both have jobs with monthly salaries, Yu has said that she will relinquish her real estate to the government, if her children don't continue to work, local media note.
Yu is hardly the only parent who has sought to set a good example for her children.
In August, German dad Nils Pickert revealed why he wears women's clothing with his 5-year-old son, explaining that he chose to become the "role model" he knew his son needed.
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