A woman in China has come up with an ingenious, if morally dubious, method of raising the deposit for a house, according to a forum post that has gone viral across the country in recent days, becoming one of the most discussed subjects on Chinese social media.
The story, which the BBC says it has verified, emerged from the Tian Ya Yi Du blogging forum. A site user going by the name ‘Proud Qiaoba’ recounted the story of a work colleague, known only as 'Xiaoli', who raised around £14,000 by convincing her boyfriends – all 20 of them – to each buy her an iPhone 7.
The woman, from the city of Shenzhen in southern China, then sold the phones via the website Hui Shou Bao - raising 115,010 Chinese yuan, which she then used as a down-payment on a house in the countryside.
Xiaoli is “not from a wealthy family,” he added. “Her mum is a housewife and her dad is a migrant worker, and she is the oldest daughter.
“Her parents are getting old and she might be under a lot pressure hoping to buy them a house... But it's still unbelievable that she could use this method!"
As Proud Qiaoba’s story gathered more and more interest, the hashtag “20 mobiles for a house” became the top trend on social network Weibo, with more than 13 million posts using the tag.
While some described 'Xiaoli' as shameless, many praised her resourcefulness.
