Caring for loved ones should be a priority but not so much show that it completely transforms your life. One Chinese woman clearly didn’t get the memo when she claimed that she spent the last 12 years of her life trying to raise enough money to help her brother find a bride.
Securing a bride in China is much harder these days than in most other countries. For decades, China implemented a rule that allowed couples to only have one child. Many couples aimed for boys, turning to sex-selective abortion and other methods to ensure a male child. Males were seen as being strong enough to work and more likely to be successful in the country.
This has made it more difficult for bachelors to find a single woman to one day marry. In some cases, like this one, their families have tried to offer them financial support to increase their chances of finding a suitable bride. Bachelors from poor families have a lower chance of finding a bride compared to those from wealthy families.
A 33-year-old woman from Anhui province has spent over the last decade working her behind off to ensure her brother has enough wealth to secure a wife. The unnamed woman has been running a small restaurant specializing in Chinese pancakes with a monthly turnover of $14,000. Instead of using the profits on herself, she invested in a 129-square-meter home and a new car for her brother. She also gifted him her restaurant so he would be able to afford a comfortable lifestyle moving forward.
“I will think about myself after my brother gets married, my wedding can wait,” the woman said. “Over the past four years or so, I have been so stingy, even when buying new clothes for myself.”
This decision spiked a heated debate on Chinese social media, with many people expressing their dislike for the situation. One user wrote: “Is her brother unable to work or something? This is unfair on the poor sister!”
Another commented: “The more she gives to her brother, the more her brother may take it for granted.”