‘Cute and bossy’ China girl, 7, gives mother US$900 Lunar New Year lucky money as gift for raising her and sibling
- Daughter passes mother bundle of banknotes, knows it is not enough
- Mother laughs, gets emotional and praises sensible, considerate child
A seven-year-old girl in China who offered to give her lucky money gift to her mother to thank her for raising her and her younger brother has melted hearts on mainland social media.
On February 20, days after the Spring Festival holiday, the girl from Suqian in eastern China’s Jiangsu province tried to pass her mother 6,530 yuan (US$900) in a bundle of banknotes, which was all the lucky money she had received from her relatives, according to Qianjiang Video.
Offering lucky money, or ya sui qian in Mandarin, is a traditional ritual during the Chinese Spring Festival when adults give cash to the children in their families, usually put into red packets.
The amount ranges from dozens to thousands of yuan, depending on the family’s economic situation or the customs in the region.
In a viral video taken at the girl’s home, her mother initially says she did not want to take the girl’s lucky money, which sparks a “cute and bossy” tirade by the daughter who tries to convince her to accept it.
“Ya sui qian is given to kids, right? But you give birth to kids,” the girl says to her mother.
“I don’t think it’s easy to raise a child. It is hard. You have to pay living costs, medical costs if they are sick, and school fees. Money is spent quickly when raising a child.
“This money in my hand is not enough to cover those costs, it is just a gift and an award to you for raising us over all these years,” the child says.
The girl has a younger brother of kindergarten age, according to her mother’s account on Douyin.
“I thought it was funny when she first said it. But after watching the video several times, I got quite emotional,” the mother said afterwards. “I did not expect my daughter, at such a young age, to be so sensible and considerate.”
Young children showing love and care towards their families often make headlines on mainland social media.
In December last year, a two-year-old girl in Beijing gave a cute blessing speech on her mother’s birthday, saying: “Thanks for waiting for me to be born.”
In early February, a 10-year-old girl in Zhejiang province in eastern China bought a bracelet for her grandfather with pocket money she had saved over three years.
