A 72-year-old man in China melted the hearts of millions after it was reported that he spends most of his time promoting makeup and other beauty products online in order to treat his sick grandson.
People will do all sorts of crazy things for their loved ones, and 72-year-old Zhu Yunchang is a perfect example. The Chinese pensioner has been dedicating a lot of his time to his unusual job, that of makeup-wearing beauty blogger, for which he applies all sorts of beauty products, from creams to lipstick and mascara for fans all over the country. It’s not exactly typical behavior for a man Zhu’s age, but then again, his is not a typical story.
Six years ago, Zhu Yunchang’s grandson, Xiao Jingyan, was diagnosed with a rare and cruel disease – spinal muscular atrophy (SMAs). The boy was only five at the time, and doctors estimated that he only had about 18 months to live. But he exceeded their expectations and has been battling his condition ever since, with the help of his family. But it hasn’t been an easy battle. The only drug used to treat Xiao’s condition could only be imported from the US and cost around 700,000 yuan ($100,000).
Xiao Jingyan’s decided they would do anything to save his life, so they sold their house and borrowed as much money as they could, but it still wasn’t enough. That’s when the boy’s grandfather decided to get involved. His pension wouldn’t cut it, so he started looking for alternative ways to earn some money and stumbled on beauty blogging.
Zhu obviously knew next to nothing about beauty products, but he wasn’t afraid or embarrassed to learn. He first contacted a makeup manufacturer and asked for some free samples, but when the company learned that he was a man in his 70s, they declined his request because ‘old people can’t sell makeup’. But the Chinese grandpa didn’t let that rejection deter him, he went to a cosmetics shop and kindly asked the staff to teach him about the products and how to apply them.
“The first time I didn’t understand the technical terms, so I took notes,” Zhu recalled.
Soon after he started live-streaming, Zhu Yunchang’s online popularity started growing, and he started earning a decent paycheck for his grandson. But at one point, his following stagnated, and people started accusing his daughter of taking advantage of him to earn people’s sympathy and earn money. Still, Zhu continued with his live stream, despite all the negativity.
Some of Xiao Jingyan’s medication has now been added to the insurance list in China, so the financial burden on the family has eased considerably, but the 72-year-old pensioner continues to work as a beauty blogger, testing products on himself and promoting them to his followers.
“If my grandson can walk like a normal child, I will feel relieved when I close my eyes,” the caring grandfather said.
You can watch some of Grandpa Zhu’s Douyin (TikTok) videos here, but be warned, some of them are tear-jerkers…
