Targeted Poverty Alleviation: The hope and happiness of a migrant worker

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For the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of workers have left their homes in Sichuan Province to look for a better life in eastern China. Despite facing a hard life and being far from their loved ones, many don't regret the move. Lin Nan brings us the story of a migrant worker from Santai County.

49-year-old Song Shigao always keeps a close eye on the details at work. He needs to make sure every product is neat and shiny, before leaving the production line of a sanitary ware factory.

SONG SHIGAO, ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AOJIN COMPANY "I've been working here for 16 years. I was a worker when I got in here, then an inspector, a foreman before I became the assistant production director four years ago."

Song left his hometown in Sichuan and came to Shanghai 30 years ago. He tried various jobs to make a living, until he found this stable one. He has been moving up the career ladder as the company expanded.

SONG SHIGAO, ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AOJIN COMPANY "My home is back where I'm from, and the company is like my second home. I've been working with my boss and many colleagues for more than 15 years. We are very close."

Song is one of the tens of millions of migrant workers in China who are pursuing a better life and future in big cities. They usually work thousands of miles away from home, and only have the chance to go back once in a long while.

LIN NAN SHANGHAI "Although Mr. Song left his hometown 30 years ago, he is still true to his childhood hobby. He goes fishing after work almost every day."

SONG SHIGAO, ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AOJIN COMPANY "I felt homesick after being away from home for so long. So I started fishing again, just like what I did with my boyhood friends. It is very relaxing."

Song makes 100 thousand yuan, or 14 thousand 5 hundred US Dollars a year. Although he and his wife share a house with the landlord in Shanghai, they were able to buy a 3-bedroom apartment in Sichuan for their retirement and put their son through college.

XU JIANHUA SONG SHIGAO'S WIFE "Our early days in Shanghai were not easy, but our effort has been rewarding. I feel very lucky to marry him, and we care for each other. That's the most important thing."

SONG SHIGAO, ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AOJIN COMPANY "My wife is by my side, my son has found a job after college, and my parents are healthy at home. My happiness is that every member of my family is healthy and happy, and I think so it is."

Song says his hometown is always in his heart, no matter how attractive the outside world is, and he hopes to go back and live there again once he retires. Lin Nan, CGTN, Shanghai.