Chongqing Migrant Workers Repair Shoes For 21 Years

Chen Jianping, who repaired shoes from the countryside of Tongnan, had been repairing shoes for 21 years, and the black scars washed into his hands were no longer clean.

But it is these hands that enable him to find his wife and his son in this city, and use these two hands to build a commercial house and put his roots in the city.

The 38 year old Chen is very white, but his hands are black.

After 21 years of repairing shoes on the sidewalk, Chen has long been known around Dongfengcun.

Chen Jianping was born in Fei Yue town, Tongnan county.

In 1984, he and his brother worked in the main city for two years. In 1986, he spent a week with his brother on the sidewalk, and began to work as a cobbler.

At the beginning, business was very cold. His daily income was about two yuan. In order to save money and eat a meal for two dollars, he slept in the electrical room next to a shopping mall to watch the night.

In 1988, he met his wife who came from Tongnan to work. Until 1994, he could earn about 30 yuan a day, and two of them bought a private house in Xinhua Village, Dadukou.

Although the house was narrow and dark, he felt that he had settled down in the city, and he moved his family's account to Dadukou one by one.

Business is booming, and hard times are not going on.

In 2002, he repaired 3 shoes for a young woman. The original charge should be 3 yuan. The woman said she did not repair it for her, insisted on paying only 1 yuan, and two people contended for a few words. The woman called her husband to smash his toolbox, paid no money, and walked straight away with his shoes.

Chen said occasionally he would encounter unreasonable customers, but as long as customers came to repair shoes, even if the shoes were dirty, he would not repair them immediately.

21 years later, his hands turned black and washed away.

Remembering the past, Chen smiled and said, "bitterness is bitter, but the neighbourhood brings him lots of happiness. Many street residents regard him as a friend, which house has to open a door, which sewer is blocked up, so long as he finds him, he never gives up.

No matter how much money he gives, he will not pay much attention to it.

After more than 10 years of hard work, the number of repeat customers is increasing. Chen Jianping has been able to earn about 60 yuan a day.

In his spare time, he learned to match keys, open doors and locks, and began polishing shoes.

"What I earn is sweat money, not afraid of being laughed at!"

Chen said.

At the beginning of this year, Mr. Chen and his wife bought a set of nearly 200 thousand yuan commercial housing on the Chunhui road in Dadukou with two years of accumulated hard-earned money, and Chen Jianping felt that he had taken a firm foothold in the city.

"My son has also been admitted to the key middle schools in the city, and there will be some prospects in the future."

Chen said with a happy face.