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When Lu saw Yangzhou was recruiting female pedicurists, the curiosity from childhood motivated her to apply.

Lu Qin works on a customer's foot in her pedicure salon in Beijing. Luo Wei / Xinhua

But, there was strong prejudice against girls working as pedicurists. Back then, many women even felt embarrassed to seek pedicure treatment and would rather endure their foot ailments.

Initially, none of the veteran pedicurists wanted to take her as an apprentice. But Lu didn't give up, and thanks to her persistence, one elder pedicurist finally agreed to train her.

Lu also enrolled in a bathhouse run by a State-owned catering company and became one of the first female apprentices of the craft at that time.

"There were lots of people who mocked me as the 'girl who plays with stinky feet', but their jeers just made me more determined," says Lu.

Finally, after months of training and practicing, Lu completed her apprenticeship, and started to work on her own.

Working diligently in the bathhouse, Lu honed her skills and her reputation grew as she successfully cured foot ailments of many customers.

In 1992, Lu received the title of national model for refined craft and good service after four years of working as a pedicurist. Among 200 award recipients, the 21-year-old Lu was the youngest.

Upon receiving the award, Lu was invited to the home of Hu Ping, the former minister of commerce, to give a foot treatment.

Lu felt very proud to provide service to the minister, but what moved Lu most was the minister's recognition of the work of a pedicurist.

"Your work is very valuable," Lu recalls Hu saying to her. "You cure ailments which even doctors cannot deal with, and you relieve people from pain."

Since then, Lu Qin has become a household name of the pedicure industry in Yangzhou.

People learned of Lu's service through word of mouth, and in 2001, Lu was invited by Run Run Shaw to Hong Kong to cure his foot ailments.

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