Chinese man, 78, lives in supermarket despite owning flat, offers property to new friend for care

A flat-owning Shanghai grandpa who lives in a supermarket to avoid loneliness gave his home to a nanny he met at the shop in the face of his son’s disapproval.Qiangming, 78, has been living in the staff entrance of the supermarket in Shanghai for nearly a decade.He sleeps on a mat, rests in the supermarket’s dining area during the day and carries 50,000 yuan (US$7,400) cash in his pocket, plus a DV recorder.He describes himself as a drifter, not a beggar. The 20sqm flat he owns nearby is worth around one million yuan (US$150,000).Qiangming pictured standing alone next to some rubbish bins. Photo: QQ.comQiangming, who has a long beard and looks unhygienic, said he feared living, and dying, in the flat alone after his divorce in 2000.In 2021, he met a nanny in the supermarket.Surnamed Huang, the nanny was walking an elderly man she looked after to the supermarket.Huang helped wash his hair, then started visiting him, bringing him meals and cleaning him up.When his old neighbours visited him, they also said he had looked healthier and happier under Huang’s care.A thankful Qiangming recognised her as his “daughter” and decided to bequeath his flat to her, in exchange for her care until the end of his life.He also has a son, but said they had not been in touch since his divorce.Qiangming, left, photographed with the nanny he met while living in the supermarket. Photo: QQ.comHuang migrated to Shanghai from eastern China’s Shandong province and worked as a restaurant helper and nanny. She has two children, one of whom is studying.Further ReadingShe said she was happy to receive the flat and was willing to look after Qiangming.But when the old man attempted to sign a voluntary guardianship agreement with Huang and notarise his property and transfer it to Huang’s daughter, he was told he must notify his son.His son strongly opposed his decision.He also held the flat’s ownership certificate and said Qiangming had given the flat to his mother when they divorced.The son accused Huang of cheating his father.He took his father to court, won the lawsuit and became the legal owner of the flat.Qiangming lost the flat that he said was inherited from his mother. Huang began taking him to her rented flat to sleep, worrying something bad might happen to him after he lost his property.His son redecorated the flat and rented it out in 2023.He asked his son to pay Huang carer fee instead, but the young man refused, saying Qiangming could pay her with his pension.Huang said she would continue looking after him as long as he wanted her to.The case triggered a heated debate online when the local Dragon TV reported it in May.The entrance to the Shanghai flat which Qiangming refuses to live in. Photo: QQ.comOpinions are divided, with some people questioning Huang’s motivation and others finding their exchange reasonable.“If the old man did not have the flat and the cash, would he still meet his ‘daughter’ in the supermarket?” one online observer said.“She looked after him well. This already deserves the pay. You certainly cannot expect strangers to look after you for free?” said another.In China, voluntary guardianship focuses on elderly care and does not involve money. However, on a practical level, people often offer payment in exchange for voluntary guardianship.In January, Shanghai established a new set of rules that allow government bodies and organisations to witness and supervise voluntary guardianship, providing further protection to both parties’ rights.