Long ago, when Sun Meili was being yelled at and bullied by her colleagues, she never would have thought one day she could work in peace like everyone else.

Wiping tables, sweeping the floor and making tea, are routine activities that might seem boring to a lot of people. But for Sun, who was born with a deformity in her right hand that makes it hard for her to move her fingers, it's a happy job hard to come by.

A service worker at the senior activity center in her hometown of Shanchuan in east China's Zhejiang Province, Sun is satisfied with her work and life now. She said "the job is great" because it has brought her money to raise her 12-year-old daughter, and it comes with decent health insurance.

More than that, the job has brought her laughter and hope.

It never rains but it pours

Thirty-five-year-old Sun's early life was unlike her given name, "Meili," which means "beautiful" in Chinese. Her hand deformity limited her right hand's flexibility, making it difficult for her to do some tasks; even now, she still needs her auntie to help tie her apron.

As the saying goes, misfortunes don't come alone, as 12-year-old Sun was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition where an abnormal amount of cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the ventricles of the brain.

"I was unconscious," Sun told CGTN, describing the first time she passed out, which led her diagnosis. She later dropped out of school due to her illness.

In the decade that followed, Sun struggled with frequent loss of consciousness, every two to three months. Her illness made it impossible for her to do labor-intensive work, such as farming or other physically demanding work, which is more common in the countryside.

Daughter, wife and mother

Although Sun has experienced difficulties in daily life, she took good care of her mother.

In 2006, while accompanying her mother on a visit to the doctor, Sun met her "Romeo." The man, a blue-collar worker named Hu Quguo, soon became Sun's husband, and two years later, they had a child.

Sun became a stay-at-home mom while her husband went out to work.

"She's very skilled, considering she only has one working hand," said Sun's aunt, Chen Shuidi, relating how hard it was for Sun to look after her daughter.

Taking a risk on workplace 'happiness'

In May, against the backdrop of China's effort to stabilize employment. Sun got an opportunity to work at the senior's activity center in her town. But she was a little anxious. Despite being a stay-at-home mom for some time, she had not forgotten the mistreatment she had to endure in the workplace.

Her first job was peeling off the dirty parts of recyclable paper in a factory a decade ago, and although she worked way slower than her colleagues, they still cursed her for taking away their businesses.

Years later, after quitting to start her family, she never looked for a new one.

"I was not willing to look for [jobs]," said Sun. "They'd worry I might fall. They'd see my hand unable to move."

"They wouldn't want me for sure, and I know it," she said.

However, every cloud has a silver lining. Sun got a second chance at working in a positive environment when officials told her about a job.

"[Officials from] the township and village told me about the job," said Sun, noting that she hesitated to take it at first due to lack of confidence.

Considering that her family income is relatively lower than average in her village and that daughter is growing up, Sun decided to have a try.

Sun was one of the 26 residents with special difficulties in Anji county who received jobs with the local governments' help in May as the nation puts "stabilizing employment" at the top of its six key ensuring areas, including finance, trade, foreign investment, to confront the economic impact brought by trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Sun's workplace, senior citizens play cards, ping-pong and chess. She says seeing them enjoy their life makes her happy.

Working four hours a day on weekdays, Sun earns 1,300 yuan (192 U.S. dollars) a month in addition to the 262 yuan disability subsidy she receives. The government pays her health insurance.

Her husband, Hu, is a daily paid worker at a local paper mill, earning around 3,500 yuan per month. He uses his noon break to drive Sun to work no matter what the weather is like.

Sun said she saves the money she earns for her daughter, who will leave the village for middle school next year.

"[Then] she will come back once a week, I will really miss her," said Sun.

Reporter: Wang Tianyu

Video director: Zhao Yuxiang

Videographer: Danzeng Jiancuo and Tao Gaoyang

Copy editor: Claudine Housen and Nadim Diab

Chief editor: Lin Dongwei

Executive producer: Wu Gang

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei