(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-01-23 10:53

A series of photos called “an old newspaper woman in cold winter” was spread through the Internet and the independent spirit of the 80-year-old moved many netizens.

Huddled in a corner of the street, the elderly woman surnamed Zhao in the photos looked pale because of the cold weather. There were piles of newspapers surrounding this old woman which made her look like a beggar.

After looking these photos, thousands of netizens had great sympathy for the woman. Many went to see her and bought newspapers so that she could finish selling all her newspapers and go home earlier.

Some people thought the old woman was badly treated by her family and some blamed her children for not looking after her.

Surprisingly, the elderly Zhao told people that her children and husband treated her very well. And it was she alone who wanted to sell newspapers for eight years regardless of whether the weather was cold or hot, windy or rainy.

“I cannot stop her,” said her husband Zhao Yongsheng, “Our children and I all oppose her selling newspapers and try to persuade her to live a comfortable life. Our retirement pay is 2,000 yuan which is quite enough for us so we are not short of money. However, she did not want to just stay at home. She wants to do something, and selling newspapers is a good choice for her.

“We have four sons and one daughter and they all treat us very well,” he continued. “Our family once held a meeting to try to stop her selling newspapers. She promised us she would stop but the next day she still got up early to sell newspapers like before.”

“I do not feel tired,” said the elderly woman, “I just love to sell newspapers and want to do something for my family.”