A Mother's Chiropody

Yu Sumei was a household name in Xi’an. Yu Sumei worked as a special grade chiropodist in a state-owned bath. Then Yan said that she did not think so before. She wrote a composition entitled “My Mother” when she was in the fifth grade. At that time, she considered her mother’s job disreputable, and described her mother’s job ambiguously as a “worker.” She gradually changed her mind after realizing that her mother relieved pain for many people, and was thus respected and recognized by society.

Chen Yan said, “My mother had been in poor health since she fell seriously ill in 1996, but she was worried that no one would succeed her. I was deeply moved after learning my mother’s thoughts, and decided to take up chiropody.” However, most of her relatives and friends were against the idea, because Chen Yan had a stable job at that time. However, Chen Yan was obstinate and did not give up, insisting on learning chiropody from her mother. Chen said publicly at her mother’s funeral, “I will continue my mother’s work and continue to make a contribution to this business, effectively passing on and developing the craft.” Chen’s first chiropody training class started. “My mother wished to open training classes while she was alive. There were lots of workers who had been made redundant at that time and my mother had always wanted to give them help and enable them to make a living,” said Chen. She ended the interview with "It's my mother's Chiropody."