Balloon sales for wife's care

As the weather warms, 80-year-old Xu Shiyou is finding it easier and easier to sell colored balloons outside a busy shopping mall in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province.

"In the past 10 days, I have been able to earn more than 100 yuan ($14.50) a day. During the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, I sold more than 100 balloons every day, which brought me more than 200 yuan," he said.

Xu needs the money to buy medicine for his 72-year-old wife, who has heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney stones. "She needs to take the medicine long term and it costs about 1,000 yuan a month," he said. "However, if her condition becomes serious and she has to got to hospital, the cost would be astronomical for us."