106 BEAUTIFUL GRANDPA

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GRANDPA BECOMES MAKE-UP BEAUTY BLOGGER TO SAVE BOY’S LIFE

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 unbelievable things for their loved ones, and 72-year-old Zhu Yun-chang is a perfect example. The Chinese retiree has been dedicating a lot of his time to his unusual job, that of makeup-wearing beauty blogger; he applies all sorts of beauty products, from creams to lipstick to mascara for fans all over the country. It is not exactly typical behavior for a man Zhu’s age, but then again, his is not a typical story.

Six years ago, Zhu’s grandson, Xiao Jing-yan, was diagnosed with a rare and cruel disease, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The boy was only five at the time, and doctors guessed that he only had about 18 months to live. But, he beat their expectations and has been battling his condition ever since, with the help of his family.

It has not been an easy battle. The special drug used to treat Xiao Jing-yan’s condition could only be imported from the US and cost around 700,000 yuan (USD$100,000)!

Xiao Jing-yan’s family decided that 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 is when the boy’s grandfather decided to get involved.

His pension would not cover much of the cost, so he started looking for alternative ways to earn some money and accidentally discovered beauty blogging.

Zhu obviously knew next to nothing about beauty products, but he was not 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 refused his request because “old people cannot sell makeup.”

Nevertheless, this Chinese grandpa did not let that rejection deter him; he went to a cosmetics shop and kindly asked the staff to teach him about the products and the proper ways to apply them.

“The first time I did not understand the technical terms, so I took notes,” Zhu recalled.

Soon after he started live-streaming, Zhu Yun-chang’s online popularity started growing, and he was earning quite a bit of money for his grandson.

At one point, however, his following stopped growing. Plus, some suspicious people began accusing his daughter of using him to earn people’s sympathy just to make money for herself.

But, Zhu continued with his live stream, despite all the negative feedback.

Some of Xiao Jing-yan’s medication is now covered by Chinese health insurance, 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.

“When my grandson can walk like a normal child, then I will feel relieved and quit,” 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.