Chinese Man Gifted $76K After Caring for Elderly Neighbor for 30 YEARS

November 23, 2020

A Chinese villager received 500,000 yuan ($76,000) worth of land from his deceased neighbor that he had looked after for 30 years.

Selfless acts: Xu Huiming, 66, began caring for his elderly neighbor Su Meiyun in Shandong after her husband passed in 1988, according to AsiaOne.

Without any children of her own, Huiming took Meiyun in and thought of her as a family member.
He rented a place for her to stay when her house deteriorated to the point of needing to be demolished in 2008, and then paid for all her nursing home bills when she was admitted in 2012.
Village authorities registered Meiyun as homeless, where she was able to apply for an 80-square-meter plot of land (861 square feet).
Party secretary of Shandong village, Hong Qiuguo said, “Su showed trust in Xu, and Xu was on call at all times when the nursing home had something to tell him about.”

Stroke of good luck: Although Meiyun passed in 2016 at the age of 92, her land application was approved in 2017 and later valued at 1 million yuan ($152,000) this year as a part of a rural relocation program.

The village committee believed that the land plot should go to Huiming as Meiyun had intended, however, there was no proper legal documentation.
Qiuguo said Meiyun had allegedly written a will transferring all her assets to him so long as he covered her debts and funeral expenses. Neither party had signed off it as he thought she had none.
The case was taken up with the People’s Court of Jiangbei District in Ningbo, where it was decided that he would receive half of Meiyun’s property.
Zhang Haijuan, a court judge said that although it rightfully belonged to Meiyun, “…an appropriate portion of the estate may be given to a person other than the heir, who gave more support to the deceased, according to related laws and regulations.”
On Oct. 22, Huiming collected half of the land, the village’s authority 35% and Meiyun’s nephew 15%.
To continue a line of good faith like Huiming’s, the village will reportedly use their portion to buy gifts for the elderly, according to the Ningbo Evening News.

Featured Image via AsiaOne/CCTV

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