Woman in China earns more sorting scrap metal than at hospital job
A 26-year-old woman in Sichuan, China has gone viral after revealing she earns more sorting scrap metal at her family’s recycling station than from her full-time job at a private hospital.
According to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, Ms Xiong works as a rehabilitation physician, treating elderly patients from 8am to 5.30pm.
Her monthly salary at the hospital is 4,000 yuan (about S$710).
After work, she heads to her parents’ recycling yard, where she helps sort, transport, and sell scrap metal.
Source: Weibo via HK01
“If I do more, they can do less, and I also get to learn a survival skill,” she said.
Has been helping at family junk yard since primary school
Ms Xiong shared that she has been helping out at her parents’ recycling yard since she was in primary school, and she has no issue continuing the work as an adult.
After finishing her hospital shift, she heads to the junk yard to assist with sorting, moving, and selling metal waste.
Source: Weibo via HK01
She carries out these tasks with her parents and two hired workers until around 10pm, before the family heads home together.
Unbothered by comments about ‘dirty work’
Although some netizens mocked her for doing what they described as “dirty work” and questioned why a doctor would collect scrap, Ms Xiong remains unfazed.
She explained that while rust sometimes sticks to her clothes, the job isn’t unhygienic, and she takes care to maintain personal cleanliness.
Source: Weibo via HK01
More importantly, she isn’t ashamed of the work. While she doesn’t earn a formal salary, her parents occasionally give her pocket money when business is good — often more than her hospital wage.
“If it makes money, what’s there to be embarrassed about?” she said confidently.
Denies faking for views
Ms Xiong shared that she has been working at the hospital for four years, ever since graduating with a degree in rehabilitation therapy.
While she maintains strict personal hygiene at work, she describes herself as adopting a very different persona at the recycling yard.
Although the setting contrasts sharply with the hospital, she said she manages the shift between the two roles well.
Some netizens have also accused her of staging her time at the junk yard just to gain attention online.
In response, Ms Xiong clarified that she has simply been documenting her everyday life, and that she started sharing her experiences at the recycling station as early as 2020.
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Featured image adapted from Weibo via HK01.
