Living in an urban village: 'Iron-digger'

2013-11-04 16:57

(peopledaily.com.cn)

13-year-old boy Xiong Sansan came to Liuzhou in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from his hometown, a village in southwest China's Guizhou province, with his parents when he was one year old. His parents make a living by cleaning and collecting scraps, and digging waste iron from construction sites.

The family now lives in a rented house that is about 10 square meters in Baisha village, Liubei District, Liuzhou. To relieve his parents' financial burden, Xiong Sansan will look for waste iron on weekends and holidays.

Xiong Sansan has a good knowledge of all kinds of waste iron. During the seven-day National Holiday this year, he spent five days collecting waste iron, and has earned more than 100 yuan. He gave half of the money to his parents.

Now, there are fewer construction sites that allow outsiders to enter. Xiong Sansan and his peers always cycle around in the city, trying to find a place where they can find waste iron. Xiong Sansan hopes he can get into a university in the future. He wants to be a policeman after graduation and take roots in the city.