Couple with disabilities thrive in a shoe repair shop

The couple work in their 12 square meter shop in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, July 26, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Married for two years, Hu Yulong and Cai Haoyuan run a shoe repair shop in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province.

They met a year before they married and both live with disabilities. Hu lost the use of his left leg to polio when he was a child. Cai has congenital scoliosis disease.

To support himself, Hu followed his uncle to Zhengzhou to learn shoe repair. That was 22 years ago. Now, he is a skilled worker who's famous on the block where he lives, one whose outgoing personality has attracted more than 1,600 customers.

Cai is a college student who's learned to clean and polish shoes since marrying Hu.

They've closed the shop every Sunday since they married, a client said. On Sundays, the couple always drive their car to travel , shop and watch movies.

The couple have never applied for a subsidy to the disabled, the 35-year-old man said. Currently, they make 100,000 yuan in annual income from repairing shoes.

Hu and Cai are looking to the future.

"We plan to sell our one-bedroom home for a bigger one, and next year, we want a child", Hu said.