Cheng Shilian is an ordinary woman who lives with her daughter-in-law in Niujiaochong village in Anhui province. Two years ago, her only son died of cancer and left debts of more than 200,000 yuan (US$30,940). Unfortunately, her daughter-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Cheng Shilian smiles at her home in Niujiaochong village, Hefei city, Anhui province, April 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

But what she did to repay the debts was anything but ordinary. Cheng decided to run a tea garden in her 70s.

However, things did not go as planned. As she had no experience in planting tea trees, the saplings died. Although she was in a difficult position, the old lady never gave up. Finally, she succeeded after learning the skills needed to look after tea seedlings. Her 30,000 tea plants were sold out.

This year, Cheng again plans to plant trees on a 4 mu (0.27 hectares) field on a hilltop.

Her daughter-in-law, who is undergoing treatment, says she looks forward to working with her mother-in-law to repay the debts and expand the tea garden.

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